On this day
November 20 in literary history
Literary history for November 20: 33 writers born, 25 writers who died and 2 literary events from 1606 to 2020. Born on this day: Jill Thompson, Boris Dežulović, Park Chul-soo.
33writers born
25writers died
2literary events
Writers born on November 20
| Born | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Jill Thompson | American illustrator and writer (born 1966) |
| 1964 | Boris Dežulović | Croatian journalist, writer and columnist |
| 1948 | Park Chul-soo | South Korean film director, producer, screenwriter and actor |
| 1945 | Deborah Eisenberg | American short story writer |
| 1942 | Bob Einstein | American actor and comedy writer (1942–2019) |
| 1940 | Helma Sanders-Brahms | German film director, screenwriter, producer and actress (1940–2014) |
| 1939 | Copi | Argentine writer |
| 1937 | Viktoriya Tokareva | Russian writer (born 1937) |
| 1936 | Don DeLillo | American writer (born 1936) |
| 1930 | Christine Arnothy | French writer |
| 1928 | Aleksey Batalov | Soviet and Russian actor, film director, screenwriter and pedagogue |
| 1928 | Genrikh Sapgir | Russian poet |
| 1927 | Wolfgang Schreyer | German writer |
| 1926 | John Gardner (British writer) | English writer (1926–2007) |
| 1923 | Nadine Gordimer | South African writer (1923–2014) |
| 1915 | Kon Ichikawa | Japanese film director and screenwriter (1915–2008) |
| 1913 | Charles Berlitz | American linguist, writer and CIC agent (1914–2003) |
| 1913 | Russell Rouse | American screenwriter (1913–1987) |
| 1910 | Pauli Murray | American writer and activist (1910–1985) |
| 1909 | Samand Siabandov | Soviet politician and writer (1909–1989) |
| 1907 | Mihai Beniuc | Romanian socialist realist poet, dramatist, and novelist (1907–1988) |
| 1900 | Chester Gould | American cartoonist (1900–1985) |
| 1896 | Carl Mayer | Austrian screenwriter |
| 1869 | Zinaida Gippius | Russian poet (1869–1945) |
| 1858 | Selma Lagerlöf | Swedish author (1858–1940) |
| 1857 | Helena Westermarck | Finnish artist and writer (1857–1938) |
| 1851 | Mikhail Albov | Russian writer (1851–1911) |
| 1808 | Albert Kazimirski de Biberstein | Polish orientalist and author |
| 1781 | Bartolomeo Pinelli | Italian illustrator and engraver |
| 1755 | Stanisław Kostka Potocki | Polish noble, politician, writer, 3rd Prime Minister |
| 1752 | Thomas Chatterton | English medieval-style poet (1752–1770) |
| 1748 | Jean-François de Bourgoing | French diplomat, writer and translator |
| 1739 | Jean-François de La Harpe | French playwright, writer and critic (1739–1803) |
Writers who died on November 20
| Died | Writer | Known as |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Jan Morris | Welsh historian and travel writer (1926–2020) |
| 2018 | James H. Billington | American author (1929–2018) |
| 2017 | Peter Berling | German actor, film producer and writer |
| 2016 | William Trevor | Irish writer (1928-2016) |
| 2013 | Sylvia Browne | American psychic and author (1936–2013) |
| 2013 | Dieter Hildebrandt | German Kabarett artist, actor, and writer |
| 2012 | Ivan Kušan | Croatian writer |
| 2006 | Donald Hamilton | American novelist and writer |
| 2005 | Manouchehr Atashi | Iranian writer (1931–2005) |
| 2000 | Mike Muuss | American computer programmer and author |
| 2000 | Kalle Päätalo | Finnish novelist |
| 1997 | Robert Palmer (American writer) | American blues and rock writer, musician and producer (1945–1997) |
| 1995 | Robie Macauley | American novelist |
| 1984 | Faiz Ahmad Faiz | Pakistani poet and author (1911-1984) |
| 1981 | Frank Sheed | Australian-British Catholic lawyer, apologist, and publisher (1897–1981) |
| 1978 | Vasilisk Gnedov | Vasilisk Gnedov, Russian soldier and poet (born 1890) |
| 1976 | Martin D'Arcy | English Jesuit priest and author (1888-1976) |
| 1972 | Ennio Flaiano | Italian writer (1910–1972) |
| 1960 | Ya'akov Cahan | Writer from Israel (1881–1960) |
| 1947 | Wolfgang Borchert | German playwright and writer |
| 1918 | John Bauer (illustrator) | Swedish painter and illustrator (1882–1918) |
| 1910 | Leo Tolstoy | Russian writer (1828–1910) |
| 1889 | August Ahlqvist | Finnish professor, author and literary critic |
| 1742 | Melchior de Polignac | French diplomat, Cardinal and neo-Latin poet |
| 1606 | John Lyly | English writer, dramatist, courtier, and Member of Parliament. (c. 1553/54–1606) |
Literary events on November 20
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1820 | An 80-ton sperm whale attacks and sinks the Essex (a whaling ship from Nantucket, Massachusetts) 3,200 kilometres (2,000 mi) from the western coast of South America. (Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick was in part inspired by this incident.) |
| 1820 | The American whaleship Essex sank 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km) west of the western coast of South America after it was attacked by a sperm whale, an event which inspired the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (pictured). |
Featured
Jill Thompson (1966) — Jill Thompson is an American comics artist and writer who has worked for stage, film, and television. Well known for her work on Neil Gaiman's The Sandman characters and her own Scary Godmother series, she has worked on The Invisibles, Swamp Thing, and Wonder Woman as well.
Boris Dežulović (1964) — Boris Dežulović is a Croatian journalist, writer and columnist, best known as one of the founders of the now defunct satirical magazine Feral Tribune.
Park Chul-soo (1948) — Park Chul-soo was a South Korean film director, producer, screenwriter and occasional actor. He was one of the most active filmmakers in Korean cinema in the 1980s and 1990s.
Sources & data
- Compiled from Wikipedia’s “On this day” selections (CC BY-SA 4.0), filtered for writers and literary events.