On this day
May 16 in literary history
Literary history for May 16: 20 writers born, 11 writers who died and 1 literary events from 1641 to 2013. Born on this day: Kevin McDonald, Bruce Norris (playwright), Bruce Coville.
Writers born on May 16
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Kevin McDonald | Canadian actor, comedian and writer (born 1961) |
| 1960 | Bruce Norris (playwright) | American dramatist |
| 1950 | Bruce Coville | American novelist |
| 1948 | Judy Finnigan | English television presenter and writer (born 1948) |
| 1947 | Cheryl Clarke | American lesbian writer, educator and activist (born 1947) |
| 1934 | Kenneth Morgan, Baron Morgan | Welsh historian and author (born 1934) |
| 1929 | Adrienne Rich | American poet, essayist and feminist (1929–2012) |
| 1926 | Robert Jay Lifton | American psychiatrist and author (1926–2025) |
| 1917 | Juan Rulfo | Mexican writer (1917–1986) |
| 1915 | Mario Monicelli | Italian film director and screenwriter (1915–2010) |
| 1912 | Studs Terkel | American author, historian and broadcaster (1912–2008) |
| 1910 | Olga Berggolts | Russian and Soviet poet |
| 1906 | Arturo Uslar Pietri | Venezuelan writer |
| 1906 | Margret Rey | Children's illustrator and writer (1906–1996) |
| 1905 | H. E. Bates | British writer (1905–1974) |
| 1898 | Desanka Maksimović | Twentieth-century Serbian poet |
| 1894 | Walter Yust | American journalist and writer |
| 1862 | Margaret Fountaine | British entomologist, scientific illustrator and diarist |
| 1788 | Friedrich Rückert | German poet, translator, and professor of Oriental languages (1788–1866) |
| 1641 | Dudley North (economist) | English merchant, politician, economist and writer |
Writers who died on May 16
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Bernard Waber | American writer |
| 2012 | Patricia Aakhus | American novelist and academic (1952–2012) |
| 2011 | Ralph Barker | English writer |
| 2003 | Mark McCormack | American lawyer, sports agent, and writer (1930–2003) |
| 1984 | Irwin Shaw | American writer (1913–1984) |
| 1955 | James Agee | American writer (1909–1955) |
| 1944 | George Ade | American writer, newspaper columnist, and playwright |
| 1890 | Mihkel Veske | Estonian poet and linguist (1843–1890) |
| 1818 | Matthew Gregory Lewis | English Gothic writer (1775–1818) |
| 1790 | Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke | British politician and writer |
| 1703 | Charles Perrault | French author (1628–1703) |
Literary events on May 16
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1881 | John Richard Clark Hall, a barrister who would go on to write a widely used Anglo-Saxon dictionary and translation of Beowulf, was admitted to Gray's Inn. |
Featured
Kevin McDonald (1961) — Kevin Hamilton McDonald is a Canadian actor, comedian and writer. He is a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of stage, television and film productions, most notably the 1988–1995 TV series The Kids in the Hall.
Bruce Norris (playwright) (1960) — Bruce Norris is an American character actor and playwright associated with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago. His play Clybourne Park won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Bruce Coville (1950) — Bruce Farrington Coville is an author of young adult fiction. Coville was first published in 1977 and has written over 100 books.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.