May 22

Born:

1859 - Arthur Conan Doyle
Scottish physician and writer, most well known for his Sherlock Holmes mysteries.

1907 - Hergé
Pen name of Belgian comic book artist Georges Prosper Remi, creator of The Adventures of Tintin series.

1914 - Vance Packard
American journalist and author who wrote a popular series exploring topics of sociology.

1933 - Arnold Lobel
American children s author known for the Frog and Toad books.

1934 - Gary Willis
american author, journalist and historian whose book Lincoln at Gettysburg won the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-fiction.




Died:
1885 - Victor Hugo
1967 - Langston Hughes
1972 - Cecil Day-Lewis
2008 - Robert Asprin
2010 - Martin Gardner

May 21

Born:

1688 - Alexander Pope
English poet best known for his use of satirical verse.

1916 - Harold Robbins
American author of popular novels; some known for their graphic sexuality.

1944 - Janet Dailey
American author of romance novels, with many different series.

1948 - Elizabeth Buchan
British writer of both fiction and non-fiction.



Died:
1926 - Ronald Firbank
2000 - Barbara Cartland

May 20

Born:

1799 - Honore de Balzac
French novelist and playwright, one of the founders of European realism.

1830 - Hector Malot
French novelist now best known for his 1878 work Sans Famille (Nobody's Boy.)

1882 - Sigrid Undset
Norwegian novelist and author of Kristen Lavransdattar; winner of the 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature "principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages"

1949 - Mary Pope Osborne
American children's book author known for her Magic Tree House series.

1956 - Douglas Preston
American author of thriller novels; often with collaborator Lincoln Child.




Died:
1956 - Max Beerbohm
2002 - Stephen Jay Gould

May 19

Born:

1932 - Paul Erdman
American author of novels based on the business and financial world.

1934 - Ruskin Bond
Indian writer of British descent who wrote for both a children's and adult audience.

1941 - Nora Ephron
American writer of romantic comedy screenplays and collections of personal essays.

1966 - Picoult Jodi
American author, some of whose works have been made into films or TV movies.




Died:
1795 - James Boswell
1864 - Nathaniel Hawthorne
1935 - T.E. Lawrence
1946 - Booth Tarkington
1971 - Ogden Nash
1987 - James, Jr. Tiptree

May 18

Born:

1048 - Omar Khayyám
Persian polymath and poet; known in literature for his collection of poetry that translator Edward FitzGerald titled the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám.

1872 - Bertrand Russell
British philosopher and social critic; winner of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature "in recognition of his varied and significant writings in which he champions humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought"

1907 - Irene Hunt
American children's author whose book Up a Road Slowly won the 1967 Newbery Medal.

1925 - Lillian Hoban
American children's writer and illustrator

1930 - Fred Saberhagen
American science fiction and fantasy author best known for his Berserker series.

1952 - Diane Duane
American science fiction and fantasy author who writes in the Star Trek universe, as well as her own settings.




Died:
1909 - George Meredith
1981 - William Saroyan

May 17

Born:

1939 - Gary Paulsen
American author of young adult coming-of-age novels, particularly known for the Brian's Saga series.

1946 - F. Paul Wilson
American author of science fiction and horror; creator of the Repairman Jack character.




Died:
2007 - Lloyd Alexander

May 16

Born:

1884 - Eric P. Kelly
American author whose book The Trumpeter of Krakow won the 1929 Newbery Medal.

1890 - Gertrude Chandler Warner
American author of children's books; known as the first author of the Boxcar Children series.

1906 - Margret Rey
German-American co-author (with her husband H.A. Rey) of the Curious George books.

1912 - Studs Terkel
American author and historian; winner of the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction.

1929 - Adrienne Rich
American feminist poet, Guggenheim scholar and National Book Award winner.

1950 - Bruce Coville
American author of children's and young adult novels.



Died:
1955 - James Agee
1984 - Irwin Shaw