April 23

Born:

1564 - William Shakespeare
Shakespeare's birth date isn't actually known (although it's commonly celebrated on April 23rd), but he was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26th.

1895 - Ngaio Marsh
New Zealand crime writer and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

1902 - Halldór Laxness
Icelandic writer, the only from that country to have received the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vivid epic power which has renewed the great narrative art of Iceland."

1923 - Avram Davidson
American writer of fantasy, science fiction and mystery.

1926 - J.P. Donleavy
Irish American novelist and playwright.

1948 - Charles R. Johnson
American author, winner of the National Book Award in 2000 for Middle Passage.

1948 - Pascal Quignard
French author, winner of the 2002 Prix Goncourt for his novel Les Ombres errantes.









1954 - Michael Moore
American filmmaker, author and social commentator.

1969 - Arthur Phillips
Jewish American novelist and five-time Jeopardy champion.




Died:
1616 - William Shakespeare
1850 - William Wordsworth
1915 - Robert Brooke
1941 - Charles Edward Russell
1965 - George Adamski
1996 - P.L. Travers
2007 - Paul Erdman
2007 - David Halberstam