On this day
March 20 in literary history
Literary history for March 20: 31 writers born, 14 writers who died and 3 literary events from 43 BC to 2026. Born on this day: Touré (journalist), Edoardo Ballerini, A. J. Jacobs.
Writers born on March 20
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Touré (journalist) | American author (born 1971) |
| 1970 | Edoardo Ballerini | American actor, narrator, writer, and film director (born 1970) |
| 1968 | A. J. Jacobs | American journalist and author |
| 1965 | William Dalrymple | British historian and writer (born 1965) |
| 1961 | Sara Wheeler | English travel author (born 1961) |
| 1959 | Mary Roach | American author (born 1959) |
| 1959 | Peter Truscott, Baron Truscott | British petroleum and mining consultant and writer |
| 1955 | Nina Kiriki Hoffman | American science fiction writer |
| 1944 | Camille Cosby | American writer and television producer (born 1944) |
| 1943 | Gerard Malanga | American poet, photographer, filmmaker, actor, curator and archivist |
| 1937 | Lois Lowry | American writer (born 1937) |
| 1934 | David Malouf | Australian writer (1934–2026) |
| 1931 | Dinos Christianopoulos | Greek poet (1931–2020) |
| 1930 | S. Arasaratnam | Academic, historian and author |
| 1928 | Fred Rogers | American television host and author (1928–2003) |
| 1925 | John Ehrlichman | American lawyer, Watergate co-conspirator, and writer (1925–1999) |
| 1923 | Shaukat Siddiqui | Pakistani writer |
| 1920 | Rosemary Timperley | British novelist, short story writer and screenwriter |
| 1918 | Donald Featherstone (wargamer) | British physiotherapist, military historian, author & wargamer |
| 1907 | Hugh MacLennan | Canadian writer (1907–1990) |
| 1897 | Frank Sheed | Australian-British Catholic lawyer, apologist, and publisher (1897–1981) |
| 1874 | Börries von Münchhausen | German poet and activist |
| 1851 | Ismail Gasprinsky | Crimean Tatar intellectual, educator, publisher, and politician |
| 1828 | Henrik Ibsen | Norwegian playwright (1828–1906) |
| 1821 | Ned Buntline | American novelist |
| 1805 | Thomas Cooper (poet) | English poet, novelist, and Chartist (1805–1892) |
| 1799 | Karl August Nicander | Swedish lyric poet |
| 1771 | Heinrich Clauren | German writer (1771–1854) |
| 1615 | Dara Shikoh | Mughal prince, author (1615–1659) |
| 1612 | Anne Bradstreet | Anglo-American poet (1612–1672) |
| 43 BC | Ovid | Roman poet (43 BC – AD 17/18) |
Writers who died on March 20
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Nicholas Brendon | American actor, artist and writer (1971–2026) |
| 2019 | Mary Warnock, Baroness Warnock | English philosopher of morality, education, and mind, and a writer (1924–2019) |
| 2014 | Hennie Aucamp | Hennie Aucamp, South African poet, author, and academic (born 1934) |
| 2014 | Khushwant Singh | Indian writer (1915–2014) |
| 2013 | James Herbert | English horror writer (1943–2013) |
| 2010 | Ai (poet) | American poet (1947–2010) |
| 2005 | Armand Lohikoski | Finnish American film director and screenwriter (1912–2005) |
| 1997 | V. S. Pritchett | British writer and critic (1900–1997) |
| 1971 | Falih Rıfkı Atay | Turkish journalist, writer and politician |
| 1964 | Brendan Behan | Irish poet and writer (1923–1964) |
| 1941 | Oskar Baum | Czech music educator and writer |
| 1897 | Apollon Maykov | Russian poet and translator (1821–1897) |
| 1849 | James Justinian Morier | British diplomat and author (1782–1849) |
| 1475 | Georges Chastellain | 15th-century French poet |
Literary events on March 20
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2021 | La Plume noire, an anarchist bookstore in Lyon, is targeted by an attack of the far-right, provoking a shock in Lyon's far-left circles. |
| 1852 | Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin is published. |
| 1852 | Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, which had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the United States, was published. |
Featured
Touré (journalist) (1971) — Touré is an American writer, music journalist, cultural critic, podcaster, and television personality. He was a co-host of the TV show The Cycle on MSNBC. He was also a contributor to MSNBC's The Dylan Ratigan Show, and the host of Fuse's Hiphop Shop and On the Record.
Edoardo Ballerini (1970) — Edoardo Ballerini is an American actor, narrator, writer, and film director. On screen he is best known for his work as junkie Corky Caporale in The Sopranos and the hotheaded chef in the indie film Dinner Rush (2001).
A. J. Jacobs (1968) — Arnold Stephen Jacobs Jr., commonly called A.J. Jacobs, is an American journalist, author, and lecturer best known for writing about his lifestyle experiments. He is an editor at large for Esquire and has worked for the Antioch Daily Ledger and Entertainment Weekly.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.