February 23

Born:

1868 - W.E.B. duBois
American civil rights activist and author whose best known work is The Souls of Black Folk.




1877 - Frederic L. Paxson
American historian, winner of the 1925 Pulitzer Prize in History.

1882? - B. Traven
Possible birthdate of the enigmatic author of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

1899 - Erich Kästner
German writer best known for his satiric poetry and children's literature.

1904 - William M. Shirer
American journalist and historian, most well known for The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, a National Book Award winner.

1944 - John Sandford
Pen name of John Roswell Camp. Best known for his Prey series, he was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist before he started writing fiction.

1944 - Bernard Cornwell
British author of historical novels, particularly his series revolving around Richard Sharpe.

1953 - Walter Wick
American photographer known for the intricate photographs in his I Spy series of books.




Died:
1821 - John Keats
1958 - Leonard D. White
1984 - Jessamyn West
1995 - James Herriot