This Day in Literature

Chronology of Events in Literature

Oct/25/1400:	Commonly accepted date for the death of Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales.
Mar/14/1471:	Death of Sir Thomas Malory, author of Le Morte d'Arthur.
Sep/29/1547:	Birth of Miguel de Cervantes, best known as the author of Don Quixote, in Alcala de Henares, Spain.
Apr/23/1564:	Day traditionally celebrated as the birthday of William Shakespeare, although his date of birth is not known for certain. Coincidentally, it is also St George's Day, St George being the patron saint of England.
Apr/26/1564:	Date recorded for the christening of William Shakespeare, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. His date of birth is not known for certain, but presumably was only a few days earlier.
Apr/23/1616:	Death of Miguel de Cervantes, best known as the author of Don Quixote, in Madrid, Spain, at the age of 68.
Apr/23/1616:	Death of William Shakespeare, poet and playwright in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, at the age of 52.
Nov/28/1628:	Birth of John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim's Progress, near Bedford, England.
Feb/23/1633:	Samuel Pepys, diarist, born in London, England.
Jan/01/1660:	First entry in Samuel Pepys' Diary.
May/31/1669:	Last entry in Samuel Pepys' Diary.
Aug/31/1688:	Death of John Bunyan, author of The Pilgrim's Progress, at Snow Hill, near London, England, at the age of 59.
May/26/1703:	Samuel Pepys, diarist, died in Clapham, near London, England, at the age of 70.
Sep/18/1709:	Samuel Johnson, essayist and lexicographer, born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England.
Oct/12/1713:	Enoch Root visits Dr Daniel Waterhouse in Boston Common in the opening scenes of Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.
Nov/24/1713:	Laurence Sterne, novelist best known for The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, born in Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland.
Jul/18/1720:	Gilbert White, parson, naturalist and writer of The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, born in Selborne, Hampshire, England.
Nov/28/1757:	William Blake, artist and poet, born in Soho, London, England.
Jan/25/1759:	Birth of Robert Burns, poet, in Alloway, Ayrshire, Scotland. His birthday is celebrated by Scots throughout the world with Burns Night suppers and readings of his poetry.
Mar/09/1763:	William Cobbett, journalist and polemicist, best known as the writer of Rural Rides, born in Farnham, Surrey, England.
Aug/04/1767:	Date of first dated letter (Letter X) in Gilbert White's The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne.
Mar/18/1768:	Laurence Sterne, novelist best known for The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, died in London, England, at the age of 54.
Dec/16/1775:	Jane Austen, novelist, born in Steventon, Hampshire, England.
Mar/10/1780:	Frances Trollope, prolific novelist and mother of the author Anthony Trollope, born in Bristol, England.
Dec/13/1784:	Samuel Johnson, essayist and lexicographer, died in London, England.
Jun/25/1787:	Date of last letter (Letter LXVI) in Gilbert White's The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne.
Nov/01/1788:	Publication of The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, by Gilbert White.
Jul/10/1792:	Birth of Captain Frederick Marryat in London, England. Marryat is remembered as the first writer of sea stories and the author of the children's book, The Children of the New Forest.
Jun/26/1793:	Gilbert White, parson, naturalist and writer of The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne, died in Selborne, Hampshire, England, at the age of 72.
Jul/21/1796:	Death of Robert Burns, poet, in Dumfries, Scotland. His birthday (January 25) is celebrated by Scots throughout the world with Burns Night suppers and readings of his poetry.
Aug/30/1797:	Mary Shelley, best known as the author of Frankenstein, born in London, England.
Jul/24/1802:	Alexandre Dumas, historical novelist, born near Paris, France.
Jul/05/1803:	George Borrow, novelist and travel writer, born in East Dereham, Norfolk, England.
Mar/31/1809:	Edward Fitzgerald, best known for his translation and free adaptation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, born near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England.
Jul/18/1811:	William Makepeace Thackeray, author of Vanity Fair, born in Calcutta, India.
Oct/30/1811:	Sense and Sensibility, a novel by Jane Austen, advertised for sale.
Feb/07/1812:	Charles Dickens, novelist, born in Portsea, Portsmouth, England.
Jan/27/1813:	Jane Austen receives a copy of her novel, Pride and Prejudice. The actual release date may have been a few days earlier.
May/09/1814:	Mansfield Park, a novel by Jane Austen, was advertised for sale; this date is its presumed publication date.
Apr/24/1815:	Anthony Trollope, prolific novelist, born in London, England.
Apr/21/1816:	Charlotte Brontë, author of Jane Eyre, born in Thornton, Yorkshire, England.
Jul/12/1817:	Henry David Thoreau, essayist and naturalist, born in Concord, Massachusetts, USA.
Jul/18/1817:	Jane Austen, novelist, died in Winchester, at the age of 41.
Jul/30/1818:	Birth of Emily Brontë, author of Wuthering Heights, in Thornton, Yorkshire, England.
Sep/01/1819:	Herman Melville, novelist, born in New York, USA.
Nov/22/1819:	Mary Ann Evans, aka George Eliot, novelist, born in Warwickshire, England.
Jan/17/1820:	Birth of Anne Brontë, author and youngest of the Brontë sisters, in Thornton, Yorkshire, England.
Feb/28/1820:	Sir John Tenniel born in London, England. He was an illustrator, best known for his woodcuts for Alice in Wonderland.
Dec/12/1821:	Birth of Gustave Flaubert, novelist best known for Madame Bovary, in Rouen, France.
May/26/1822:	Edmond de Goncourt, elder of the Goncourt brothers, diarists and men-about-town, born in Nancy, France.
Jan/08/1824:	Wilkie Collins, novelist, born in London, England.
Apr/24/1825:	Robert Ballantyne, novelist best known for Coral Island, born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Jun/07/1825:	R. D. Blackmore, writer best known for the historical novel Lorna Doone, born in Longworth, Oxfordshire, England.
Aug/12/1827:	William Blake, artist and poet, died in London, England, at the age of 69.
Feb/08/1828:	Jules Verne, novelist, born in Nantes, France.
Sep/09/1828:	Leo Tolstoy, writer and philosopher, probably best known as the author of War and Peace, born on the family estate at Yasnaya Polyana, Russia.
Dec/17/1830:	Jules de Goncourt, younger of the Goncourt brothers, diarists and men-about-town, born in Paris.
Oct/15/1831:	Date of Mary Shelley's Preface to the third edition of her novella Frankenstein.
Nov/29/1832:	Louisa May Alcott, writer of children's fiction, best known for Little Women, born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Mar/03/1839:	Birth of Ellen Ternan, an actress who became Charles Dickens' mistress, born in Rochester, Kent, England.
Jun/02/1840:	Thomas Hardy, novelist and poet, born at Higher Brockhampton, near Dorchester, Dorset, England.
Jan/03/1841:	Herman Melville ships out as a crewman on the whaler Acushnet.
Jun/23/1842:	Herman Melville deserts from the whaler Acushnet on Nuku Hiva, one of the Marquesas Islands in Polynesia.
Apr/15/1843:	Henry James, probably best known as the author of The Portrait of a Lady, born in New York, USA.
Dec/19/1843:	Publication of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
Jul/28/1844:	Gerard Manley Hopkins, poet, born in Stratford, Essex, England.
Jun/18/1845:	William Cobbett, journalist and polemicist, best known as the writer of Rural Rides, died in Normandy, Surrey, England, at the age of 72.
Jul/04/1845:	Henry David Thoreau took up residence in his cabin by Walden Pond.
Sep/06/1847:	Henry David Thoreau stopped living in his cabin by Walden Pond.
Oct/19/1847:	Publication of Jane Eyre, a novel by Charlotte Brontë.
Aug/09/1848:	Death of Captain Frederick Marryat in Norfolk, England, at the age of 56. Marryat is remembered as the first writer of sea stories and the author of the children's book, The Children of the New Forest.
Nov/06/1848:	Richard Jefferies, nature writer, born in Coate, Wiltshire, England.
Dec/19/1848:	Death of Emily Brontë, author of Wuthering Heights, in Haworth, Yorkshire, England, at the age of 30.
May/28/1849:	Death of Anne Brontë, author and youngest of the Brontë sisters, in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, at the age of 29.
Sep/21/1849:	Edmund Gosse, writer probably best known for Father and Son, a memoir of his troubled relationship with his father, born in London, England.
Oct/26/1849:	Publication of Shirley, a novel by Charlotte Brontë.
Nov/13/1850:	Robert Louis Stevenson, novelist and travel writer, born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Dec/10/1850:	Publication of Wuthering Heights, a novel by Emily Brontë, and Agnes Grey, a novel by Anne Brontë. These were new editions of these works, trading on the success of Jane Eyre. These were posthumous editions and both had an introduction by Charlotte Brontë, in memory of her sisters.
Feb/01/1851:	Mary Shelley, best known as the author of Frankenstein, died in London, England, at the age of 53.
Oct/06/1851:	Mary Ann Evans, aka George Eliot, novelist, meets George Henry Lewes, with whom she lives for twenty-four years.
Oct/18/1851:	Publication of Moby-Dick, a novel by Herman Melville, in London, England. This edition was published under the title The Whale.
Nov/14/1851:	Publication of American edition of Moby-Dick, a novel by Herman Melville.
Dec/02/1851:	First entry in the Goncourt Journal, by Jules and Edmond de Goncourt. It records the publication of their first novel, an event which was eclipsed by the coup d'état staged by Louis Napoleon.
Dec/27/1852:	Charles Dickens' first public reading of his own work. He read A Christmas Carol to an audience at Birmingham Town Hall, England. The event was a great success.
Jan/28/1853:	Publication of Villette, a novel by Charlotte Brontë.
Mar/31/1855:	Charlotte Brontë, author of Jane Eyre, died in Haworth, Yorkshire, England, at the age of 38.
Dec/03/1857:	Birth of Joseph Conrad, novelist, in Poland.
Aug/15/1858:	Edith Nesbitt, children's writer, born in Kennington, Surrey, England.
Mar/08/1859:	Kenneth Graham, author of The Wind in the Willows, born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Apr/09/1859:	Publication of first edition (250 copies printed) of Edward Fitzgerald's translation and adaptation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.
May/02/1859:	Jerome K. Jerome, author of Three Men in a Boat, born in Walsall, Staffordshire, England.
May/22/1859:	Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, born in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Dec/19/1861:	Birth of Constance Garnett, translator best known for her work on 19th century Russian novels, in Brighton, Sussex, England.
May/06/1862:	Henry David Thoreau, essayist and naturalist, died in Concord, Massachusetts, USA, at the age of 44.
Oct/06/1863:	Frances Trollope, prolific novelist and mother of the author Anthony Trollope, died in Florence, Italy, at the age of 83.
Dec/24/1863:	William Makepeace Thackeray, author of Vanity Fair, died at the age of 52.
Jun/09/1865:	Charles Dickens is involved in a train accident at Staplehurst. Although he was not badly hurt, ten people died in the accident.
Jun/13/1865:	W. B. Yeats, poet, born in Sandymount, County Dublin, Ireland.
Sep/21/1866:	H. G. Wells, novelist and writer, born in Bromley, Kent, England.
May/27/1867:	Arnold Bennett, writer best known for the Clayhanger novels, born in Hanley, Staffordshire, England.
Dec/30/1865:	Birth of Rudyard Kipling, novelist and poet, in Bombay, India.
Jun/06/1857:	Publication of The Professor, a novel by Charlotte Brontë. Although written early in her career, it was not published until after her death.
Jul/24/1867:	E. F. Benson, prolific writer probably best known for the Mapp and Lucia series of humorously satirical novels, born in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England.
Aug/14/1867:	John Galsworthy, author of the Forsyte Saga series of novels, born in Kingston Hill, Surrey, England.
Sep/19/1867:	Birth of Arthur Rackham, artist and book illustrator, in Lambeth, London, England.
Mar/21/1868:	Captain Nemo and the crew of the submarine Nautilus reach the South Pole in Jules Verne's novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
Jun/09/1870:	Charles Dickens, novelist, died at Gad's Hill, England, following a stroke the day before, at the age of 58.
Jun/20/1870:	Jules de Goncourt, younger of the Goncourt brothers, diarists and men-about-town, died in Paris at the age of 39.
Dec/05/1870:	Alexandre Dumas, historical novelist, died in France, at the age of 68.
Dec/18/1870:	Birth of H. H. Munro, short story writer, in Akyab, Burma. Munro published under the pen-name Saki.
Jul/10/1871:	Marcel Proust, novelist best known for Remembrance of Things Past, born in Auteuil, on the southern edge of Paris, France.
Oct/08/1872:	Birth of John Cowper Powys, novelist, in Shirley, Derbyshire, England.
Jan/28/1873:	Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, writer better known under the pen name Colette, born in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye, Burgundy, France.
Jan/25/1874:	W. Somerset Maugham born in Paris, France. Maugham was a travel writer and novelist but is best known for his short stories about British expatriates living in the Far East.
Feb/12/1874:	Edmond de Goncourt describes a visit to Degas's studio where he saw paintings of ballet dancers and washerwomen.
Jun/06/1875:	Thomas Mann, novelist perhaps best known for Death in Venice, born in Lübeck, Germany.
Jul/02/1877:	Hermann Hesse, novelist, born in Calw, Württemberg, Germany.
Sep/02/1877:	D. K. Broster, historical novelist, born near Liverpool, England.
Feb/10/1878:	Jeffery Farnol, writer of Regency romance novels and swashbucklers, born in Aston, Birmingham, England.
Mar/03/1878:	Edward Thomas, poet, born in London.
Jan/01/1879:	E. M. Forster, novelist, born in London, England.
Dec/10/1879:	Birth of E. H. Shepard in St. John's Wood, London. Shepard was an artist and illustrator, who created drawings for the Winnie the Pooh books and The Wind in the Willows.
May/06/1880:	At the age of 61, Mary Ann Evans, aka George Eliot, marries John Cross, a long-time friend who is twenty years her junior.
May/08/1880:	Gustave Flaubert, novelist best known for 'Madame Bovary', died at Croisset, near Rouen, France, at the age of 58.
Dec/22/1880:	Mary Ann Evans, aka George Eliot, novelist, died in London, England, at the age of 61.
Feb/13/1881:	Eleanor Farjeon, children's author, born in London, England.
Mar/25/1881:	Birth of Mary Webb, Shropshire novelist, in the village of Leighton, Shropshire, England.
Jul/26/1881:	George Borrow, novelist and travel writer, died in Oulton, Suffolk, England, at the age of 78.
Oct/15/1881:	P. G. Wodehouse, prolific writer of comic novels and creator of Jeeves, born in Guilford, England.
Jan/18/1882:	A. A. Milne, writer and creator of Winnie the Pooh, born in Scotland.
Feb/22/1882:	Birth of Eric Gill, typeface designer, in Brighton, Sussex, England.
May/20/1882:	Sigrid Undset, author of historical novels, born in Kalundborg, Denmark.
Dec/06/1882:	Anthony Trollope, prolific novelist, died in London, England, at the age of 67.
Feb/18/1883:	Nikos Kazantzakis, writer best known for the novel Zorba the Greek, born in Heraklion, Crete.
Jun/14/1883:	Edward Fitzgerald, best known for his translation and free adaptation of The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, died in Merton, England, at the age of 74.
Jul/03/1883:	Franz Kafka, writer of surreal fiction, born in Prague.
Jan/18/1884:	Birth of Arthur Ransome, author, best known for children's fiction, especially the Swallows and Amazons series, in Headingley, Leeds, England.
Mar/13/1884:	Birth of Hugh Walpole, author of the Herries chronicles, in Auckland, New Zealand.
Jun/29/1884:	Birth of Francis Brett Young, novelist, in Halesowen, near Birmingham, England.
Apr/17/1885:	Karen Blixen, aka Isak Dinesen, best known as the author of the memoir Out of Africa, born in Rungsted, Denmark.
Sep/11/1885:	Birth of D. H. Lawrence, novelist, in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, England.
Jan/14/1886:	Hugh Lofting, writer and creator of Doctor Doolittle, born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England.
Apr/17/1886:	Edmond de Goncourt visits Rodin's studio in Paris and provides a vivid word portrait of the workplace and the sculptor. He saw 'The Burghers of Calais' and 'The Gates of Hell' in unfinished form.
Mar/03/1887:	Publication of the first volume of the Goncourt Journal, edited by Edmond de Goncourt.
Aug/14/1887:	Richard Jefferies, nature writer, died in Goring-by-Sea, Sussex, England, at the age of 38.
Mar/06/1888:	Louisa May Alcott, writer of children's fiction, best known for Little Women, died in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, at the age of 56.
Mar/20/1888:	The first events in A Scandal in Bohemia, the first of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, occur on this night, as Watson pays a visit to Holmes at his Baker Street rooms.
Sep/26/1888:	T. S. Eliot, literary critic and poet, born in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Dec/21/1888:	Publication of Rudyard Kipling's short story Baa, Baa, Black Sheep in the The Week's News, a supplement to the The Pioneer, a newspaper Kipling worked for in Allahabad, India. The story is a searing fictionalized account of his early childhood.
Feb/10/1889:	Birth of Howard Spring, novelist probably best known for Fame is the Spur, in Cardiff, Wales.
Mar/23/1889:	Birth of Robert Gibbings in Cork, Ireland. He was a sculptor and artist especially known for his wood engraving illustrations of books and was the sometime owner of the Golden Cockerel Press.
Jun/08/1889:	Gerard Manley Hopkins, poet, died in Dublin, Ireland, at the age of 44.
Jul/02/1889:	Edmond de Goncourt describes dining on the platform of the Eiffel Tower, a newly opened attraction for the Universal Exhibition marking the centenary of the French Revolution.
Sep/23/1889:	Wilkie Collins, novelist, died in London, England, at the age of 89.
Sep/25/1889:	C. K. Scott Moncrieff born in Stirlingshire, Scotland. He is best known for his translation of Proust's work under the title Remembrance of Things Past.
Feb/10/1890:	Birth of Boris Pasternak, best known as the author of Doctor Zhivago, in Moscow, Russia.
Sep/01/1890:	Birth of Arthur W. Upfield, author of detective novels set in the Australian outback, in Gosport, Hampshire, England.
Sep/28/1891:	Herman Melville, novelist, died in New York, USA, at the age of 72.
Jan/03/1892:	J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, born in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Jun/26/1892:	Pearl S. Buck, novelist whose stories are often located in China, best known for The Good Earth, born in Hillsboro, West Virginia, USA.
Dec/21/1892:	Rebecca West, writer probably best known for Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, born in London, England.
Jun/13/1893:	Birth of Dorothy L. Sayers, best known for mystery novels featuring Lord Peter Wimsey, in Oxford, England.
Dec/06/1893:	Sylvia Townsend Warner, novelist, born in England.
Feb/08/1894:	Robert Ballantyne, novelist best known for Coral Island, died in Rome, Italy, at the age of 68.
Sep/13/1894:	J. B. Priestley, novelist perhaps best known for The Good Companions, born in Bradford, England.
Dec/03/1894:	Robert Louis Stevenson, novelist and travel writer, died in Samoa, at the age of 44.
Jul/24/1895:	Robert Graves, novelist and essayist, born in Wimbledon, London, England.
Dec/01/1895:	Henry Williamson, nature writer and author of Tarka the Otter, born in London, England.
May/26/1896:	Publication of the ninth and last volume of the Goncourt Journal. The writer, Edmond de Goncourt, died just six weeks later.
Jul/03/1896:	Last entry by Edmond de Goncourt in his journal; he died 12 days later.
Jul/16/1896:	Edmond de Goncourt, elder of the Goncourt brothers, diarists and men-about-town, died in Champrosay, a suburb of Paris, at the age of 74.
Sep/24/1896:	Birth of F. Scott Fitzgerald, writer probably best known for The Great Gatsby, in St Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Jun/23/1898:	Winifred Holtby, writer best known for the novel South Riding, born in Rudston, Yorkshire, England.
Nov/29/1898:	C. S. Lewis, author of the Narnia series of children's books, born in Belfast, Ireland.
Jan/17/1899:	Nevil Shute Norway, who wrote novels under the name Nevil Shute, born in Ealing, London, England.
Apr/22/1899:	Vladimir Nabokov, novelist, born in St Petersburg, Russia.
Aug/27/1899:	C. S. Forester, writer best known for the Hornblower novels, born in Cairo, Egypt.
Oct/19/1899:	Miguel Angel Asturias, writer perhaps best known for the novel The Green Pope, born in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Jan/20/1900:	R. D. Blackmore, writer best known for the historical novel Lorna Doone, died in Teddington, Middlesex, England, at the age of 74.
Apr/24/1900:	Elizabeth Goudge, novelist, born in Wells, England.
Dec/16/1900:	Birth of V. S. Pritchett, novelist, in Ipswich, Norfolk, England.
Oct/01/1901:	Publication of Kim, a novel by Rudyard Kipling.
Dec/01/1901:	C. E. Tunnicliffe, naturalist and artist, born in Langley, Cheshire, England. Tunnicliffe is perhaps best known as the illustrator of Tarka the Otter.
Feb/27/1902:	John Steinbeck, novelist probably best known for The Grapes of Wrath, born in Salinas, California, USA.
Aug/16/1902:	Georgette Heyer, writer best known for Regency romance novels, born in Wimbledon, London, England.
Jun/25/1903:	Eric Blair, better known as George Orwell, novelist and essayist, born in Motihari, Bihar, India.
Jul/10/1903:	Birth of John Wyndham, scifi writer, in Dorridge, Knowle, Warwickshire, England.
Jul/14/1903:	Irving Stone, best known as the author of long biographical novels, born in San Francisco, California.
Oct/28/1903:	Evelyn Waugh, writer and novelist, born in London, England.
Jan/23/1904:	Anya Seton, historical novelist, born in New York city, USA.
Aug/27/1904:	Norah Lofts, writer of historical novels, born in Shipdham, Norfolk, England.
Oct/02/1904:	Graham Greene, novelist, born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England.
Dec/26/1904:	Alejo Carpentier, Cuban writer and novelist, born in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Mar/24/1905:	Jules Verne, novelist, died in Amiens, France, at the age of 77.
May/16/1905:	H. E. Bates, writer and novelist, born in Rushden, Northamptonshire, England.
May/24/1905:	Mikhail Sholokov, author of And Quiet Flows the Don, born in the Ukraine.
Sep/04/1905:	Mary Renault, writer of historical novels, born in Forest Gate, London.
Oct/15/1905:	C. P. Snow, scientist and novelist best known for the 'Strangers and Brothers' sequence, born in Leicester, England.
Dec/21/1905:	Birth of Anthony Powell, novelist best known for 'A Dance to the Music of Time' series, in Westminster, England.
May/29/1906:	T. H. White, best known as the author of The Once and Future King, born in Bombay, India.
Aug/28/1906:	John Betjeman, poet, born in Hampstead Heath, London, England.
Sep/01/1906:	Eleanor Hibbert, who wrote historical novels under the pen name of Jean Plaidy, and also wrote under the names Victoria Holt and Philippa Carr, born in England.
Oct/10/1906:	R. K. Narayan, novelist whose stories were often set in the fictional south Indian town of Malgudi, born in Madras, India.
Dec/13/1906:	Laurens van der Post, journalist, conservationist, and writer, born in Philippolis, South Africa.
Jan/17/1907:	A. W. Wainwright, fellwalker, writer, and artist, born in Blackburn, Lancashire, England.
May/13/1907:	Birth of Daphne du Maurier, best known as the author of Rebecca, in London, England.
May/27/1907:	Rachel Carson, ecologist and writer of Silent Spring, born near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
May/31/1907:	Peter Fleming, travel writer best known for News from Tartary, born in London, England.
Dec/10/1907:	Rudyard Kipling, novelist and poet, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Mar/02/1908:	Birth of Olivia Manning, best known as the author of the Balkan Trilogy, in Portsmouth, England.
May/22/1908:	W. G. Hoskins, historian and writer of The Making of the English Landscape, born in Exeter, England.
Aug/21/1908:	M. M. Kaye, best known as the author of romantic historical novels set in India, including The Far Pavilions, born in India.
Sep/19/1908:	Mika Waltari, writer of historical novels, born in Helsinki, Finland.
Feb/18/1909:	Wallace Stegner, environmentalist and novelist, writer of the memoir Wolf Willow, born in Lake Mills, Iowa, USA.
Jul/28/1909:	Malcolm Lowry, novelist best known for Under the Volcano, born in Wallasey, Merseyside, England.
Aug/09/1910:	Robert van Gulik, best known as the author of the Judge Dee mysteries, born in Zutphen, The Netherlands.
Jul/09/1911:	Birth of Mervyn Peake, writer of the Gormenghast series of surreal novels, in Kuling, central China.
Sep/19/1911:	William Golding, best known as the author of Lord of the Flies, born in Cornwall, England.
Dec/11/1911:	Birth of Naguib Mahfouz, novelist, in Cairo, Egypt.
Dec/22/1911:	Birth of Henry Treece, best known as a writer of historical novels for children, in Wednesbury, Staffordshire, England.
Feb/12/1912:	R. F. Delderfield, novelist best known for family sagas set in the west country, born in London, England.
Feb/27/1912:	Lawrence Durrell, novelist best known for 'The Alexandria Quartet', born in Jalandhar, India.
May/03/1912:	Birth of May Sarton, poet and novelist, in Wondelgem, Belgium.
May/28/1912:	Birth of Patrick White, novelist, in London, England.
Jun/24/1912:	Birth of Mary Wesley, novelist, in Englefield Green, Surrey, England.
Aug/10/1912:	Jorge Amado, novelist, born in Itabuna, Bahia, Brazil.
Mar/29/1913:	R. S. Thomas, poet, born in Cardiff, Wales.
Nov/07/1913:	Albert Camus, novelist probably best known for The Plague, born in Mondovi, Algeria.
Jan/26/1914:	Kaye Webb, editor for Puffin Books, born in Chiswick, London, England.
Aug/01/1914:	W. J. Burley, crime writer best known for the 'Wycliffe' series, born in Falmouth, Cornwall, England.
Sep/12/1916:	Mary Stewart, novelist, born in Sunderland, County Durham, England.
Apr/09/1917:	Edward Thomas, poet, killed in France at the Battle of Arras, at the age of 39.
Jun/02/1913:	Barbara Pym, novelist, born in Oswestry, Shropshire, England.
Aug/11/1913:	Angus Wilson, novelist, born in Bexhill, Sussex, England.
Aug/28/1913:	Robertson Davies, novelist and journalist, born in Thamesville, Ontario, Canada.
Sep/28/1913:	Edith Pargeter, aka Ellis Peters, best known as the author of the Brother Cadfael mysteries, born in Horsehay, Shropshire, England.
Nov/25/1913:	Birth of Lewis Thomas, physician and essayist, in Flushing, New York, USA.
Feb/25/1914:	Sir John Tenniell died in London, England, at the age of 93. He was an illustrator, best known for his woodcuts for Alice in Wonderland.
Apr/25/1914:	Ellen Ternan, an actress who became the mistress of Charles Dickens, died in London, England, at the age of 95.
Jul/15/1914:	Birth of Gavin Maxwell, naturalist, travel writer, and author of Ring of Bright Water, in Elrig, Scotland.
May/10/1915:	Monica Dickens, novelist, born in London, England.
Jun/11/1915:	Saul Bellow, novelist, born in Lachine, Quebec, Canada.
Feb/28/1916:	Henry James, probably best known as the author of The Portrait of a Lady, died in London, England, at the age of 71.
Nov/14/1916:	Death of H. H. Munro, short story writer, killed by a sniper, near Beaumont-Hamel, France, at the age of 45. Munro published under the pen-name Saki.
Dec/17/1916:	Penelope Fitzgerald, novelist, born in England.
Feb/25/1917:	Anthony Burgess, literary critic and novelist, born in Manchester, England.
Sep/17/1917:	Birth of Han Suyin, writer, in Xinyang, Henan province, central China.
Dec/16/1917:	Arthur C. Clarke, scifi author best known for 2001: A Space Odyssey, born in Minehead, Somerset, England.
Feb/01/1918:	Birth of Muriel Spark, novelist best known for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Dec/11/1918:	Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, historian and writer, born in Kislovodsk, Russia.
Jul/15/1919:	Birth of Iris Murdoch, novelist, in Dublin, Ireland.
Oct/22/1919:	Birth of Doris Lessing, author, in Kermanshah, now Iran.
Dec/06/1919:	Eric Newby, travel writer, born in Hammersmith, London, England.
Jan/02/1920:	Official birthdate of Isaac Asimov, scifi author, in Petrovichi, Smolensk, Russia. His actual birthdate is not known.
Mar/25/1920:	Paul Scott, novelist best known for the 'Raj Quartet' and other books set in India, born in Southgate, London, England.
May/09/1920:	Richard Adams, author of Watership Down, born Newbury, Berkshire, England.
Jul/12/1920:	Pierre Berton, journalist and writer of popular books on Canadian history, born in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada.
Aug/03/1920:	Birth of P. D. James, crime novelist, in Oxford, England.
Oct/08/1920:	Frank Herbert, author of the Dune series of scifi novels, born in Tacoma, Washington, USA.
Oct/31/1920:	Dick Francis, writer of crime novels, born in Lawrenny, Wales.
Nov/20/1920:	Leo Tolstoy, writer and philosopher, probably best known as the author of War and Peace, died in the stationmaster's house at Astapovo junction, Russia.
Oct/08/1920:	Frank Herbert, author of the Dune series of scifi novels, born in Tacoma, Washington, USA.
Dec/14/1920:	Mary Sutcliff, historical novelist, born in Surrey, England.
Mar/09/1922:	Gregory Rabassa, translator, born in Yonkers, New York, USA. Rabassa translates from Portuguese and Spanish into English and is probably best known for his translations of some works of Julio Cortázar and Gabriel García Márquez.
Sep/09/1922:	Pauline Baynes, book illustrator best known for her work on books by C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, born in Hove, Sussex, England.
Nov/11/1922:	Kurt Vonnegut, novelist, born in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
Nov/18/1922:	Marcel Proust, novelist best known for Remembrance of Things Past, died in Paris, France, at the edge of 51.
Jan/23/1923:	Birth of Walter M. Miller Jr, author of A Canticle for Leibowicz, in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, USA.
Jan/31/1923:	Norman Mailer, writer and novelist, born in Long Branch, New Jersey, USA.
Mar/27/1923:	Shasaku Endo, novelist, born in Tokyo, Japan.
Apr/21/1923:	John Mortimer, writer and creator of Horace Rumpole, born in Hampstead, London, England.
Jul/24/1923:	William Weaver, translator best known for his work on 20th century Italian novels, born in USA.
Aug/25/1923:	Birth of Dorothy Dunnett, historical novelist, in Dunfermline, Scotland.
Oct/15/1923:	Italo Calvino, novelist, born in Santiago de Las Vegas, Cuba.
Nov/20/1923:	Nadine Gordimer, novelist, born near Johannesburg, South Africa.
Dec/10/1923:	W. B. Yeats, poet, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
May/04/1924:	Edith Nesbitt, children's writer, died in New Romney, Kent, England, at the age of 65.
Jun/24/1924:	Franz Kafka, writer of surreal fiction, died in Vienna, Austria.
Aug/03/1924:	Death of Joseph Conrad, novelist, in Bishopsbourne, near Canterbury, England, at the age of 66.
Oct/10/1924:	James Clavell, author best known for the Asian Saga, born in Australia.
Nov/21/1924:	Christopher Tolkien, the third son of J.R.R. Tolkien, and the literary executor for his father's papers, born in Leeds, England.
Jan/07/1925:	Gerald Durrell, naturalist, conservationist, and writer, born in Jamshedpur, India.
Feb/04/1925:	Russell Hoban, novelist, born in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, USA.
Mar/12/1925:	Harry Harrison, scifi writer, born in Stamford, Connecticut, USA.
May/27/1925:	Tony Hillerman, author of mystery novels set in the Four Corners area of US, born in Sacred Heart, Oklahoma, USA.
May/27/1925:	John Cheever, novelist and short story writer, born in Quincy, Massachusetts, USA.
Aug/18/1925:	Brian Aldiss, scifi writer, born in East Dereham, Norfolk, England.
Oct/03/1925:	Gore Vidal, best known as a writer of sprawling historical novels mostly focused on US events, born in West Point, New York, USA.
Dec/29/1925:	Birth of Dudley Pope, writer of nautical fiction, especially the Ramage series, Ashford, Kent, England.
Jan/13/1926:	Michael Bond, writer and creator of Paddington Bear and Monsieur Pamplemousse, born in Newbury, Berkshire, England.
Mar/31/1926:	John Fowles, novelist probably best known as the author of The French Lieutenant's Woman, born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England.
Jul/18/1926:	Birth of Margaret Laurence, novelist, in Neepawa, Manitoba, Canada.
Oct/31/1926:	H. R. F. Keating, prolific writer of crime fiction and creator of Inspector Ghote, born in England.
Jan/29/1927:	Edward Abbey, best known as the writer of Desert Solitaire, born in Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA.
Mar/03/1927:	Nicholas Freeling, writer of mystery novels notably those featuring Inspector Van Der Valk, born in London, England.
Mar/06/1927:	Birth of Gabriel García Márquez, best known as the writer of One Hundred Years of Solitude, in Aracataca, Colombia.
May/07/1927:	Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, novelist and screenwriter, born in Cologne, Germany.
Jun/14/1927:	Jerome K. Jerome, author of Three Men in a Boat, died in England.
Sep/29/1927:	Birth of Barbara Mertz, aka Elizabeth Peters, author of the Amelia Peabody mysteries, in Canton, Illinois, USA.
Oct/08/1927:	Death of Mary Webb, Shropshire novelist, in St Leonards-on-Sea, on southeastern coast of England, at the age of 46.
Oct/14/1927:	Dylan Thomas, poet, born in Swansea, Wales.
Oct/16/1927:	Günther Grass, novelist probably best known for The Tin Drum, born in Danzig (now Gdansk), Poland.
Dec/16/1927:	Peter Dickinson, novelist, especially known for mystery novels, born in Africa.
Jan/11/1928:	Thomas Hardy, novelist and poet, died in Dorchester, England, at the age of 87.
Mar/30/1928:	Birth of Tom Sharpe in London, England. Sharpe writes blistering satirical novels.
Apr/24/1928:	Gavin Young, journalist and travel writer, born in Wales.
May/16/1928:	Edmund Gosse, writer probably best known for Father and Son, a memoir of his troubled relationship with his father, died in London, England, at the age of 79.
Jul/16/1928:	Anita Brookner, novelist, born in London, England.
Nov/11/1928:	Carlos Fuentes, Mexican novelist and essayist, born in Panama City.
Dec/10/1928:	Sigrid Undset, author of historical novels, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Jun/10/1929:	Edward O. Wilson, famous for his writings on biodiversity, born in Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
Oct/21/1929:	Birth of Ursula Le Guin, sci-fi and fantasy author, in Berkeley, California, USA.
Nov/18/1929:	Publication of Robert Graves' autobiography and memoir of World War I entitled Goodbye to All That.
Dec/10/1929:	Thomas Mann, novelist perhaps best known for Death in Venice, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Feb/17/1930:	Birth of Ruth Rendell, writer of crime and mystery novels, in London.
Feb/28/1930:	C. K. Scott Moncrieff died in Rome, Italy, at the age of 40. He is best known for his translation of Proust's work under the title Remembrance of Things Past.
Mar/02/1930:	Death of D. H. Lawrence, novelist, in Vence, France, at the age of 44.
May/27/1930:	John Barth, novelist, born in Cambridge, Maryland, USA.
Jul/07/1930:	Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, died in Crowborough, Sussex, England, at the age of 71.
Aug/08/1930:	Birth of Barry Unsworth, novelist, in Wingate, Durham, England.
Aug/17/1930:	Ted Hughes, poet, born in Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, England.
Sep/29/1930:	Colin Dexter, writer of a series of police procedurals featuring Inspector Morse, born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England.
Oct/30/1930:	Timothy Findley, novelist, born in Toronto. Ontario, Canada.
Nov/15/1930:	J. G. Ballard, scifi author and novelist, born in Shanghai, China.
Jan/06/1931:	E. L. Doctorow, novelist, born in New York, USA.
Feb/12/1931:	Janwillem van de Wetering, writer of detective fiction mostly set in Amsterdam, born in The Netherlands.
Mar/02/1931:	Jane Rule, novelist best known for Desert of the Heart, born in Plainfield, New Jersey, USA.
Mar/02/1931:	Tom Wolfe, journalist and novelist, born Richmond, Virginia, USA.
Mar/27/1931:	Arnold Bennett, writer best known for the Clayhanger novels, died in England, at the age of 63.
May/02/1931:	Martha Grimes, detective novelist, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Jul/10/1931:	Julian May, scifi writer and author of the Saga of the Pliocene Exile series, born in Chicago, USA.
Sep/22/1931:	Birth of Fay Weldon, novelist, in Alvechurch, Worcestershire, England.
Oct/19/1931:	David Cornwell, aka John le Carré, writer of espionage novels, born in Poole, Dorset, England.
Nov/28/1931:	Birth of Dervla Murphy, travel writer, in Lismore, Ireland.
Jan/05/1932:	Umberto Eco, novelist best known for The Name of the Rose, born in Alessandria, Italy.
Mar/18/1932:	Birth of John Updike, writer and novelist probably best known for the Rabbit series, in Shillington, Pennsylvania, USA.
Jul/06/1932:	Kenneth Graham, author of The Wind in the Willows, died in Pangbourne, Berkshire, England.
Aug/17/1932:	V. S. Naipaul, novelist and travel writer, born in Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago.
Sep/07/1932:	Malcolm Bradbury, novelist probably best known for The History Man, born in Sheffield, England.
Sep/17/1932:	Robert B. Parker, best known for crime novels featuring Spenser, born in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.
Dec/10/1932:	John Galsworthy, English author of the Forsyte Saga series of novels, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Jan/31/1933:	Death of John Galsworthy, author of the Forsyte Saga series of novels, in Hampstead, England, at the age of 65.
Sep/21/1934:	Leonard Cohen, poet and singer-songwriter, born in Westmount, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Feb/10/1935:	Julian Rathbone, novelist, born Blackheath, London, England.
Apr/27/1935:	Rosemary Hawley Jarman, historical novelist, born in Worcester, England.
Sep/29/1935:	Winifred Holtby, writer best known for the novel South Riding, died in London, England, at the age of 37.
Jan/10/1936:	Stephen E. Ambrose, historian and writer, born in Decatur, Illinois, USA.
Mar/22/1936:	Edith Grossman born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She is a translator of Spanish-language novels probably best known for her translation of Don Quixote.
Mar/28/1936:	Mario Vargas Llosa, novelist and essayist, born in Arequipa, Peru.
Apr/30/1936:	A. E. Housman, poet, died in Cambridge, England, at the age of 77.
Aug/24/1936:	Novelist A. S. Byatt born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.
Mar/08/1937:	Publication of George Orwell's examination of social conditions in the north of England, The Road to Wigan Pier.
Jun/08/1937:	Gillian Clarke, poet, born in Cardiff, Wales.
Jun/18/1937:	Gail Godwin, novelist, born in Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
Sep/21/1937:	Publication of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, published by George Allen and Unwin in London, England.
Dec/17/1937:	John Kennedy Toole, author of the comic novel A Confederacy of Dunces, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Dec/19/1937:	J.R.R. Tolkien writes to his publishers, Allen and Unwin, and mentions that he has begun writing a 'new story about Hobbits', the tale that would eventually turn into 'The Lord of the Rings'.
Apr/15/1938:	David Helwig, poet and novelist, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
May/25/1938:	Margaret Forster, novelist, born in Carlisle, England, UK.
Aug/25/1938:	Frederick Forsyth, writer of thrillers, born in Ashford, Kent, England. Forsyth is best known to Canadians as the author of the short story, The Shepherd, which is broadcast every Christmas Eve on the CBC Radio program As It Happens.
Oct/03/1938:	Jack Hodgins, novelist, born in the Comox Valley, British Columbia, Canada.
Dec/10/1938:	Pearl S. Buck, novelist whose stories are often located in China, best known for The Good Earth, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Jan/28/1939:	W. B. Yeats, poet, died in Menton, France, at the age of 73.
Apr/14/1939:	Publication of The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck in USA.
Jun/05/1939:	Margaret Drabble, novelist, born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.
Sep/06/1939:	Death of Arthur Rackham, artist and book illustrator, near Limpsfield, Surrey, England, at the age of 71.
Nov/18/1939:	Birth of Margaret Atwood, poet and novelist, in Ottawa, Ontario.
Feb/29/1940:	E. F. Benson, prolific writer probably best known for the Mapp and Lucia series of humorously satirical novels, died in London, England, at the age of 72.
May/13/1940:	Bruce Chatwin, novelist and travel writer, born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.
Nov/17/1940:	Death of Eric Gill, typeface designer, in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England, at the age of 58.
Dec/21/1940:	Death of F. Scott Fitzgerald, writer probably best known for The Great Gatsby, in Hollywood, California, USA, at the age of 44.
Feb/19/1941:	Stephen Dobyns, best known as the writer of the 'Saratoga' series of detective novels, born in Orange, New Jersey, USA.
Mar/26/1941:	Richard Dawkins, evolutionary biologist and writer, born in Nairobi, Kenya.
Apr/10/1941:	Birth of Paul Theroux, novelist and travel writer, in Medford, Massachusetts, USA.
Jun/01/1941:	Death of Hugh Walpole, author of the Herries chronicles, at Brackenburn, Manesty Park, Derwentwater, Cumberland, at the age of 57.
Jun/10/1941:	Philip Caputo, novelist and journalist, born in Westchester, Illinois, USA.
Sep/10/1941:	Stephen Jay Gould, palaeontologist, biologist, an essayist, born in New York.
Sep/22/1942:	Gail Bowen, writer of mystery novels, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Sep/29/1942:	Birth of Donna Leon, mystery writer best known for novels set in Venice featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti.
Sep/12/1943:	Michael Ondaatje, novelist, born in Sri Lanka.
May/12/1944:	William Horwood, novelist best known for the Duncton series, born in Oxford, England.
Sep/28/1944:	Birth of Simon Winchester, non-fiction writer.
Jan/06/1945:	Barry Lopez, essayist, nature writer, and fiction writer, born in USA.
Aug/17/1945:	Publication of George Orwell's Animal Farm.
Jan/19/1946:	Julian Barnes, novelist, born in Leicester, England.
Aug/13/1946:	H. G. Wells, novelist and writer, died in London, England, at the age of 79.
Dec/10/1946:	Hermann Hesse, novelist, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Dec/17/1946:	Death of Constance Garnett, translator best known for her work on 19th century Russian novels, at her home near Edenbridge, southern England, at the age of 84.
Mar/21/1947:	Birth of Michael Dibdin in Wolverhampton, England. Dibdin is best known as the author of crime novels set in Italy and featuring Aurelio Zen.
Jan/16/1947:	Magdalen Nabb, writer of crime novels featuring Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia, born in Church, near Blackburn, Lancashire, England.
May/13/1947:	Stephen R. Donaldson, writer of fantasy novels, especially 'The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever' series, born in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Sep/26/1947:	Hugh Lofting, writer and creator of Doctor Doolittle, died in Topanga, California, USA, at the age of 61.
Feb/03/1948:	Birth of Henning Mankell, writer of crime novels featuring Detective Kurt Wallander, in Stockholm, Sweden.
Mar/17/1948:	Birth of William Gibson, author of cyberpunk novels, in Conway, South Carolina, USA.
Jun/21/1948:	Ian McEwan, novelist, born in Aldershot, Hampshire, England.
Jul/04/1948:	Katherine Govier, novelist, born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Dec/10/1948:	T. S. Eliot, literary critic and poet, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Feb/26/1949:	Birth of Elizabeth George, author of complex crime novels, in Warren, Ohio, USA.
May/04/1949:	Birth of Graham Swift, novelist, in London, England.
Jun/08/1949:	Publication of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Jun/10/1949:	Sigrid Undset, author of historical novels, died in Lillehammer, Norway, at the age of 67.
Oct/05/1949:	Peter Ackroyd, novelist, born in London, England.
Jan/21/1950:	Eric Blair, better known as George Orwell, novelist and essayist, died in London, England, at the age of 46.
Feb/07/1950:	D. K. Broster, historical novelist, died in Bexhill, London, England, at the age of 72.
Oct/27/1950:	A. N. Wilson, novelist and literary biographer, born in England.
Apr/05/1951:	Guy Vanderhaeghe, novelist, born in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Aug/20/1951:	Greg Bear, scifi novelist, born in San Diego, California, England.
Oct/31/1951:	UK release of the movie Scrooge, retitled A Christmas Carol for its US release, an adaptation of the short novel by Charles Dickens. The movie featured Alistair Sim in the title role.
Mar/01/1952:	Nevada Barr, writer of mystery novels featuring Anna Pigeon, born in Yerington, Nevada, USA.
Mar/11/1952:	Douglas Adams, writer of the 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' series, born in Cambridge, England.
Mar/23/1952:	Birth of Kim Stanley Robinson, science fiction writer, in Waukegan, Illinois, USA.
Jun/20/1952:	Vikram Seth, novelist, born in Calcutta, India.
Jul/03/1952:	Birth of Rohinton Mistry, novelist, in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India.
Aug/09/1952:	Jeffery Farnol, writer of Regency romance novels and swashbucklers, died in England, at the age of 74.
Jul/22/1953:	Author Paul Quarrington born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Nov/09/1953:	Dylan Thomas, poet, died in Manhattan, USA, at the age of 39.
Mar/28/1954:	Death of Francis Brett Young, novelist, in Cape Town, South Africa.
Jul/06/1954:	Louise Erdrich, novelist, born in Little Falls, Minnesota, USA.
Jul/21/1954:	Publication of The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien, the first volume in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Aug/03/1954:	Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, writer better known under the pen name Colette, died in Paris, France, at the age of 82.
Sep/17/1954:	Publication of Lord of the Flies, a novel by William Golding.
Nov/07/1954:	Guy Gavriel Kay, writer of fantasy and alternative fiction, born in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Nov/11/1954:	Publication of The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien, the second volume in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Aug/02/1955:	Caleb Carr, novelist specializing in stories set in the Victorian era, born in New York, USA.
Aug/12/1955:	Thomas Mann, novelist perhaps best known for Death in Venice, died in Zürich, Switzerland, at the age of 80.
Oct/20/1955:	Publication of The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien, the third volume in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Jan/31/1956:	A. A. Milne, writer and creator of Winnie the Pooh, died at the age of 74.
May/14/1956:	Gillian Bradshaw, writer of historical novels and alternate history novels, born in Arlington County, Virgina, USA.
Jun/09/1956:	Patricia Cornwell, author of crime novels, born in Miami, Florida, USA.
Jun/03/1957:	Death of Arthur Ransome, author, best known for children's fiction, especially the Swallows and Amazons series, in Cheadle, Manchester, England, at the age of 83.
Jun/26/1957:	Malcolm Lowry, novelist best known for Under the Volcano, died in Ripe, East Sussex, England, at the age of 47.
Oct/26/1957:	Nikos Kazantzakis, writer best known for the novel Zorba the Greek, died in Freiburg, Germany, at the age of 74.
Nov/13/1957:	Stephen Baxter, sci-fi author, born in Liverpool, England.
Dec/10/1957:	Albert Camus, novelist probably best known for The Plague, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Dec/17/1957:	Death of Dorothy L. Sayers, best known for mystery novels featuring Lord Peter Wimsey, in Witham, Essex, England, at the age of 64.
Jan/19/1958:	Death of Robert Gibbings in Oxford, England, at the age of 68. He was a sculptor and artist especially known for his wood engraving illustrations of books and was the sometime owner of the Golden Cockerel Press.
Dec/10/1958:	Swedish Academy conferred the Nobel Prize in Literature on Boris Pasternak, best known as the author of Doctor Zhivago, even though he had officially refused the honour and was not able to travel to Stockholm for the ceremony.
Oct/31/1959:	Neal Stephenson, writer of lengthy alternate fiction novels, born in Fort Meade, Maryland, USA.
Jan/04/1960:	Albert Camus, novelist probably best known for The Plague, killed in a car crash in the town of Villeblevin, France, at the age of 46.
Jan/12/1960:	Nevil Shute Norway, who wrote novels under the name Nevil Shute, died in Melbourne, Australia, at the age of 60.
Apr/28/1960:	Ian Rankin, writer best known for the Inspector Rebus series of crime novels, born in Cardenden, Fife, Scotland.
Apr/29/1960:	Robert J. Sawyer, scifi writer, born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
May/30/1960:	Death of Boris Pasternak, best known as the author of Doctor Zhivago, in Peredelkino, Russia, at the age of 70.
Sep/30/1960:	Nicola Griffith, scifi writer, born in Yorkshire, England.
Nov/24/1960:	Matthew Kneale, author of English Passengers, born in England.
Aug/09/1962:	Hermann Hesse, novelist, died in Montagnola, Switzerland, at the age of 85.
Sep/07/1962:	Karen Blixen, aka Isak Dinesen, best known as the author of the memoir Out of Africa, died at Rungstedlund, in Denmark, at the age of 77.
Dec/10/1962:	John Steinbeck, US writer, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Feb/25/1963:	Thomas Wharton, novelist, born in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada.
Jun/17/1963:	Death of John Cowper Powys, novelist, in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales, at the age of 90.
Nov/22/1963:	C. S. Lewis, author of the Narnia series of children's books, died in Oxford, England, at the age of 64.
Jan/17/1964:	T. H. White, best known as the author of The Once and Future King, died aboard ship near Greece, at the age of 57.
Feb/13/1964:	Death of Arthur W. Upfield, author of detective novels set in the Australian outback, in Bowral, New South Wales, Australia, at the age of 73.
Apr/14/1964:	Rachel Carson, ecologist and writer of Silent Spring, died in USA, at the age of 56.
Jan/04/1965:	T. S. Eliot, literary critic and poet, died in London, England, at the age of 76.
May/03/1965:	Death of Howard Spring, novelist probably best known for Fame is the Spur, in Falmouth, Cornwall, England, at the age of 76.
Jun/05/1965:	Eleanor Farjeon, children's author, died in Hampstead, London, England, at the age of 74.
Jul/31/1965:	J. K. Rowling, children's author, born in Yate, Gloucester, England.
Dec/10/1965:	Mikhail Sholokov, author of And Quiet Flows the Don, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Dec/16/1965:	W. Somerset Maugham died at Cap Ferrat, France, at the age of 91. Maugham was a travel writer and novelist but is best known for his short stories about British expatriates living in the Far East.
Apr/02/1966:	C. S. Forester, writer best known for the Hornblower novels, died in Berkeley, California, USA, at the age of 66.
Apr/10/1966:	Evelyn Waugh, writer and novelist, died in Combe Florey, Somerset, England, at the age of 62.
Jun/10/1966:	Death of Henry Treece, best known as a writer of historical novels for children, in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England.
Sep/24/1967:	Robert van Gulik, best known as the author of the Judge Dee mysteries, died in The Hague, The Netherlands, at the age of 57.
Dec/10/1967:	Miguel Angel Asturias, writer perhaps best known for the novel The Green Pope, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Nov/17/1968:	Death of Mervyn Peake, writer of the Gormenghast series of surreal novels, in England.
Dec/28/1968:	John Steinbeck, novelist probably best known for The Grapes of Wrath, died in New York, USA, at the age of 66.
Mar/11/1969:	Death of John Wyndham, scifi writer, in Petersfield, Hampshire, England, at the age of 65.
Mar/26/1969:	John Kennedy Toole, author of the comic novel A Confederacy of Dunces, died in USA at the age of 31.
Sep/07/1969:	Death of Gavin Maxwell, naturalist, travel writer, and author of Ring of Bright Water, in Scotland, at the age of 55.
Jun/07/1970:	E. M. Forster, novelist, died in Coventry, England, at the age of 91.
Dec/10/1970:	Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian historian and writer, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden. Solzhenitsyn was not able to be present at the ceremony to receive the award in person.
Aug/09/1971:	Peter Fleming, travel writer best known for News from Tartary, died in Nettlebed, Oxfordshire, England, at the age of 64.
Jun/24/1972:	R. F. Delderfield, novelist best known for family sagas set in the west country, died in Sidmouth, Devon, England, at the age of 60.
Mar/06/1973:	Pearl S. Buck, novelist whose stories are often located in China, best known for The Good Earth, died in Danby, Vermont, USA, at the age of 81.
Sep/02/1973:	J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, died in Bournemouth, England, at the age of 81.
Dec/10/1973:	Patrick White, Australian novelist, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Jan/29/1974:	H. E. Bates, writer and novelist, died in Little Chart, Kent, England, at the age of 69.
Feb/13/1974:	Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, historian and writer, is deported from Russia (then the Soviet Union) and sent to Germany (then the Federal Republic of Germany or West Germany), and his Russian citizenship revoked.
Jun/09/1974:	Miguel Angel Asturias, writer perhaps best known for the novel The Green Pope, died in Madrid, Spain, at the age of 75.
Jul/04/1974:	Georgette Heyer, writer best known for Regency romance novels, died in London, England, at the age of 71.
Feb/14/1975:	P. G. Wodehouse, prolific writer of comic novels and creator of Jeeves, died in Remsenburg, Long Island, USA, at the age of 93.
Mar/24/1976:	Death of E. H. Shepard in England at the age of 96. Shepard was an artist and illustrator, who created drawings for the Winnie the Pooh books and The Wind in the Willows.
Sep/30/1976:	Publication of The Shepherd, a short story by Frederick Forsyth, that is broadcast every Christmas Eve on CBC Radio's As It Happens.
Dec/10/1976:	Saul Bellow, American novelist, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Jul/02/1977:	Vladimir Nabokov, novelist, died in Montreux, Switzerland, at the age of 77.
Aug/13/1977:	Henry Williamson, novelist and nature writer, author of Tarka the Otter, died in England, at the age of 81.
Mar/01/1978:	Paul Scott, novelist best known for the 'Raj Quartet' and other books set in India, died in London, England, at the age of 57.
May/01/1978:	Sylvia Townsend Warner, novelist, died in Frome Vauchurch, Dorset, England, at the age of 84.
Feb/07/1979:	C. E. Tunnicliffe, naturalist and artist, died in Malltraeth, Angelsey, Wales, at the age of 77. Tunnicliffe is perhaps best known as the illustrator of Tarka the Otter.
Aug/26/1979:	Mika Waltari, writer of historical novels, died in Finland at the age of 70.
Jan/11/1980:	Barbara Pym, novelist, died in Finstock, Oxfordshire, England, at the age of 66.
Apr/24/1980:	Alejo Carpentier, Cuban writer and novelist, died in Paris, France, at the age of 76.
Jul/01/1980:	C. P. Snow, scientist and novelist best known for the 'Strangers and Brothers' sequence, died in London, England, at the age of 74.
Jul/23/1980:	Death of Olivia Manning, best known as the author of the Balkan Trilogy, in Ryde, Isle of Wight, England, at the age of 72.
Mar/16/1981:	Publication date for The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, by G. B. Edwards.
Dec/10/1982:	Gabriel García Mârquez, best known as the writer of One Hundred Years of Solitude, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Mar/15/1983:	Rebecca West, writer probably best known for Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, died at the age of 90.
Sep/10/1983:	Norah Lofts, writer of historical novels, died in England, at the age of 79.
Dec/10/1983:	William Golding, best known as the author of Lord of the Flies, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Dec/13/1983:	Mary Renault, writer of historical novels, died in South Africa, at the age of 78.
Feb/21/1984:	Mikhail Sholokov, author of And Quiet Flows the Don, died at the age of 78.
Apr/01/1984:	Elizabeth Goudge, novelist, died in Peppard Common, Oxfordshire, England, at the age of 83.
May/19/1984:	John Betjeman, poet, died in Trebetherick, Cornwall, England, at the age of 77.
Aug/14/1984:	J. B. Priestley, novelist perhaps best known for The Good Companions, died in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, at the age of 89.
Sep/13/1984:	Publication date for Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard, an account of a young boy in Shanghai, China, in World War II, just before it was over-run by the Japanese. Ballard drew on his own childhood experiences for the novel.
Sep/19/1985:	Italo Calvino, novelist, died in Siena, Italy, at the age of 61.
Dec/07/1985:	Robert Graves, novelist and essayist, died in Deya, Majorca, at the age of 90.
Feb/11/1986:	Frank Herbert, author of the Dune series of scifi novels, died in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, at the age of 65.
Jan/05/1987:	Death of Margaret Laurence, novelist, in Lakefield, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 60.
Mar/19/1987:	Publication date of Knots and Crosses, the first Inspector Rebus novel by Ian Rankin.
Apr/05/1988:	Publication of Michael Dibdin's novel Ratking, the first Aurelio Zen mystery.
Dec/13/1988:	Mollie Hardwick, mystery writer, died at the age of 88.
Jan/18/1989:	Bruce Chatwin, novelist and travel writer, died in the south of France, at the age of 48.
Mar/14/1989:	Edward Abbey, best known as the writer of Desert Solitaire, died near Oracle, Arizona, USA, at the age of 62.
Apr/19/1989:	Death of Daphne du Maurier, best known as the author of Rebecca, in Cornwall, England, at the age of 81.
Aug/26/1989:	Irving Stone, best known as the author of long biographical novels, died at the age of 86.
Jun/04/1990:	Publication of Michael Dibdin's novel 'Vendetta', the second Aurelio Zen mystery.
Sep/30/1990:	Death of Patrick White, novelist, in Australia, at the age of 78.
Nov/07/1990:	Lawrence Durrell, novelist best known for 'The Alexandria Quartet', died in Sommières, France, at the age of 78.
Nov/08/1990:	Anya Seton, historical novelist, died in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, USA, at the age of 86.
Jan/20/1991:	A. W. Wainwright, fellwalker, writer, and artist, died in Kendal, England, at the age of 84.
Apr/03/1991:	Graham Greene, novelist, died in Vevey, Switzerland, at the age of 86.
Jan/11/1992:	W. G. Hoskins, historian and writer of The Making of the English Landscape, died in England, at the age of 83.
Feb/27/1992:	Publication date of the historical novel Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth.
Apr/06/1992:	Isaac Asimov, scifi author, died in New York, USA, at the age of 72.
May/26/1992:	Publication of Michael Dibdin's novel Cabal, the third Aurelio Zen mystery.
Jul/23/1992:	Mary Sutcliff, historical novelist, died in Arundel, Sussex, England, at the age of 71.
Dec/23/1992:	Publication of Nicola Griffith's scifi novel Ammonite.
Dec/25/1992:	Monica Dickens, novelist, died in Reading, England, at the age of 77.
Jan/01/1993:	Publication of Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.
Jan/08/1993:	Eleanor Hibbert, who wrote historical novels under the pen name of Jean Plaidy, and also wrote under the names Victoria Holt and Philippa Carr, died in England at the age of 86.
Apr/13/1993:	Wallace Stegner, environmentalist and novelist, writer of the memoir Wolf Willow, died in Sante Fe, New Mexico, USA, at the age of 84.
Jun/19/1993:	William Golding, best known as the author of Lord of the Flies, died in Cornwall, England, at the age of 81.
Nov/22/1993:	Anthony Burgess, literary critic and novelist, died in London, England, at the age of 76.
Dec/03/1993:	Death of Lewis Thomas, physician and essayist, in USA, at the age of 80.
Mar/01/1994:	Publication of A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, one of the longest novels in the English language.
Mar/01/1994:	Publication of Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.
Apr/18/1994:	Publication of Michael Dibdin's novel Dead Lagoon, the fourth Aurelio Zen mystery.
Sep/07/1994:	James Clavell, author best known for the Asian Saga, died in Switzerland at the age of 69.
Jan/30/1995:	Gerald Durrell, naturalist, conservationist, and writer, died at the age of 70.
Jul/16/1995:	Death of May Sarton, poet and novelist, in USA, at the age of 83.
Oct/14/1995:	Edith Pargeter, aka Ellis Peters, best known as the author of the Brother Cadfael mysteries, died in Madeley, Shropshire, England, at the age of 82.
Dec/02/1995:	Robertson Davies, novelist and journalist, died in Orangeville, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 82.
Jan/09/1996:	Death of Walter M. Miller Jr, author of A Canticle for Leibowicz, at the age of 72.
Jan/16/1996:	Kaye Webb, editor for Puffin Books, died in Little Venice, London, England, at the age of 81.
Jun/01/1996:	Publication of Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.
Sep/29/1996:	Shasaku Endo, novelist, died at the age of 73.
Dec/16/1996:	Laurens van der Post, journalist, conservationist, and writer, died in London, England, at the age of 90.
Jan/01/1997:	Publication of Michael Dibdin's novel Cosi Fan Tutti, the fifth Aurelio Zen mystery.
Mar/27/1997:	Death of V. S. Pritchett, novelist, in London, England, at the age of 96.
Apr/25/1997:	Death of Dudley Pope, writer of nautical fiction, especially the Ramage series, at the age of 71.
Jun/30/1997:	Publication of J. K. Rowling's book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first volume in the series.
Jul/02/1998:	Publication of J. K. Rowling's book Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second volume in the series.
Aug/03/1998:	Publication of Stephen Baxter's scifi novel Moonseed.
Oct/28/1998:	Ted Hughes, poet, died in Devon, England, at the age of 68.
Dec/01/1998:	Publication of Michael Dibdin's novel A Long Finish, the sixth Aurelio Zen mystery.
Feb/08/1999:	Death of Iris Murdoch, novelist, in Oxford, England, at the age of 79.
Jul/08/1999:	Publication of J. K. Rowling's book Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the third volume in the series.
Sep/01/1999:	Publication of The Martians by Kim Stanley Robinson.
Sep/20/1999:	Publication of Michael Dibdin's novel Blood Rain, the seventh Aurelio Zen mystery.
Dec/10/1999:	Günther Grass, novelist probably best known for The Tin Drum, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Mar/28/2000:	Death of Anthony Powell, novelist best known for 'A Dance to the Music of Time' series, in England, at the age of 94.
Apr/28/2000:	Penelope Fitzgerald, novelist, died in England, at the age of 83.
Jul/08/2000:	Publication of J. K. Rowling's book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth volume in the series.
Sep/25/2000:	R. S. Thomas, poet, died in Wales, at the age of 87.
Nov/27/2000:	Malcolm Bradbury, novelist probably best known for The History Man, died in England, at the age of 68.
Jan/04/2001:	Publication of The Constant Gardener, a novel by John le Carré.
Jan/18/2001:	Gavin Young, journalist and travel writer, died in London, England, at the age of 72.
May/11/2001:	Douglas Adams, writer of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, died in Montecito, California, USA, at the age of 49.
May/13/2001:	R. K. Narayan, novelist whose stories were often set in the fictional south Indian town of Malgudi, died at the age of 94.
Aug/06/2001:	Jorge Amado, novelist, died in Bahia, Brazil, at the age of 88.
Nov/09/2001:	Death of Dorothy Dunnett, historical novelist, in Scotland, at the age of 78.
Dec/10/2001:	V. S. Naipaul, novelist and travel writer, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Apr/01/2002:	Publication of Michael Dibdin's novel And Then You Die, the eighth Aurelio Zen mystery.
May/20/2002:	Stephen J. Gould, palaeontologist, biologist, and essayist, dies at the age of 60.
Jun/21/2002:	Timothy Findley, novelist, died in the small town of Brignoles, France, at the age of 71.
Oct/13/2002:	Stephen E. Ambrose, historian and writer, died in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, USA, at the age of 66.
Nov/15/2002:	W. J. Burley, crime writer best known for the 'Wycliffe' series, died in Holywell, Cornwall, England, at the age of 88.
Dec/30/2002:	Death of Mary Wesley, novelist, in Totnes, Devon, England, at the age of 90.
Apr/01/2003:	Publication of Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 by Simon Winchester.
Jun/21/2003:	Publication of J. K. Rowling's book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth volume in the series.
Jul/20/2003:	Nicholas Freeling, writer of mystery novels notably those featuring Inspector Van Der Valk, died in Strasbourg, France, at the age of 76.
Aug/07/2003:	Publication of Michael Dibdin's novel Medusa, the ninth Aurelio Zen mystery.
Sep/23/2003:	Publication of Quicksilver, first volume of The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson.
Jan/29/2004:	M. M. Kaye, best known as the author of romantic historical novels set in India, including The Far Pavilions, died in Lavenham, Suffolk, England, at the age of 95.
Sep/21/2004:	Publication of The System of the World, third volume of The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson.
Nov/30/2004:	Pierre Berton, journalist and writer of popular books on Canadian history, died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 84.
Apr/05/2005:	Saul Bellow, novelist, died in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA, at the age of 89.
Jul/16/2005:	Publication of J. K. Rowling's book Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, the sixth volume in the series.
Aug/04/2005:	Publication of Michael Dibdin's novel Back to Bologna, the tenth Aurelio Zen mystery.
Nov/05/2005:	John Fowles, novelist probably best known as the author of The French Lieutenant's Woman, died in Lyme Regis, Dorset, England, at the age of 79.
Apr/13/2006:	Death of Muriel Spark, novelist best known for The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, in Italy, at the age of 88.
Aug/30/2006:	Death of Naguib Mahfouz, novelist, in Cairo, Egypt, at the age of 94.
Oct/20/2006:	Eric Newby, travel writer, died in Guilford, Surrey, England, at the age of 86.
Mar/30/2007:	Michael Dibdin, author of a series of detective novels featuring Aurelio Zen, died in USA, at the age of 60.
Apr/11/2007:	Kurt Vonnegut, novelist, died in New York, USA, at the age of 84.
Apr/17/2007:	Publication of The Children of Hurin, by J.R.R. Tolkien, as compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien.
Jul/21/2007:	Publication of J. K. Rowling's book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final volume in the series.
Jul/25/2007:	Posthumous publication of Michael Dibdin's novel End Games, the eleventh Aurelio Zen mystery.
Aug/18/2007:	Magdalen Nabb, writer of crime novels featuring Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia, died in Florence, Italy, at the age of 60.
Nov/10/2007:	Norman Mailer, novelist and writer, died in New York, USA, at the age of 84.
Nov/27/2007:	Jane Rule, novelist best known for Desert of the Heart, died on Galiano Island, British Columbia, Canada, at the age of 76.
Dec/10/2007:	Doris Lessing, novelist, presented with the Nobel Prize in Literature at a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden.
Mar/18/2008:	Arthur C. Clarke, scifi author best known for 2001: A Space Odyssey, died in Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the age of 90.
Aug/03/2008:	Alexander Solzhenitsyn, novelist and writer, died at his home near Moscow, Russia, at the age of 89.
Sep/09/2008:	Publication of Neal Stephenson's novel Anathem.
Oct/26/2008:	Tony Hillerman, writer best known for mystery novels set in Navajo country, died in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the age of 83.
Jan/16/2009:	John Mortimer, writer and creator of Horace Rumpole, died in London, England, at the age of 85.
Jan/27/2009:	John Updike, writer and novelist probably best known for the Rabbit series, died in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts, USA, at the age of 76.
Apr/19/2009:	Death of J. G. Ballard, sci-fi writer, in London, England, at the age of 78.
Jan/18/2010:	Robert B. Parker, best known for crime novels featuring Spenser, died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, at the age of 77.
Jan/21/2010:	Author Paul Quarrington died in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 56.
Feb/14/2010:	Dick Francis, writer of crime novels, died in Grand Cayman at the age of 89.

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This is a purely idiosyncratic list. It includes information, factoids really, about writers, essayists, and poets whose work I have, mostly, enjoyed through the years.