April 2

Born:

1725 - Giacomo Casanova
Italian adventurer and author whose Histoire de ma vie (Story of my Life) was written while he was a Bohemian librarian.

1805 - Hans Christian Anderson
Danish author and poet; best known for his fairy tales.

1840 - Émile Zola
French novelist and playwright; member of the naturalist school.

1920 - William W. Warner
American biologist and writer; winner of the 1977 Pulitzer Prize fro Non-fiction for Beautiful Swimmers.

1925 - George MacDonald Fraser
English-born Scottish author most well known for his Flashman series of historical novels.

1945 - Anne Waldman
American poet long connected with the Beat group.

1947 - Camille Paglia
American author, social critic and "dissident feminist."

1948 - Daniel Okrent
American writer and editor, inventor of Rotisserie League Baseball.

1948 - Joan D. Vinge
American science fiction author who won the 1981 Hugo Award for her novel The Snow Queen.

1962 - Mark Shulman
American author of books for children and young adults.




Died:
1914 - Paul Heyse
1966 - C.S. Forester
1995 - Harvey Penick