May 2 Writer Birthdays
May 2 Writer Birthdays
* 1551 - William Camden, leading English historian.
* 1729 - Catherine the Great (Yekaterina Alexeevna, born Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg), Empress of Russia, presiding over Russia's Golden Age; also wrote memoirs, comedic plays, fiction & a book about pedagogy. (That's her, to the right.)
* 1772 - Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (pseudonym Novalis) early German Romantic poet, author & philosopher.
* 1779 - John Galt, Scottish explorer & prolific novelist.
* 1859 - Jerome K. Jerome, English playwright, journalist, editor & author of humorous novels, best known for the travelogue Three Men in a Boat.
* 1860 - Theodor Herzl, Austro-Hungarian Jewish playwright, journalist & activist; the father of modern Zionism.
* 1890 - Hedda Hopper, American actress, journalist & iconic gossip columnist.
* 1890 - E.E. Smith, American food engineer & early science fiction author; known as the father of space opera.
* 1903 - Benjamin Spock, American pediatrician whose baby-care book was a huge bestseller.
* 1921 - Satyajit Ray, Indian film director, screenwriter, fiction writer, film critic & calligrapher.
* 1931 - Martha Grimes, American author of detective fiction.
* 1949 - Alan Titchmarsh, English broadcaster, gardening journalist & novelist.
I love compiling these lists. It's so interesting learning more about historical figures I already knew about, and learning about authors I'd never heard of before. For example, Catherine the Great was a writer! Who knew?