- 1578 - George Sandys, English poet born
- 1800 - Evgeny Baratynsky, Russian poet born
- 1820 - Multatuli, Dutch writer born
- 1859 - Sholom Aleichem, Russian novelist born
- 1904 - Theodor Seuss Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, American writer and cartoonist born
- 1930 - D.H.Lawrence, English novelist died
- 1931 - Tom Wolfe, American author born
- 1942 - John Irving, American author born
- 1962 - Morioka Hiroyuki, Japanese writer born