August 7

Born:

1903 - Louis Leakey
British archaeologist who helped establish the theories of early human evolution occurring in Africa. He wrote prolifically on his work.

1928 - James Randi
Canadian-American stage magician and skeptic, whose works like An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural debunk pseudoscience and paranormal subjects.

1928 - Betsy Byars
American author of children's fiction, whose book Summer of the Swans won the Newbery Medal in 1971. Also won a National Book Award for Children's fiction and an Edgar award.

 1933 - Jerry Pournelle
American science fiction writer who also writes in the technology and computer field.  Most well known for his collaborations with Larry Niven, like The Mote in God's Eye and Lucifer's Hammer.

1942 - Garrison Keillor
American author and radio personality, best known for his long-running show A Prairie Home Companion. Writes both fiction and poetry, much of which is situated around the fictional Minnesota town of Lake Wobegon.

1953 - Anne Fadiman
American author whose book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1997.

1955 - Vladimir Sorokin
Russian poet and dramatist, apparently "one of the most popular in modern Russian Literature." Guess I'm a little behind on my modern Russian lit...




Died:
1941 - Rabinidrath Tagore
1958 - Elizabeth Foreman Lewis

2022 - David McCullough