May 12

Born:

1812 - Edward Lear
English author and illustrator, now remembered best for his children's works and his poetry.

1907 - Leslie Charteris
Chinese-English author known for The Saint, the adventures of Simon Templar.

1921 - Farley Mowat
Canadian author and environmentalist, known for his works on the Canadian north.

1937 - George Carlin
American comedian whose humor came across well in a series of books.

1946 - L. Neil Smith
American science fiction author who also wrote in the Star Wars universe.

1949 - Paul Starr
American professor and author who won the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for his book The Social Transformation of American Medicine.

1961 - Jennifer Armstrong
American author of children's fiction and non-fiction.




Died:
1925 - Amy Lowell
1944 - Max Brand
1967 - John Masefield
1970 - Nelly Sachs
1994 - Erik Erikson
2004 - Syd Hoff