February 11 Writer Birthdays
February 11 Writer Birthdays
- 1783 - Jarena Lee - first female African-American autobiographer and first female African-American ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
- 1802 - Lydia Maria Child, political-rights activist for the cause of women, slaves, and American Indians; also a novelist and poet; she is best known for the poem used as the lyrics to the song, "Over the River and Through the Wood."
- 1898 - Leo Szilard, Hungarian-born physicist, biologist, inventor, and professor who played key parts in the invention of the nuclear reactor, linear accelerator, and electron microscope, and was involved in the first cloning of a human cell.
- 1900 - Hans-Georg Gadamer, German philosopher and writer.
- 1909 - Joseph Leo Mankiewicz, American film director, screenwriter, and producer
- 1916 - Florynce Kennedy, American attorney, civil-rights activist, feminist, and autobiographer.
- 1917 - Sidney Sheldon, American writer who started out writing for TV, but then moved to his best-selling fiction work.
- 1931 - Larry Merchant, American sportswriter, television commentator, and boxing analyst.
- 1939 - Jane Yolen, American author of sci-fi, fantasy, and children's books.
- 1946 - Jeffrey Gitomer, American author, professional speaker, and business trainer who writes and lectures internationally on sales, customer loyalty, and personal development.
- 1957 - Pico Iyer, British-born essayist and novelist, many of whose works deal with the crossings of cultures.
- 1959 - Celeste O. Norfleet, American author of romance novels and young-adult books.
- 1962 - Sandra Tsing Loh, American writer, actress, and radio personality.
- 1968 - Mo Willems, American children's book author and illustrator.
