Poet Biographies

Modern era

Sumitranandan Pant

May 20, 1900 – December 28, 1977

Indian writer

Modern era

Makhanlal Chaturvedi

April 4, 1889 – January 30, 1968

Indian writer (1889-1968)

Modern era

Maithili Sharan Gupt

August 3, 1886 – December 12, 1964

Indian poet and one of the pioneers of modern Hindi literature(1886-1964)

Modern era

Dinabandhu Mitra

1830 – November 1, 1873

Bengali dramatist (1830–1873)

Modern era

Girish Chandra Ghosh

February 28, 1844 – February 8, 1912

Bengali actor, director, and writer

Modern era

Sukanta Bhattacharya

August 15, 1926 – May 13, 1947

Bengali poet (1926–1947)

Modern era

Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay

September 12, 1894 – November 1, 1950

Indian Bengali author (1894–1950)

Modern era

Ashapurna Devi

January 8, 1909 – July 12, 1995

Indian writer (1909–1995)

Modern era

Mahasweta Devi

January 14, 1926 – July 28, 2016

Indian Bengali fiction writer and socio-political activist (1926-2016)

Modern era

Sufia Kamal

June 20, 1911 – November 20, 1999

Bangladeshi writer

Modern era

Jasimuddin

January 1, 1903 – March 13, 1976

Bangladeshi poet, writer, and lyricist (1903–1976)

Modern era

Shamsur Rahman

October 23, 1929 – August 17, 2006

Bangladeshi poet, writer, journalist (1929–2006)

Modern era

Kumaran Asan

April 12, 1873 – January 16, 1924

Indian writer (1873–1924)

Modern era

Vallathol Narayana Menon

October 16, 1878 – March 13, 1958

Indian poet (1878-1958)

Modern era

Kalki Krishnamurthy

September 9, 1899 – December 5, 1954

Indian writer, journalist, freedom fighter and Tamil novelist (1899–1954)

Modern era

Bharathidasan

April 29, 1891 – April 21, 1964

Tamil poet, rationalist writer and Dravidian movement activist

Modern era

Fakir Mohan Senapati

January 13, 1843 – June 14, 1918

Indian Odia author (1843–1918)

Modern era

D. R. Bendre

January 31, 1896 – October 21, 1981

Kannada poet (1896–1981)

Modern era

Gurram Jashuva

September 28, 1895 – July 24, 1971

Indian Telugu poet (1895-1971), Padma Bhushan recipient

Modern era

Makhdoom Mohiuddin

February 4, 1908 – February 15, 1969

Indian activist and writer (1908–1969)

Early Modern era

Habba Khatoon

1554 – 1609

16th century Kashmiri poet-empress

Rasul Mir

d. 1870

Kashmiri poet

Modern era

Lakshminath Bezbaroa

1868 – 1938

Assamese writer (1868–1938)

Bhagat Kanwar Ram

d. 1939

Sindhi singer and Sufi poet

Early Modern era

Nazo Tokhi

1651 – 1717

Afghan poet and writer (1651–1717)

Modern era

Ajmal Khattak

September 15, 1925 – February 7, 2010

Pakistani writer and politician (1925–2010)

Modern era

Yogmaya Neupane

1860 – 1941

One Nepali poet

Modern era

Motiram Bhatta

September 8, 1866 – 1896

Nepalese poet (1866–1896)

Modern era

Parijat (writer)

1937 – 1993

Nepalese Writer (1937-1993)

Modern era

Mahmud Tarzi

August 23, 1865 – November 22, 1933

Afghan politician, secular activist and journalist (1865–1933)

Modern era

Khalilullah Khalili

1907 – May 4, 1987

Persian language writer and poet (1907–1987)

Modern era

Abdul Hai Habibi

1910 – May 9, 1984

Afghan writer and historian (1910–1984)

Contemporary era

Meena Keshwar Kamal

February 27, 1956 – February 4, 1987

Afghan activist (1956–1987)

Medieval era

Thomas a Kempis

1380 – July 25, 1471

German canon regular

Medieval era

Husayn ibn Ali

January 9, 626 CE – October 10, 680 CE

Grandson of Muhammad and the 3rd Shia Imam (626–680)

Medieval era

Aisha bint Abi Bakr

605 CE – July 13, 678 CE

Muhammad's third wife (c. 613/614 – 678)

Medieval era

Rabia al-Adawiyya

c. 710 CE – 801 CE

Iraqi sufi and poet

Ancient era

Zhuangzi

369 BCE – 288 BCE

Chinese Taoist philosopher (c. 369–286 BC)

Early Modern era

Guru Gobind Singh

December 22, 1666 – October 7, 1708

Tenth Sikh guru (1661–1708)

Medieval era

Kabir

1440 – 1518

15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint

Ancient era

Solon

638 BCE – 558 BCE

Athenian legislator

Ancient era

Parmenides

515 BCE – 470 BCE

Late 6th/early 5th century BC Greek pre-Socratic philosopher

Ancient era

Empedocles

490 BCE – 430 BCE

5th century BC Greek philosopher

Ancient era

Livy

59 BCE – 17 CE

Roman historian (59 BC – AD 17)

Ancient era

Tacitus

56 CE – 120 CE

Roman historian and senator (c. 56 – c. 120)

Ancient era

Pliny the Elder

c. 20 CE – 79 CE

Roman military commander and writer (AD23/24–79)

Ancient era

Lucretius

94 BCE – 55 BCE

1st-century BC Roman poet and philosopher

Ancient era

Catullus

84 BCE – 54 BCE

Lyric Latin poet of the Roman Republic

Ancient era

Germanicus

15 BCE – October 10, 1919 CE

Nephew and adopted son of emperor Tiberius, heir apparent of the Roman Empire, and father of emperor Caligula

Ancient era

Cato the Elder

234 BCE – 149 BCE

Roman politician, soldier and writer (234–149 BC)

Ancient era

Qu Yuan

343 BCE – 278 BCE

Chinese poet and politician (c.340–278 BC)

Ancient era

Zhang Heng

78 CE – 139 CE

Chinese scientist and statesman (78–139)

Ancient era

Pindar

522 BCE – c. 450 BCE

5th-century BC Greek lyric poet

Ancient era

Hesiod

776 BCE – c. 700 BCE

Ancient Greek poet of the archaic period

Medieval era

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

December 26, 1194 – December 13, 1250

King of Sicily, Holy Roman Emperor (1194–1250, 1220–1250)

Early Modern era

James I of England

June 19, 1566 – March 27, 1625

King of Scotland from 1566 to 1625, King of England and Ireland from 1603 to 1625

Medieval era

Lorenzo de Medici

January 1, 1449 – April 8, 1492

Italian politician, literary man and humanist

Medieval era

Wu Zetian

February 17, 624 CE – December 16, 705 CE

Founding empress of Zhou dynasty (r. 690–705); de facto ruler of Tang dynasty from 665 to 690

Medieval era

Emperor Taizong of Tang

January 28, 598 CE – July 10, 649 CE

Chinese emperor of the Tang Dynasty (598-649) (r. 626-649)

Modern era

Dag Hammarskjold

July 29, 1905 – September 18, 1961

Swedish diplomat, economist, and author (1905–1961)