- 1414 - Jami, Persian poet born
- 1450 - Marko Marulić, Croatian poet born
- 1596 - Jean Bolland, Flemish Jesuit writer born
- 1850 - Honoré de Balzac, French writer died
- 1922 - Alain Robbe-Grillet, French writer born
- 1925 - Brian Aldiss, English writer born
- 1981 - Anita Loos, American screenwriter, playwright, and author died