Libra Writers

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 1 
Oscar Wilde
(One of the Greatest Playwrights of the 'Victorian Era')
Oscar Wilde
36
Birthdate: October 16, 1854
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
Died: November 30, 1900

Widely regarded as one of the most popular writers of all time, Oscar Wilde is best remembered for his plays and epigrams. He was also one of the best-known personalities during his time as he was popular for his conversational skills, flamboyant dressing sense, and biting wit. Imprisoned in 1895 for consensual homosexual acts, Oscar Wilde was pardoned posthumously in 2017.

 2 
F. Scott Fitzgerald
(Best Known for His Novel 'The Great Gatsby')
F. Scott Fitzgerald
18
Birthdate: September 24, 1896
Birthplace: Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
Died: December 21, 1940

Novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and short-story writer F. Scott Fitzgerald is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. However, he wasn’t much popular during his lifetime. His works gained international acclaim only in the years following his untimely death at 44. Many of his works have been adapted into films.

 3 
Arthur Miller
(Playwright Best Known for His Plays “All My Sons,” “Death of a Salesman” and “The Crucible”)
Arthur Miller
19
Birthdate: October 17, 1915
Birthplace: Manhattan, New York City, United States
Died: February 10, 2005

Arthur Miller was an American essayist and playwright. Miller is credited with creating popular plays, such as Death of a Salesman, which is widely regarded as one of the best American plays of the 20th century. Thanks to his illustrious career, which spanned more than 70 years, Arthur Miller is regarded as one of the 20th century's greatest dramatists.

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 4 
T. S. Eliot
(Best Known as a Leader of the Modernist Movement in Poetry)
T. S. Eliot
16
Birthdate: September 26, 1888
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Died: January 4, 1965
American-born British poet T. S. Eliot is best remembered for his poems The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, and Ash Wednesday, and his plays such as Murder in the Cathedral. He won the Nobel Prize for literature and became a prominent figure of Modernist poetry.  
 5 
Truman Capote
(Known for His Novella “Breakfast at Tiffany's” and Non-Fiction Novel “In Cold Blood”)
Truman Capote
13
Birthdate: September 30, 1924
Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Died: August 25, 1984
Truman Capote is best known for his novella Breakfast at Tiffany's, which was made into a movie that starred Audrey Hepburn, and the non-fiction novel In Cold Blood. His short story Shut a Final Door won the O. Henry Award. He was a lifelong friend of author Harper Lee.
 6 
William Faulkner
(Regarded as One of the Most Significant American Writers of All Time)
William Faulkner
6
Birthdate: September 25, 1897
Birthplace: New Albany, Mississippi, United States
Died: July 6, 1962
Nobel Prize-winning Southern author William Faulkner is remembered for works The Sound and the Fury, A Rose for Emily, and As I Lay Dying. He immortalized Mississippi as the fictional "Yoknapatawpha County" in his works. He also won two Pulitzers, one each for A Fable and The Reivers.
 7 
Shel Silverstein
14
Birthdate: September 25, 1930
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: May 10, 1999

Shel Silverstein was an American writer, playwright, songwriter, and cartoonist. Renowned for his children's books, songs, and cartoons, Silverstein's works have been translated into over 30 languages. The recipient of many prestigious awards, such as Grammy Awards, Shel Silverstein was posthumously inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.

 8 
Gore Vidal
(American Writer Known for His Novels: ‘The City and the Pillar’, ‘Julian’, ‘Myra Breckinridge’ and ‘Burr’)
Gore Vidal
13
Birthdate: October 3, 1925
Birthplace: West Point, New York, United States
Died: July 31, 2012

Gore Vidal was an American intellectual and writer. He served as a major inspiration to gays, lesbians, and bisexuals as he was openly bisexual and often incorporated LGBT characters in his novels, which was very unusual at the time. He was also known for his debates with William F. Buckley Jr., which inspired the 2015 documentary film Best of Enemies.

 9 
Miguel de Cervantes
5
Birthdate: September 29, 1547
Birthplace: Alcalá de Henares, Spain
Died: April 22, 1616

Miguel de Cervantes was a Spanish writer best known for his work Don Quixote, which is considered one of the high points of world literature. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists of all time and the greatest writer to ever write in the Spanish language. His works have influenced other works of art like music and paintings.

 10 
John Le Carré
(Novelist)
John Le Carré
7
Birthdate: October 19, 1931
Birthplace: Poole, Dorset, England
 11 
Eugene O'Neill
(American Playwright and Winner of the 1936 Nobel Prize in Literature)
Eugene O'Neill
5
Birthdate: October 16, 1888
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States
Died: November 27, 1953

Eugene O'Neill was an American playwright whose works earned him several prestigious awards, including four Pulitzer Prizes for Drama and the 1936 Nobel Prize in Literature. His play Long Day's Journey into Night is frequently named among the 20th century's finest American plays. In the 1981 film Reds, Eugene O'Neill is played by actor Jack Nicholson.

 12 
Frank Herbert
(Science Fiction Author Best Known for His 1965 Novel 'Dune' & Its Sequels)
Frank Herbert
4
Birthdate: October 8, 1920
Birthplace: Tacoma, Washington, United States
Died: February 11, 1986

American author, newspaper-journalist, book-reviewer, lecturer, photographer, and ecological consultant Franklin Herbert is most noted for his 1965 sci-fi novel Dune and its five sequels. Dune won the Nebula Award and the Hugo Award and spearheaded the Dune franchise. The novel is cited as the best-selling sci-fi novel in history while the series is counted among the classics of the genre.

 13 
Henry Graham Greene
5
Birthdate: October 2, 1904
Birthplace: Berkhamsted, England
Died: April 3, 1991

English author Henry Graham Greene, better known as Graham Greene, is remembered for his pathbreaking Catholic novels and thrillers. He was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include The Third Man and The Human Factor, and his Academy Award-nominated script of the film The Fallen Idol.

 14 
Samuel Coleridge
5
Birthdate: October 21, 1772
Birthplace: Ottery St Mary, Devon, Great Britain, United Kingdom
Died: July 25, 1834

Samuel Coleridge was an English poet, philosopher, theologian, and literary critic. He is credited with co-founding the Romantic Movement in England along with his friend William Wordsworth. Despite struggling from bouts of depression and anxiety throughout his adult life, Samuel Coleridge had a major influence on American transcendentalism and writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson.

 15 
E. E. Cummings
6
Birthdate: October 14, 1894
Birthplace: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
Died: September 3, 1962
 16 
Harold Pinter
(Playwright, Screenwriter)
Harold Pinter
11
Birthdate: October 10, 1930
Birthplace: Metropolitan Borough of Hackney
Died: December 24, 2008
 17 
Katherine Mansfield
(One of the Most Highly Regarded Short Story Writers of the 20th Century)
Katherine Mansfield
3
Birthdate: October 14, 1888
Birthplace: Wellington
Died: January 9, 1923

Katherine Mansfield was a New Zealand modernist writer best remembered for her short stories. Her life and career inspired several films, plays, novels, and TV series. In 1973, she became the subject of a BBC miniseries titled A Picture of Katherine Mansfield. In 2011, actress Kate Elliott played Mansfield in a TV biopic titled Bliss.

 18 
Rumi
(Persian Poet)
Rumi
12
Birthdate: September 30, 1207
Birthplace: Balkh, Afghanistan
Died: December 17, 1273

Rumi was a Persian poet and Sufi mystic whose spiritual legacy has been attracting praises for the past 800 years! Often described as the best-selling and most popular poet in the US, Rumi's poems are widely read today in many countries. His poetry has influenced the literary traditions of many languages, such as Pashto, Urdu, Chagatai, and Ottoman Turkish.

 19 
Neil deGrasse Tyson
(American Astrophysicist, Planetary Scientist and Science Communicator)
Neil deGrasse Tyson
9
Birthdate: October 5, 1958
Birthplace: Manhattan, New York, United States

Public Welfare Medal-winning astrophysicist and academic Neil deGrasse Tyson hosted shows such as NOVA ScienceNow, Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, and Star Talk. He is the director of Hayden Planetarium and contributed to the dismissal of Pluto’s status as the ninth planet. He has also written a monthly column as "Merlin.”

 20 
Michael Crichton
(Best Known as the Author of “Jurassic Park” and the creator of the TV Drama “ER”)
Michael Crichton
5
Birthdate: October 23, 1942
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: November 4, 2008

Michael Crichton was an American filmmaker and author. He wrote several science-fiction books, which have sold more than 200 million copies. Many of his books, such as The Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, Congo, Rising Sun, and Disclosure, have been adapted into highly successful films. He is also credited with creating the popular medical drama TV series, ER.

 21 
Elie Wiesel
( Author, Holocaust Survivor, Political Activist and Winner of 1986 Nobel Peace Prize)
Elie Wiesel
6
Birthdate: September 30, 1928
Birthplace: Sighetu Marmației, Romania
Died: July 2, 2016

Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Elie Wiesel is best remembered for his book Night, which relates his traumatic experience as a Jewish prisoner in the Nazi concentration camps. After surviving the Holocaust, he became a journalist and a human rights activist, and also helped in establishing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

 22 
R. L. Stine
(American Novelist Who was Best Known for His Horror Books for Children)
R. L. Stine
6
Birthdate: October 8, 1943
Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio, United States

Novelist and short-story writer R. L. Stine is popularly referred to as the "Stephen King of children's literature." He has published 100s of horror fiction novels and numerous joke books among others. He is the recipient of many awards, including the Inkpot Award. He is also a TV producer, screenwriter, and executive editor.

 23 
Elizabeth Gaskell
3
Birthdate: September 29, 1810
Birthplace: Chelsea, England
Died: November 12, 1865
 24 
Virgil
(Ancient Roman Poet of the Augustan Period)
Virgil
9
Birthdate: October 15, 0070
Birthplace: Cisalpine Gaul
Died: September 21, 0019
1st-century B.C. Roman poet Virgil is best remembered for his epic The Aeneid, which was based on Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. He has also written the Latin poems the Eclogues/Bucolics and the Georgics. His Aeneid, considered ancient Rome’s national epic, inspired other influential works, such as Dante’s Divine Comedy.
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 25 
Ursula K. Le Guin
(American Author Best Known for Her Works of Speculative Fiction)
Ursula K. Le Guin
4
Birthdate: October 21, 1929
Birthplace: Berkeley, California, United States
Died: January 22, 2018

Ursula K. Le Guin was an American author. In a career spanning almost six decades, Ursula wrote about political and social themes like race and sexuality. Throughout her career, Ursula had a major influence on speculative fiction. Her book A Wizard of Earthsea is credited with inspiring ideas like 'wizard school', which was later popularized in the Harry Potter series.

 26 
Jackie Collins
(Novelist)
Jackie Collins
7
Birthdate: October 4, 1937
Birthplace: London, England, UK
Died: September 19, 2015
Height: 5'7" (170 cm)
 27 
James Herriot
4
Birthdate: October 3, 1916
Birthplace: Sunderland, County Durham, England
Died: February 23, 1995

James Herriot was a British writer and veterinary surgeon. Many of his books about animals and veterinary practice inspired several films and television series, including the 1975 British movie All Creatures Great and Small. His early life inspired BBC's drama Young James Herriot. In 1994, Glasgow Veterinary College's library was named James Herriot Library in his honor. 

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 28 
Marie Kondo
(Organizing Expert)
Marie Kondo
6
Birthdate: October 9, 1984
Birthplace: Tokyo, Japan

Japanese organizing expert Marie Kondo gained fame with her bestselling books on organizing, such as The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, which have been translated into languages such as Italian, Korean, French, and German. She also earned an Emmy nomination for her Netflix show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.

 29 
Anne Rice
(American Author Best Known for Her Series of Novels ‘The Vampire Chronicles’)
Anne Rice
4
Birthdate: October 4, 1941
Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Height: 5'2" (157 cm)
 30 
Simon Sinek
(Author and Inspirational Speaker Known for His Books ‘Start With Why’ and ‘The Infinite Game’)
Simon Sinek
5
Birthdate: October 9, 1973
Birthplace: Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom

The London-born American is a noted author and motivational speaker who has written five books including Leaders Eat Last, which made to the bestseller lists of the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Sometimes criticized for ‘self-promotion’, Simon Oliver Sinek also worked with Ernst & Young and provided leadership training. He is an instructor at Columbia University.

 31 
Tara Westover
(Memoirist)
Tara Westover
4
Birthdate: September 27, 1986
Birthplace: Clifton, Idaho, United States

Tara Westover is an American historian, essayist, and memoirist. She achieved popularity in 2018 when she published her memoir Educated, which debuted atop The New York Times bestseller list. Subsequently, the daily newspaper named Educated among the 10 Best Books of the year. In 2019, Tara Westover was named in Time magazine's 100 most influential people list.

 32 
Noah Webster
(Lexicographer)
Noah Webster
3
Birthdate: October 16, 1758
Birthplace: Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Died: May 28, 1843

Noah Webster was an American textbook pioneer, lexicographer, political writer, English-language spelling reformer, author, and editor. Dubbed the Father of American Scholarship and Education, Webster's books have been credited with teaching the art of spelling and reading to five generations of American children. Thanks to his work as a spelling reformer, his name became synonymous with dictionary in the US.

 33 
Mario Puzo
(Novelist, Screenwriter)
Mario Puzo
4
Birthdate: October 15, 1920
Birthplace: Manhattan, New York, United States
Died: July 2, 1999

Mario Puzo is remembered for his iconic crime novels, most notably the New York Times bestseller The Godfather, which was later turned into a movie trilogy by Francis Ford Coppola and won Puzo two Academy Awards for the best screenplay. Puzo also wrote the screenplay for Richard Donner's Superman.

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 34 
Arthur Rimbaud
(French Poet Known for His Works: ‘The Drunken Boat’, ‘A Season in Hell’ and ‘Illuminations’)
Arthur Rimbaud
8
Birthdate: October 20, 1854
Birthplace: Charleville-Mézières, France
Died: November 10, 1891

French poet Arthur Rimbaud is remembered for his influence on Dadaism, surrealism, and symbolism. Known for works such as Le Soleil Etait Encore Chaud and Voyelles, he later got involved in a relationship with poet Paul Verlaine. He also traveled as a merchant and explorer, before dying of cancer.

 35 
P G Wodehouse
4
Birthdate: October 15, 1881
Birthplace: Guildford, England
Died: February 14, 1975
 36 
Bell Hooks
Bell Hooks
5
Birthdate: September 25, 1952
Birthplace: Hopkinsville, Kentucky, United States
Died: December 15, 2021
 37 
Jack Hemingway
(Conservationist, Writer)
Jack Hemingway
4
Birthdate: October 10, 1923
Birthplace: Toronto, Canada
Died: December 1, 2000
 38 
William Penn
(Writer)
William Penn
6
Birthdate: October 14, 1644
Birthplace: London, England
Died: July 30, 1718

William Penn was a writer and one of the earliest members of the Quakers. He is credited with founding the Province of Pennsylvania. He also oversaw the planning and development of the city of Philadelphia. Penn has several universities and schools named in his honor, including the William Penn University in Iowa. 

 39 
Clive Barker
(British Novelist and Playwright Who Excelled in the Genre of Horror Stories)
Clive Barker
4
Birthdate: October 5, 1952
Birthplace: Liverpool, England

Clive Barker is an English playwright, novelist, visual artist, and film director. He gained prominence in the 1980s as a horror writer and has since written many novels and other works. As an illustrator, he has created original characters and series for comic books. He also creates costume designs. He is a recipient of the Inkpot Award. 

 40 
John Reed
(Journalist, Poet)
John Reed
6
Birthdate: October 22, 1887
Birthplace: Portland, Oregon, United States
Died: October 17, 1920
 41 
Piper Kerman
(Known for Memoir of Her Prison Experiences, ‘Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison’)
Piper Kerman
4
Birthdate: September 28, 1969
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
 42 
Dan Savage
(One of the World's Most Influential Sex Columnists)
Dan Savage
4
Birthdate: October 7, 1964
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Dan Savage is an American author, journalist, media pundit, and LGBT community activist. He is credited with founding the It Gets Better Project which aims at preventing suicide amongst LGBT youth. In 2013, he was honored by the American Humanist Association with the prestigious Humanist of the Year award.  

 43 
Bill Simmons
(Author, Podcaster)
Bill Simmons
4
Birthdate: September 25, 1969
Birthplace: Marlborough, Massachusetts, United States
Height: 6'2" (188 cm)
 44 
Sarah Ferguson
(Author, Producer and Former Wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York)
Sarah Ferguson
12
Birthdate: October 15, 1959
Birthplace: Marylebone, London, England

Sarah Ferguson is one of the members of the British royal family. She started working with several charity organizations after marrying Prince Andrew, Duke of York. Even after her divorce, she has continued working with organizations like the American Cancer Society. In 2020, she set up her own foundation called Sarah's Trust.

 45 
Michael Fishman
(Actor, Writer and Producer Known for His Role as ‘D.J. Conner’ in the TV Series ‘Roseanne’)
Michael Fishman
4
Birthdate: October 22, 1981
Birthplace: Los Angeles County, California, United States

Michael Fishman is an American actor, producer, and writer. He is best known for portraying the main role of D.J. Conner in the popular TV series, Roseanne, for which he won the 1995 Young Artist Award under the Best Performance: Young Actor in a TV Comedy Series category. 

 46 
Robert Jordan
(Novelist)
Robert Jordan
4
Birthdate: October 17, 1948
Birthplace: Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Died: September 16, 2007
 47 
Doris Lessing
(Novelist)
Doris Lessing
4
Birthdate: October 22, 1919
Birthplace: Kermanshah, Iran
Died: November 17, 2013
 48 
Paul Petersen
(American Actor, Novelist, Singer, and Activist)
Paul Petersen
4
Birthdate: September 23, 1945
Birthplace: Glendale, California, United States

Paul Petersen is an American actor, novelist, singer, and activist. He achieved popularity in the 1950s when he played Jeff Stone on the popular American sitcom, The Donna Reed Show. As an activist, Paul Petersen is best known for founding an organization called A Minor Consideration, which aims at supporting child laborers and child stars through legislation and personal intervention.

 49 
Elmore Leonard
(screenwriter, writer, novelist, film producer)
Elmore Leonard
4
Birthdate: October 11, 1925
Birthplace: New Orleans
Died: 2013 AD
 50 
Jennifer Worth
(British Nurse, Midwife, and Memoirist)
Jennifer Worth
4
Birthdate: September 25, 1935
Birthplace: Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, England
Died: May 31, 2011

Jennifer Worth was a British memoirist best remembered for her best-selling trilogy: Call the Midwife, Farewell to The East End, and Shadows of the Workhouse. The trilogy, which is about Jennifer Worth's experience as a nurse and midwife in East End of London during the 1950s, inspired the popular TV series, Call the Midwife.