2010 Event A professor searching into medical records of playwright Bertolt Brecht discovers he may have died after contracting undiagnosed rheumatic fever as a child 2006 Death Wendy Wasserstein, American Playwright 2005 Death Wolfgang Bauer, writer, playwright, works translated into 24 languages, include, 'Magic Afternoon', 'Change', dies of heart failure in Graz, Styria 2004 Death Peter Barnes, English Playwright 2004 Death Jerome Lawrence, American Playwright 2003 Death Jack Gelber, American Playwright 2003 Death Paul Zindel, playwright/YA author, The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, dies at 66 2002 Death John B. Keane, Irish Playwright 2001 Death Anthony Shaffer, playwright, Sleuth, dies at 75 2001 Death Jason Miller, playwright/actor, That Championship Season, dies at 62 1997 Death Robert Pinget, novelist/Playwright, dies at 78 1996 Death Cao Yu, playwright, dramatist, dies at 86 1996 Death George Byatt, playwright, dies at 73 1996 Death Jack Popplewell, composer/playwright, dies at 87 1996 Death W. Gordon Smith, playwright, dies at 67 1996 Death Frank Ulrich Marcus, playwright/critic, dies at 68 1996 Death Steve Tesich, screenwriter/playwright, dies at 53 1996 Death Lonne Elder, playwright/screenwriter, dies at 69 1996 Death Colin Morris, playwright/documentary filmmaker, dies at 80 1996 Death Dario Bellezza, born in Rome, Italy, poet, author, playwright, associate director of Nuovi argomenti, published texts by Alberto Moravia, won the Viareggio prize in 1976 for Morte segreta, the Gatto prize in 1991, dies at 51 1996 Death Gerald Savory, actor playwright/TV producer (3 Weeks), dies at 86 1995 Death Vladimir Skutina, writer playwright/journalist, dies at 64 1995 Death Joseph Tomelty, actor and playwright (Bedevilled, Moby Dick), dies at 84 1995 Death Reza Abdoh, playwright, theatre director, produced King Lear, Oedipus Rex, confronted audiences with issues of race, class, AIDS, died of AIDS at age 32 1995 Death Sidney Kingslei, playwright, dies at 88 1995 Death Sidney Kingsley, U.S. playwright (Pulitzer prize 1934), dies at 88 1995 Death Albert Maurice Hackett, playwright/screenwriter, dies at 95 1995 Death Robert Bolt, British playwright (Doctor Zhivago, Bounty), dies at 70 1995 Death Michael Vincent Gazzo, U.S. actor and playwright (Godfather 2), dies at 71 1995 Death Robert Bolt, British Playwright 1995 Death George Abbott, playwright/actor/producer (Damn Yankees), dies at 105 1995 Death Ken Hill, playwright/director, dies at 57 1995 Death Peter Ambrose Cyprian Luke, playwright, dies at 75 1995 Death Karl Guttmann, Austrian/Dutch playwright/director (Pinter), dies at 81 1994 Death John James Osborne, playwright, dies at 65 1994 Death John Osborne, English playwright (Entertainer, Luther), dies at 65 1994 Death Julio Ramon Ribeyro, Peruvian playwright, dies at 66 1994 Death Jessie Kesson, author, novelist, radio producer, and playwright, dies at 77 1994 Death Leonid Leonov, Russian playwright (Russky Lesson), dies at 95 1994 Death Leonid Maksimovich Leonov, novelist/Playwright, dies at 94 1994 Death Arthur Berry, playwright, artist, teacher, poet, studied, then taught at Burslem School of Art, absorbed by Stoke-on-Trent College of Art, which in 1971 became North Staffordshire Polytechnic, where he taught painting until 1985, dies at 69 1994 Death Eugene Ionesco, playwright (Rhinoceros, Bald Soprano), dies at 84 1994 Death Abdelkader Alloula, Algerian playwright, murdered 1994 Death Werner Schwab, writer, playwright, visual artist, dies at 35 1993 Death Mia Meijer, Dutch playwright/director (Machine Child), dies 1992 Death Frederick Combs, playwright/director, dies of AIDS at 57 1992 Death Bill Elverman, playwright/actor (After Hours), dies at 40 1992 Death William JF "Bill" Naughton, Irish/British playwright (Alfie), dies at 81 1991 Death Donald Churchill, playwright, dies of heart attack at 60 1991 Death Archie N Menzies, playwright/composer (Under Your Hat), dies at 87 1991 Death Tom Eyen, playwright (Dreamgirls), dies of cardiac arrest at 50 1991 Death Peter T. Thwaites, British Brigadier-General and playwright 'Love or money', dies 1989 Death Thomas Bernhard, most prominent German-speaking postwar era author, writer, playwright, novelist, dies at 58 of tuberculosis in Ohlsdorf, Upper Austria 1988 Death Edward Chodorov, playwright/director (Louis Pasteur), dies at 84 1988 Death Errol John, playwright, dies at 63 1988 Death Mikha'il Na'imah, Lebanese playwright, dies at 99 1987 Death Jean Anouilh, French playwright (Ball of the Voleurs), dies at 77 1986 Death Jean Genat, French, playwright (Lesson Negres), dies at 75 1985 Death Ricardo Bacchelli, playwright and poet (Il malino del Po), dies at 94 1984 Death Lillian Hellman, playwright, (Little Foxes), dies at 79 1984 Death Arnold Riley, playwright/actor, dies at 88 1983 Death Tennessee Williams, U.S. playwright (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), dies at 71 1982 Death Peter Weiss, German playwright (Marat-Sade), dies at 65 1980 Death Marc Connelly, playwright (One Minute Please), dies at 90 1979 Death George Seaton, American Playwright 1979 Death Herb Polesie, producer/playwright (20 Questions), dies at 79 1978 Death Hanns Johst, German Playwright 1977 Death Denys Amiel, French dramatist/playwright (Le mouton noir), dies at 92 1977 Death Carl Zuckmayer, German/Swiss/US playwright (Second Wind), dies at 80 1973 Death Ben van Eysselsteijn, Dutch playwright (Arid Earth), dies at 75 1973 Death William M Inge, U.S. playwright (Come Back Little Sheba), dies at 60 1973 Death Jane Bowles, writer, playwright, dies at 56 1973 Death Noel Coward, English playwright (Private Letters), dies at 73 1971 Death A. P. Herbert, British novelist, humorist, playwright and activist at age 81 1971 Death Charles Vildrac, Paris France, poet/playwright, dies at 88 1970 Death Fernand Crommelynck, Belgian playwright (Chaud et Frois), dies at 83 1970 Death Arthur Adamov, Russian/French playwright, dies at 61 1968 Death Corry Lievens, Flemish actress/playwright/dir (Blue Bird), dies at 64 1968 Death Howard Lindsay, U.S. playwright (State of the Union), dies at 78 1967 Death Joe Orton, English actor and playwright (Leaf, Murdered), dies at 34 1967 Death Elmer Rice, New York playwright/director/novelist, dies at 74 1967 Death Dirk Vansina, Flemish playwright (Sage of Kai-Roi), dies at 72 1966 Death Georgia BD Camp Johnson, U.S. poet/playwright, dies at 88 1966 Death Jo van Ammers-Kuller, Dutch playwright (Opstandigen), dies at 81 1965 Death W. Somerset Maugham, British Playwright 1965 Death Roger Vailland, French playwright (La Truite), dies at 57 1965 Death Ludovicus H "Lode" Baekelmans, Flemish playwright, dies at 86 1965 Death Lorraine Hansberry, U.S. playwright, dies in New York City, dies at 34 1964 Death Jan Fabricius, Dutch/English playwright (Dolle Hans), dies at 93 1964 Death John Fabricius, playwright, dies at 55 1964 Death Sean O'Casey, Irish playwright, 'Juno and the Paycock' and 'The Plough and the Stars', dies at 84 1964 Death Ben Hecht, playwright (Child of the Century), dies at 71 1963 Death Clifford Odets, U.S. playwright (Golden Boy), dies at 57 1963 Birthday Reza Abdoh, born in Tehran, Iran, playwright, theatre director, produced King Lear, Oedipus Rex, confronted audiences with issues of race, class, AIDS 1963 Death Herman Bouber, Blom, actor and playwright (Bluejackets), dies at 77 1962 Death Robinson Jeffers, poet/playwright (Dear Judas), dies at 75 1961 Death George S Kaufman, playwright/dir/pulitzer prize winner, dies at 72 1961 Death Kjeld Abell, Danish playwright/director of Tivoli, dies at 59 1958 Death Roger Martin du Gard, novelist/playwright, dies 1958 Death Adolf Herckenrath, Flemish playwright and poet (Avondvlam), dies at 79 1958 Death Jeroom Verten [Jozef F Vermetten], Flemish playwright, dies at 49 1958 Birthday Werner Schwab, born in Austria, writer, playwright, visual artist, studied sculpture at Vienna's Akademie der bildenden Kunste in 1990, wrote sixteen plays, produced eight, controversial works in the Austrian Black comedy tradition 1957 Death Sacha Guitry, actor/playwright/director (Lovers and Thieves), dies at 72 1956 Death Charles MacArthur, American Playwright 1956 Birthday Mark Handley, born in Hollywood, California, writer, screenwriter, playwright, married, lived in log cabin with his wife to live in isolation, wrote play Idioglossia, which became the film, Nell, starring Jodie Foster, 1994, directed by Michael Apted 1955 Death Robert E. Sherwood, American Playwright 1955 Death Paul Claudel, French poet/playwright (L'otage), dies at 86 1954 Death Jacinto Benavente y Martinez, Spanish playwright, dies at 87 1954 Birthday Harvey Fierstein, born in Brooklyn, New York, playwright, Torch Song Trilogy, ID4 1953 Death Eugene O'Neill, playwright (Nobel 1936), dies in Boston at 65 1952 Birthday Beth Henley, Jackson, Mississippi, actress/playwright, Miss Firecracker 1952 Birthday Toine van Benthem, dentist/playwright/cabaret performer, Purper 1952 Death Ferenc Molnar, Hungarian playwright (Farkas, Tester), dies at 76 1951 Birthday Elizabeth Swados, Buffalo, New York, composer/playwright, 1972 TONY 1950 Birthday Wendy Wasserstein, American Playwright 1950 Death Valere-Gille, Belgian playwright (Lesson Tombeaux), dies at 83 1949 Death Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian playwright (Grand Fairie, Nobel 1911), dies 1949 Birthday Christopher Durang, Montclair, New Jersey, playwright/actor, Sister Mary 1948 Birthday Albert Innaurato, Philadelphia, playwright/director, Age in Soho 1947 Birthday David Mamet, Chicago, playwright/dir, Speed the Plow, House of Games 1947 Birthday Willy Russell, author/playwright, Shirley Valentine, Educating Rita 1947 Birthday Rose Tremain, novelist/playwright 1947 Birthday David Hare, playwright, Strapless, Plenty, Wetherby, Fatale 1946 Birthday David A. Stockman, American Playwright 1946 Birthday Elfriede Jelinek, born in Murzzuschlag, Austria, writer, playwright, novelist, member, Austria's Communist Party, awarded Nobel Prize in Literature, 2004 1946 Death Eduard Veterman, Dutch painter/playwright, dies in an auto accident 1946 Birthday Peter L de Baan, Dutch actor, director and playwright, Leonce and Lena 1946 Birthday Christopher Hampton, Azores, playwright, Oviri, Hotel du Lac 1945 Death Georg Kaiser, playwright, dies at 66 1945 Birthday August Wilson, U.S., playwright, Fences, Pulitzer 1987 1945 Death Rudolf Varnlund, Swedish playwright (Upproret), dies at 45 1944 Birthday Dario Bellezza, born in Rome, Italy, poet, author, playwright, associate director of Nuovi argomenti, published texts by Alberto Moravia, won the Viareggio prize in 1976 for Morte segreta, the Gatto prize in 1991 1944 Death Joaquin Alvarez Quintero, Spanish playwright (El Patio), dies at 71 1944 Death George Ade, U.S. novelist/playwright (Counsel Widow), dies at 78 1943 Birthday Sam Shepard, Illinois, actor and playwright, Frances, Crimes of the Heart 1943 Birthday Rose Tremain, British novelist/playwright, Restoration 1943 Death Vladimir I Nemirovitch-Dantshenko, Russian playwright, dies at 84 1943 Death Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko, playwright/director, dies 1943 Birthday Charles Ludlam, New York City, playwright/actor, Big Easy 1942 Death Carl Sternheim, German playwright (Trousers, Snob), dies at 64 1942 Birthday Steve Tesich, screenwriter/playwright 1942 Birthday Ama Ata Aidoo, born in Saltpond, Ghana, Ghanaian author and playwright, wrote 'The Dilemma of a Ghost' 1942 Birthday David K Williamson, Australian screenplay/playwright, Removalists 1942 Birthday Susan Hill, English playwright, Magic Apple Tree 1941 Birthday Wolfgang Bauer, born in Graz, Styria, writer, playwright, works translated into 24 languages, include, 'Magic Afternoon', 'Change' 1940 Birthday David Rabe, born in Dubuque Iowa, playwright, Streamers 1939 Birthday Henrica M L "Wiesje" Backer, Dutch dancer/actress/playwright 1939 Birthday Terrence McNally, St. Petersburg, Florida, playwright, Bad Habits 1939 Death Sidney Coe Howard, playwright (Silver Cord, Pulitzer 1925), dies at 48 1939 Birthday Volker Braun, born in Dresden, German, writer, poet, playwright, wrote 'Das ungezwungne Leben Kasts' or 'The Unrestrained Life of Kast' 1939 Birthday Alan Ayckbourn, born in London, playwright 1939 Death Indrid Einarsson, Iceland playwright dies at 87 1938 Death Vladimir M Kirshon, Russian playwright, executed at 35 1938 Death Serafin Alvarez Quintero, Spanish playwright (Piropos), dies at 67 1937 Birthday Tom Stoppard, born in Czechoslovakia, playwright, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern-1968 Tony 1937 Death James M. Barrie, British Playwright 1937 Birthday Arthur Kopit, U.S., playwright, Day Whores Came Out to Play Tennis 1937 Birthday Lanford Wilson, U.S. playwright, Hot L Baltimore 1937 Death John Drinkwater, English poet/playwright (Bird in Hand), dies at 54 1937 Birthday Lodewijk Boer, Dutch violinist and playwright, The Family 1937 Birthday Ken Hill, playwright/director 1936 Birthday James H "Simon" Gray, English playwright, Butley 1936 Birthday Mart Crowley, playwright, Boys in the Band 1936 Birthday June Jordan, U.S. playwright and poet, His Own Where 1936 Death Karl Kraus, journalist, writer, aphorist, playwright, poet, satirist, essayist, known for witty criticisms of the press, politics, German culture, dies at 62 1936 Birthday Paul Zindel, playwright, Effects of Gamma Rays on Marigolds 1936 Birthday Alan Bleasdale, author/playwright, Are You Lonesome Tonight 1936 Death Ramon M del Valle-Inclan, playwright (Tirano banderas), dies at 66 1935 Birthday Ed Bullins, Philadelphia, playwright 1935 Birthday Dennis Christopher George Potter, playwright, Karaoke, Midnight Movie 1935 Birthday Trevor Griffiths, playwright, Absolute Beginners 1935 Death George P Baker, U.S. playwright (Dramatic Technique), dies at 68 1934 Birthday Ronald Harwood, Horwitz, South African playwright, Dresser 1934 Birthday Sonia Sanchez, U.S. playwright and poet, The Bronx is Next 1934 Birthday Edward Bond, English playwright/director, Blow-up 1934 Birthday Alan Bennett, England, playwright/actor, Secret Policeman's Other Ball 1933 Birthday Michael Frayn, English Playwright 1933 Birthday David M Storey, British rugby player/playwright, Home 1933 Death Wilson Mizner, playwright, entrepreneur, raconteur, wrote, 'The Deep Purple', 'The Greyhound', opium addict, boxing manager, hotel manager, managed restaurant The Brown Derby, with brother, Addison Mizner, dies 1932 Birthday Adrian Mitchell, born in North London, English playwright, poet, children's author, voice for British anti-authoritarian Left 1932 Birthday Arnold Wesker, British playwright, Bratkartoffeln Inbegriffen 1932 Death Lady Augusta, Isabella Gregory, playwright (Gold Apple), dies at 80 1932 Birthday Jack Gelber, U.S., playwright, Connection, Apple 1931 Death Rudolf W. Canne, Fries playwright (Peaske), dies at 60 1931 Death Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian Playwright 1931 Death David Belasco, American Playwright 1931 Birthday Beverley Cross, playwright 1931 Birthday Rolf Hochhuth, German playwright, Deputy 1931 Birthday Ernesto Rosenstand, Arubian playwright, Kiko Ta Di Nos? 1931 Birthday Thomas Bernhard, born in Heerlen, Netherlands, most prominent German-speaking postwar era author, writer, playwright, novelist 1931 Birthday Vladimir Skutina, writer playwright/journalist 1931 Birthday Peter Barnes, English Playwright 1930 Birthday John Arden, England, novelist/playwright, Left Handed Liberty 1930 Birthday Harold Pinter, born in London, England, playwright, Homecoming, Servant 1930 Birthday Lorraine Hansberry, playwright, Raisin in the Sun 1930 Birthday Clive Exton, scriptwriter and playwright 1929 Birthday John Osborne, England, playwright, Look Back in Anger, Luther-TONY 1964 1929 Death Hugo Von Hofmannsthal, playwright and poet, dies 1929 Death Georges Courteline [Moineaux], French playwright, dies 1929 Death Henry Arthur Jones, English playwright (Silver King), dies at 77 1928 Birthday W. Gordon Smith, playwright 1928 Birthday John B. Keane, Irish Playwright 1928 Birthday Frank Ulrich Marcus, playwright/critic 1928 Birthday Peter Hacks, German playwright, Tie Windloch 1928 Birthday Edward Albee, born in Washington, D.C., playwright, Virgina Woolfe, Zoo Story 1927 Birthday Simon Raven, English playwright/critic, Alms for Oblivion 1927 Birthday Ann Jellicoe, theater director/playwright, Knack 1927 Birthday Neil Simon, Bronx, playwright, Odd Couple, Plaza Suite, Biloxi Blues 1927 Birthday James Goldman, author/playwright, Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid 1926 Birthday Murray Schisgal, playwright, Luv 1926 Birthday Peter T. Thwaites, British Brigadier-General and playwright, 'Love or Money' 1926 Birthday Beah Richards, born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, actress/playwright, Big Shot, Generation 1926 Birthday Anthony Shaffer, twin brother playwright, Sleuth 1926 Birthday Peter Shaffer, twin brother playwright, 5 Finger Exercise, Equus 1926 Birthday Dario Fo, born in Leggiuno Sangiano, Virginia, playwright, Nobel-1997 1925 Birthday Jos Vandeloo, Flemish journalist/playwright, Cola Drinkers 1925 Birthday Arthur Berry, born in Smallthorne, Stoke-on-Trent, England, playwright, artist, teacher, poet, studied, then taught at Burslem School of Art, absorbed by Stoke-on-Trent College of Art, which in 1971 became North Staffordshire Polytechnic, where he taught painting until 1985 1925 Birthday James Saunders, English chemist/playwright, Ark 1924 Death William Archer, Scottish critic and playwright (Green Goddess), dies at 68 1924 Birthday Wolf Mankowitz, British playwright 1924 Birthday Robert Oxton Bolt, playwright, Man for All Seasons, Dr. Zhivago 1924 Birthday Robert Bolt, British Playwright 1924 Birthday Jeffrey Segal, actor and playwright, Vanity Fair, Rest in Pieces 1924 Birthday Kobo Abe, born in Tokyo, Japan, playwright, Woman, the Dunes 1924 Death Nils Kj'r, Norwegian playwright (Det Lykkelige Valg), dies at 53 1924 Death Arne Garborg, Norwegian playwright (Mannfolk), dies at 72 1923 Birthday George Byatt, playwright 1923 Birthday Norman Mailer, born in New Jersey, American novelist, poet, playwright, film director, wrote 40 books and 11 novels 1922 Birthday George Axelrod, playwright, Breakfast at Tiffany, Bus Stop 1921 Birthday Dusty Hughers, playwright 1921 Birthday Elaine Dundy, born in New York, American novelist, biographer, journalist, actress, playwright 1921 Death Georges Feydeau, French playwright (Chat and Poche), dies at 58 1921 Birthday Friedrich Durrenmatt, born in Switzerland, playwright and novelist, Visit 1920 Birthday Alice Childress, U.S. playwright/actress, Wedding Band 1920 Death Nestor de Tiere, Flemish playwright (Bride of the Sea), dies 1920 Birthday Jeffrey Segal, actor, Traitors, playwright 1919 Death Leonid Andreyev, Russian Playwright 1919 Birthday Peter Ambrose Cyprian Luke, playwright 1919 Birthday Robert Pinget, novelist/playwright 1919 Death Paul Lindau, German playwright/critic (Estimate), dies at 79 1919 Birthday Norman F Simpson, British playwright, One Way Pendulum 1918 Death Gertrude E Durden Rush, U.S. composer/playwright, dies at 38 1918 Birthday Arthur Laurents, born in New York City, playwright, West Side Story, Gypsy 1918 Death Emiel van der Straeten, Delrue, Flemish playwright, dies at 30 1918 Birthday Caspar MB "Cas" Baas, Dutch actor/playwright/director, Ciske the Rat 1917 Birthday Ossie Davis, born in Cogdell, Georgia, actor and playwright, Hot Stuff, Man Called Adam 1917 Birthday Jane Bowles, born in New York, New York, writer, playwright, wrote 'Two Serious Ladies', 'In The Summer House', works admired by Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, John Ashbery 1917 Birthday Herwig Hensen, Flor Mielants, Flemish poet/playwright 1916 Birthday Jessie Kesson, born in Scotland, Jessie Grant McDonald, author, novelist, radio producer, and playwright 1916 Birthday Margaret Hayden Rector, playwright, living legacy award 1995 1916 Birthday Stanley Kauffmann, born in New York City, playwright, Red Handkerchief Man 1916 Birthday Colin Morris, playwright/documentary filmmaker 1915 Birthday Arthur Miller, New York City, playwright, Death of a Salesman, Crucible 1915 Birthday Jerome Lawrence, American Playwright 1914 Birthday Emmanuel Robles, Algerian-French journalist/playwright, Lesson Hauteurs 1914 Birthday Marguerite Duras, born in France, novelist and playwright, Sea Wall 1913 Birthday Karl Guttmann, Austrian/Netherlands playwright/director, Albee/Pinter 1913 Birthday William M Inge, U.S. playwright, Picnic-Pulitzer 1953 1912 Birthday Garson Kanin, born in Rochester, New York, playwright/producer, Double Life 1912 Birthday Max Croiset, playwright/director/actor, Dog of Flanders, Little Ark 1912 Birthday William Douglas-Home, playwright, Now .. Barabbas 1912 Birthday Joseph Stein, dramatist/playwright, Fiddler on the Roof 1911 Birthday Diego Fabbri, Italian, playwright/leader, Vatican movie bureau 1911 Birthday Terence Rattigan, playwright, Winslow Boy, Browning Version 1911 Birthday George Seaton, American Playwright 1911 Birthday Tennessee Williams, born in Columbus, Mississippi, playwright, 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' 1911 Birthday Joseph Tomelty, actor and playwright, Bedevilled, Moby Dick, Melba 1910 Birthday Georges Schehade, Lebanese poet/playwright, Monsieur Bob'le 1910 Birthday Cao Yu, born in China, born Wan Jiabao, playwright, dramatist, celebrated for Thunderstorm, Sunrise, and Peking Man, responsible for spoken theater in 20th century Chinese literature 1910 Birthday Uys Krige, South African playwright/novelist, Orphan of the Desert 1910 Birthday Ulrich Becher, born in Germany, writer, author, playwright, studied law in Berlin, novella series condemned by Nazi party, burned in book-burning fire, received Lifetime Achievement Award from Swiss Schiller Foundation 1909 Birthday Seicho Matsumoto, Dutch Japanese detective/playwright, 10 to Sen 1909 Birthday Eugene Ionesco, playwright 1909 Birthday Gerald Savory, actor playwright/TV producer, Heart of the Matter 1909 Death Johannes de Koo, journalist/playwright, dies 1909 Birthday Jeroom Verten [Jozef F Vermetten], Flemish playwright 1909 Death John Millington Synge, Irish dramatist/playwright/poet, dies at 37 1909 Birthday Jack Popplewell, composer/playwright 1909 Birthday Jan Fabricius, Dutch playwright 1909 Death Ernest von Wildenbruch, German playwright (Das Edle Blut), dies at 63 1908 Birthday William Saroyan, U.S., novelist/playwright, Time of Your Life 1908 Birthday Arthur Adamov, Kislovodsk Russia, playwright, Paolo Paoli 1908 Death Dom Joao G da Camara, Portuguese journalist/playwright, dies at 55 1907 Birthday Christopher Fry, Bristol England, playwright, Ring Around the Moon 1907 Birthday Lillian Hellman, playwright, Toys in the Attic, Little Foxes 1907 Birthday Mary Coyle Chase, playwright, Harvey-Pulitzer Prize 1906 Birthday Sidney Kingsley, U.S. playwright, One in White, Darkness at Noon 1906 Birthday Sidney Kiescher Kingslei, playwright 1906 Death Henrik Johan Ibsen, Norwegian playwright (Doll House), dies at 78 1906 Birthday Samuel Beckett, French playwright, Waiting for Godot, Nobel 1969 1905 Birthday George Emlyn Williams, Wales, actor and playwright, David Copperfield 1904 Birthday Moss Hart, born in Bronx, New York, playwright, You Can't Take it With You, Act 1 1904 Birthday Edward Chodorov, playwright/director, Story of Louis Pasteur 1902 Birthday Vladimir M Kirshon, Russian playwright, Ultimatum Factory, 1902 Birthday Vladimir M Kirshon, Russian playwright, Ultimatum Factory, 1902 Birthday Nathalie Sarraute, Cherniak, Russian/French playwright 1901 Birthday Odon [Edmund] von Horvath, Hungarian/Austrian playwright 1901 Birthday Paul Osborn, playwright, Mornings at 7 1901 Birthday Kjeld Abell, Danish playwright/director, Tivoli 1901 Death James A Herne, J Aherne, U.S. playwright (Margaret Fleming), dies 1901 Birthday John W. Van Duren, playwright, I Remember Mama 1901 Birthday Walter E. Schafer, German playwright 1900 Birthday Albert Maurice Hackett, playwright/screenwriter 1900 Birthday Rudolf Varnlund, Swedish playwright, Heliga Familjen 1900 Death Vittorio Bersezio, Carlo Nugelli, Italian playwright, dies at 71 1899 Birthday Noel Coward, England, playwright, In Which We Serve-1942 Academy Award 1899 Birthday Armand Salacrou, French playwright 1899 Birthday Marcel Achard, French screen/playwright, Jean de la Lune 1899 Birthday Leonid Maksimovich Leonov, novelist/playwright 1899 Birthday Bella Spewack, born in Hungary, playwright, Kiss Me Kate 1898 Birthday Bertolt Brecht, Germany, playwright, Mother Courage, composer 1897 Birthday Paul Neuhuys, Belgian playwright, Le Canari et le Cerise 1897 Death Ulrika "Minna" Cant-Johnstown, Finnish playwright, dies at 53 1897 Birthday Thornton Wilder, U.S., novelist/playwright, Our Town 1897 Birthday Valentin Katayev, Odessa Ukraine, novelist/playwright, Embezzled 1896 Birthday Carl Zuckmayer, German/Swiss/U.S. playwright 1896 Birthday Robert Sheriff, playwright, Journey's End 1896 Birthday Robert E. Sherwood, American Playwright 1895 Birthday Charles MacArthur, American Playwright 1895 Birthday Alfred Neumann, German playwright, Devil 1895 Birthday Marcel Pagnol, French playwright/director, Marchands de Gloire 1894 Birthday Dirk Vansina, Flemish playwright, Verschaeve Gives Evidence 1894 Birthday Paul Green, U.S., novelist/playwright, In Abraham's Bosom 1893 Birthday August Defresne, Dutch playwright/director, Uninhabited Island 1893 Birthday Ben Hecht, New York City, novelist/playwright/screenwriter, Front Page 1893 Birthday Russel Crouse, journalist/novelist/playwright, Life with Father 1892 Birthday Elmer Rice, New York City, playwright/director/novelist, Pulitzer-Street Scene 1892 Birthday Ugo Betti, Italian playwright 1891 Birthday Ferdinand Bruckner, Theodor Tagger, Austrian playwright, Races 1891 Birthday Mikhail Bulgakov, Russia, playwright/novelist, Black Snow 1890 Birthday Marc Connelly, McKeesport, Pennsylvania, playwright, One Minute Please 1890 Birthday A. P. Herbert, born in Ashted, Surrey, novelist, humorist, playwright and activist 1890 Death Dion Boucicault, Irish/US actor and playwright (Octoroon), dies at 67 1890 Birthday Hanns Johst, German Playwright 1890 Birthday Dorothy Heyward, New York City, playwright, Porgy 1889 Birthday Mikha'il Na'imah, Lebanon, playwright 1889 Death Ludwig Anzengruber, Austrian playwright, dies at 50 1889 Birthday Honore-Gabriel Marcel, French philosopher/playwright 1889 Birthday Howard Lindsay, born in Waterford, New York, playwright, actor and director, State of Union 1887 Birthday Jo Sternheim, Dutch actor/playwright 1887 Birthday Jo Sternheim, Dutch actor and playwright, Fatherland 1887 Birthday Jo Sternheim, Dutch actor/playwright 1887 Birthday Emiel van der Straeten, Flemish playwright, Sudanese legends 1887 Birthday Hesketh Pearson, England, biographer/playwright, Writ for Libel 1887 Birthday Robinson Jeffers, U.S., poet/playwright, Tamar and Other Poems, Medea 1886 Birthday Fernand Crommelynck, Belgian playwright, Le Cocu Magnificent 1886 Birthday John Howard Lawson, scriptwriter/playwright 1886 Birthday Hugo Ball, German playwright/co-founder Flametti 1885 Birthday Francois Mauriac, France, novelist/poet/playwright, Nobel 1952 1885 Birthday Herman Bouber, Dutch actor and playwright, Sailor's Wives 1885 Birthday Jules Romains, France, novelist/playwright/poet, Men of Good Will 1885 Birthday Edna Ferber, author, playwright 1885 Birthday Sacha Guitry, France, actor and playwright, Story of a Cheat 1884 Birthday Denys Amiel, French dramatist/playwright, Cafe Tabac 1884 Birthday Jo van Ammers-Kuller, playwright, Rebellions 1884 Birthday Henri Liebrecht, Belgian playwright/journalist 1884 Birthday Hugh S. Walpole, born in New Zealand, novelist and playwright, Jeremy, Maradick at 40 1884 Birthday Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russia, novelist/playwright, We 1883 Death Cyprian K Norwid, Polish painter, poet and playwright (Wanda), dies 1882 Birthday Charles Vildrac, Paris, France, poet/playwright 1882 Birthday Jean Giraudoux, born in Bellac, France, playwright, Eglantine, Provinciales 1882 Birthday Vincas Kreve-Mickievicius, Lithuania, poet/philologist/playwright 1882 Birthday John Drinkwater, English poet/playwright, Abraham Lincoln 1881 Birthday Pedro Munoz Seca, Spanish playwright, Vengeanza de Don Mendo 1881 Birthday Frederick Leonard Lonsdale, British playwright, Balkan Princess 1880 Birthday Sholem Asch, Poland, Yiddish novelist/playwright, Three Cities 1880 Birthday Gertrude E Durden Rush, U.S. composer/playwright, Black Girls Burden 1880 Birthday Sean O'Casey, born in Ireland, playwright, 'Juno and the Paycock' and 'The Plough and the Stars' 1879 Birthday Adolf Herckenrath, Flemish playwright and poet, Avondvlam 1878 Birthday Eino Leino, Finland, poet/playwright/novelist, Elaman Koreus 1878 Birthday Carl Sternheim, German playwright, Hyperion/Tabula Rasa 1878 Birthday Ferenc Molnar, Hungarian/US playwright, A Pal Utrai Fiuk 1877 Birthday Georgia B D Camp Johnson, U.S., poet/playwright, Autumn Love Cycle 1876 Birthday Wilson Mizner, born in Benicia, California, playwright, entrepreneur, raconteur, wrote, 'The Deep Purple', 'The Greyhound', opium addict, boxing manager, hotel manager, managed restaurant The Brown Derby, with brother, Addison Mizner 1876 Birthday Ian Hay, Scotland, novelist/playwright, PIp, Carrying On 1875 Birthday Klaziena "Ina" Boudier-Bakker, Dutch playwright/novelist, Poverty 1875 Birthday Edgar Wallace, born in England, novelist, playwright and journalist, Terror 1874 Birthday Karl Kraus, born in Austria, journalist, writer, aphorist, playwright, poet, satirist, essayist, known for witty criticisms of the press, politics, German culture 1874 Birthday William Somerset Maugham, British Playwright 1874 Birthday W. Somerset Maugham, British Playwright 1873 Death Manuel Breton de los Herreros, Span poet/comic playwright, dies at 76 1873 Birthday Joaquin Alvarez Quintero, Spanish dramatist/playwright, Los Galeotes 1872 Death Franz Grillparzer, Austrian playwright (Sappho/Libussa), dies at 81 1871 Birthday Leonid Andreyev, Russian Playwright 1871 Birthday Serafin Alvarez Quintero, Spanish dramatist/playwright, El Flechazo 1870 Birthday Rudolf W. Canne, Fries playwright, Der de Wier Us 1870 Birthday Nils Kjaer, Norwegian playwright, Det evige Savn 1870 Death Prosper Merimee, French playwright (Carmen), dies at 66 1869 Birthday Ramon M del Valle-Inclan, Spanish playwright, Corte de Amor 1869 Birthday Emile Fabre, France, playwright, administrator of Comedie Franeaise 1868 Birthday Edmond Rostand, born in France, poet and playwright, Cyrano de Bergerac 1868 Birthday Constance Gore-booth Markiewicy, Irish patriot/playwright/MP 1867 Birthday Arnold Bennett, England, novelist/playwright/critic, Great Babylon 1867 Birthday Valere-Gille, Belgian playwright, La Corbeille d'Octobre 1866 Birthday Tristan Bernard, French Playwright 1866 Birthday Jacinto Benavente y Martinez, Spanish playwright, Nobel 1922 1866 Birthday George P. Baker, U.S. playwright, 47 Workshop 1866 Birthday George Ade, U.S., journalist/playwright/humorist, Fables in Slang 1865 Birthday Laurence Housman, England, author/playwright, Victoria Regina 1864 Birthday Thomas Dixon, U.S. attorney/playwright, Flaming Sword 1862 Birthday Georges Feydeau, French playwright, La Dame de Chez Maxim's 1862 Birthday Eden Phillpotts, England, novelist/poet/playwright, Red Madymaynes 1862 Birthday Arthur Schnitzler, Austria, playwright/novelist, La Ronde 1860 Birthday James M. Barrie, British Playwright 1860 Birthday Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, Tagarov Russia, playwright, Cherry Orchard 1859 Birthday Maurice Donnay, French playwright, Lovers 1858 Birthday Vladimir Nemirovitch-Dantshenko, playwright, Life in Russian Theater 1858 Birthday Georges Courteline, Moineaux, French playwright 1858 Birthday Eugene Brieux, French playwright, Blanchette, Lesson Avaries 1855 Birthday Arthur Wing Pinero, British playwright 1855 Death Mary Russell Mitford, English playwright and poet (Julian), dies at 67 1853 Birthday David Belasco, American Playwright 1852 Death John Howard Payne, actor and playwright (Fair Warning), dies 1852 Birthday Augusta Gregory, born in Ireland, playwright and poet, Yates mistress 1852 Birthday Isabella Gregory, born in Ireland, writer and playwright, Golden Apple 1852 Birthday [James] Burner Matthews, U.S. playwright/critic, New York Times 1852 Death Nikolai Gogol, Russian playwright (Dead Soles), dies 1852 Birthday Hamid Abdulhak, Istanbul, Turkish romantic poet/playwright 1852 Birthday Ion Luca Caragiale, Romanian actor and playwright, O Noapte Furtunoasa 1851 Birthday Henry Arthur Jones, English playwright, Judah 1851 Birthday Indrid Einarsson, Iceland playwright, Nyjarsnottin 1851 Birthday Arne Garborg, Norwegian playwright, Bondestudentar 1850 Birthday Ivan Vazov, Bulgaria, poet and novelist /playwright, Under the Yoke 1848 Birthday [Francois-Victor-]Jean Aicard, French playwright and poet, Jeune Croyances 1846 Birthday Oscar Hammerstein, Germany, opera/playwright, Kohinoor 1845 Birthday Ernest von Wildenbruch, German playwright, Sedan 1844 Birthday Minna Canth, Finland, novelist/playwright, social evils 1844 Birthday Ulrika "Minna" Cant-Johnstown, Finnish playwright, Kovan onnen lapsia 1839 Birthday Ludwig Anzengruber, Austrian playwright, Der Schandfleck 1839 Birthday Paul Lindau, German playwright/critic, Der Herr im Hause 1839 Birthday James A. Herne, J Aherne, U.S. playwright, Hearts of Oak 1837 Death Georg Buchner, German playwright (Leonce und Lena), dies at 23 1832 Birthday Jose Echegaray y Elizaguirre, playwright and scientist, Teatro Escogido 1829 Birthday Thomas William Robertson, England, playwright, Caste 1828 Birthday Henrik Ibsen, born in Norway, playwright, Peer Gynt, Hedda Gabler 1828 Birthday Vittorio Bersezio, Carlo Nugelli, Italian playwright 1824 Birthday Alexandre Dumas, born in France, playwright/novelist, Camille 1823 Birthday Aleksandr Ostrovsky, Russian playwright, Artists and Admirers 1823 Death Zacharius Werner, German playwright, dies at 36 1822 Birthday Dion Boucicault, Irish/Us actor and playwright, Rip van Winkle 1821 Birthday Cyprian K Norwid, Polish painter, poet and playwright, Wanda 1820 Birthday Hermann von Lingg, German playwright and poet 1818 Birthday Ivan Turgenev, Russia, novelist/poet/playwright, Fathers and Sons, 1818 Birthday Ivan Turgenev, Russia, novelist/poet/playwright, Fathers and Sons, 1816 Death Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish Playwright 1816 Death Richard Sheridan, Irish Playwright 1815 Birthday Eugene-Marin Labiche, French playwright 1813 Birthday Georg Buchner, German playwright, Dantons Tod/Woyzeck 1811 Death Heinrich W von Kleist, German playwright, dies at 34 1805 Death Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller, poet/playwright, dies at 45 1804 Death Francisco marquis Albergati Capacelli, Italian playwright, dies at 75 1803 Birthday Prosper Merimee, Paris, France, playwright, Carmen 1803 Birthday Douglas William Jerrold, London, author/playwright/wit, Punch Mag 1802 Birthday Eduard von Bauernfeld, Vienna, comedic playwright 1799 Birthday Joao Batista da Silva Leitao de Almeida Garret, Portuguese playwright 1798 Birthday Karl von Holtei, Silezian actor and playwright, Die Vagabunden 1796 Birthday Manuel Breton de los Herreros, Quel Spain, poet/comic playwright 1794 Death George Colman, the Elder, playwright, dies 1794 Death Ramon de la Cruz, Spanish playwright/translator, dies at 62 1792 Death John Burgoyne, soldier/playwright, dies 1778 Event Playwright Voltaire crowned with laurel wreath 1770 Death Domingos dos Reis Quita, Portuguese playwright and poet, dies at 42 1758 Death Johann F von Cronegk, German playwright (Codrus), dies at 26 1756 Death Pieter Langendijk, painter/etcher/playwright, dies at 72 1752 Birthday Friedrich M Klinger, German playwright, Wirrwarr 1751 Birthday Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish Playwright 1751 Birthday Richard Sheridan, Irish Playwright 1743 Death Richard Savage, English poet/playwright, dies at about 46 1743 Death Pedro de Peralta y Barnuevo, Peruvian playwright and poet, dies 1732 Birthday George Colman, "the Elder", playwright, baptised 1732 Birthday Pierre de Baumarchais, France, playwright, Barber of Seville 1731 Birthday Johann F von Cronegk, German playwright, Olint und Sophronia 1731 Birthday Ramon de la Cruz, Spanish playwright/interpreter 1728 Birthday Francisco Albergati Capacelli, Italian playwright 1728 Birthday Domingos dos Reis Quita, Portuguese playwright and poet 1726 Death John Vanbrugh, Dutch/English playwright (Provoked Wife), dies at 62 1725 Death Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Japanese playwright (Yotsugi Soga), dies at about 71 1721 Death Abraham Alewijn, poet/playwright (Beslikte Swaantje), dies at 36 1715 Death Nahum Tate, English poet/playwright/poet laureate, dies 1707 Birthday Carlo Goldoni, Italy, lawyer/playwright, Belisario, Love of 3 Oranges 1700 Death John Dryden, English poet/playwright (Rival Ladies), dies 1699 Death Jean Racine, French playwright, 'Andromaque' and 'Mithridate', dies at 59 1688 Death Philippe Quinault, French playwright (L'amant Indiscreet), dies at 53 1685 Birthday Aaron Hill, English playwright and poet, Tragedy of Zara 1684 Birthday Abraham Alewijn, Dutch poet/playwright, Puiterveense Helleveeg 1683 Birthday Pieter Langendijk, painter/etcher/playwright, Wiskunstenaars 1674 Death Jan Zoet, actor/playwright/poet (Brutal-Roffel), dies at 58 1673 Death Moliere, French Playwright 1671 Birthday Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French playwright and poet, Sacred Odes and Songs 1670 Death Honorat de Brueil seigneur de Racan, French playwright, dies at 80 1654 Death Giambattista Andreini, Italian playwright/actor, dies at 76 1652 Birthday Thomas Otway, England, playwright and poet, Venice Preserved 1647 Death Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, poet/playwright (Warenar), dies at about 65 1639 Birthday Jean Racine, born in La Ferte-Milon, France, French playwright, 'Andromaque' and 'Mithridate' 1639 Death Juan R Alarcon y Mendoza, Mexican/Spanish playwright, dies at 58 1638 Birthday Antoinette du Ligier de la Guard Deshoulieres, French poet/playwright 1637 Death Ben Johnson, dramatist/playwright, dies at 65 1635 Death Lope Felix de Vega, playwright and poet (Angelica, Arcadia), dies at 72 1635 Death Lope de Vega, Spanish Playwright 1635 Birthday Philippe Quinault, French playwright, L'amant indiscret 1631 Birthday John Dryden, English poet/playwright, Heroic Stanzas 1625 Birthday Thomas Corneille, French playwright 1622 Birthday Moliere, French Playwright 1619 Birthday Cyrano de Bergerac, famous nose, playwright, Voyage to the Moon 1618 Death Gerbrant A Bredero, poet/playwright (Moortje), dies at 33 1616 Death Francis Beaumont, Elizabethan playwright, dies (birth date unknown) 1615 Birthday Jan Zoet, actor, playwright and poet, Parnasssus aan 't Y 1612 Birthday Thomas Killigrew, English humorist/playwright/leader, King's Men 1610 Birthday Paul Scarron, French playwright, Virgile Travesti 1607 Birthday Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla, Span playwright, Del Rey Abajo Ninguno 1595 Death Torquato Tasso, Italian poet/playwright, dies at 51 1589 Birthday Honorat de Brueil seigneur de Racan, French playwright and poet 1585 Birthday Gerbrant A. Bredero, Holland, poet/playwright, Klucht van de Koe 1584 Death Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter/cartoonist/playwright, dies at 44 1582 Event Playwright and poet William Shakespeare weds Anne Hathaway 1580 Birthday Thomas Middleton, English playwright, Game of Chess 1578 Birthday Giambattista Andreini, Italian playwright/actor, L'adamo 1574 Birthday Samuel Coster, Dutch physician/playwright, Polyxena 1572 Birthday Ben Jonson, England, playwright and poet, Volpone, Alchemist 1567 Death Marin Drzic, Croatian playwright (Dundo Maroje), dies 1564 Birthday William Shakespeare, Stratford-on-Avon England, playwright, Hamlet 1562 Birthday Lope de Vega, Spanish Playwright 1556 Death Pietro Aretino, Italian author, poet and playwright, said to have died from laughing 1495 Birthday John Bale, England, bishop/anti-catholic playwright, Kynge Johan 1492 Birthday Pietro Aretino, born in Arezzo, Italy, Italian author, poet and playwright
