callings of the archive
Writer Biographies
Every archived life recorded as writer, ordered by their place in the ledger.
Modern era
George Sand
July 1, 1804 – June 8, 1876
French novelist and memoirist (1804–1876)
Modern era
Fernando Pessoa
June 13, 1888 – November 30, 1935
Portuguese poet, writer, and philosopher (1888–1935); creator of the heteronymic system including Alberto Caeiro, Ricardo Reis, Álvaro de Campos, and Bernardo Soares
Early Modern era
Luis de Camoes
1524 – June 10, 1580
16th-century Portuguese poet
Modern era
Machado de Assis
June 21, 1839 – September 29, 1908
Brazilian writer (1839–1908)
Modern era
Gabriela Mistral
April 7, 1889 – January 10, 1957
Chilean poet, diplomat and educator (1889–1957)
Modern era
Ivan Turgenev
October 28, 1818 – September 3, 1883
Russian writer (1818–1883)
Modern era
Maxim Gorky
March 16, 1868 – June 18, 1936
Russian and Soviet writer (1868–1936)
Modern era
Boris Pasternak
February 10, 1890 – May 30, 1960
Russian writer (1890–1960)
Modern era
Anna Akhmatova
June 11, 1889 – March 5, 1966
Russian poet (1889–1966)
Modern era
Stefan Zweig
November 28, 1881 – February 23, 1942
Austrian writer (1881–1942)
Modern era
Erich Maria Remarque
June 22, 1898 – September 25, 1970
German-born novelist (1898–1970)
Modern era
Milan Kundera
April 1, 1929 – July 11, 2023
Franco-Czechoslovak poet and novelist (1929—2023)
Modern era
Italo Calvino
October 15, 1923 – September 19, 1985
Italian journalist and writer (1923-1985)
Early Modern era
Cao Xueqin
July 12, 1724 – 1763
Chinese novelist and poet (1710–1765)
Medieval era
Luo Guanzhong
March 30, 1334 – 1400
14th-century Chinese writer
Modern era
Natsume Soseki
February 9, 1867 – December 9, 1916
Japanese novelist
Modern era
Yasunari Kawabata
June 11, 1899 – April 16, 1972
Japanese novelist (1899–1972)
Modern era
Yukio Mishima
January 14, 1925 – November 25, 1970
Japanese author (1925–1970)
Medieval era
Saadi Shirazi
1210 – 1291
Persian poet
Early Modern era
Mirza Ghalib
December 27, 1797 – February 15, 1869
Indian poet (1797-1869)
Modern era
Mahmoud Darwish
March 13, 1941 – August 9, 2008
The national Palestinian poet, and author (1941–2008)
Modern era
Munshi Premchand
July 31, 1880 – October 8, 1936
Indian writer of Hindi and Urdu fiction (1880–1936); pioneer of social realism in Hindustani literature
Modern era
R. K. Narayan
October 10, 1906 – May 13, 2001
Indian English-language writer (1906–2001)
Contemporary era
Salman Rushdie
b. June 19, 1947
Indian-born English and American novelist (born 1947)
Modern era
V. S. Naipaul
August 17, 1932 – August 11, 2018
Trinidadian-British writer (1932–2018)
Modern era
Ursula K. Le Guin
October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018
American fantasy and science fiction author (1929–2018)
Contemporary era
Octavia Butler
June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006
American science fiction writer (1947-2006)
Modern era
Frank Herbert
October 8, 1920 – February 11, 1986
American writer (1920–1986)
Contemporary era
Terry Pratchett
April 28, 1948 – March 12, 2015
English fantasy author (1948–2015)
Contemporary era
George R. R. Martin
b. September 20, 1948
American writer and television producer (born 1948)
Modern era
Michel Foucault
October 15, 1926 – June 25, 1984
French philosopher (1926–1984)
Modern era
Jacques Derrida
July 15, 1930 – October 8, 2004
French philosopher (1930–2004)
Modern era
Karl Popper
July 28, 1902 – September 17, 1994
Austrian-British philosopher of science and social and política e falsificationism and for criticism of Plato, Hegel and Marx as totalitarian opponents of open society (1902-1994)
Modern era
Antonio Gramsci
January 22, 1891 – April 27, 1937
Italian Marxist philosopher, writer, and politician (1891–1937)
Modern era
Walter Benjamin
July 15, 1892 – September 26, 1940
German cultural critic, philosopher and social critic (1892–1940)
Modern era
Simone Weil
February 3, 1909 – August 24, 1943
French philosopher, writer, and social activist (1909–1943)
Early Modern era
Joshua Reynolds
July 16, 1723 – February 23, 1792
English painter (1723–1792)
Modern era
James McNeill Whistler
July 10, 1834 – July 17, 1903
American painter (1834-1903)
Modern era
Ansel Adams
February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984
American photographer and environmentalist (1902–1984)
Modern era
Alberto Giacometti
October 10, 1901 – January 11, 1966
Swiss sculptor and painter (1901–1966)
Modern era
Le Corbusier
October 6, 1887 – August 27, 1965
Swiss-French architect, designer, urbanist, and writer (1886–1965)
Modern era
Oscar Niemeyer
December 15, 1907 – December 5, 2012
Brazilian architect (1907–2012)
Modern era
Buckminster Fuller
July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983
American architect, systems theorist, author, designer, inventor and futurist (1895–1983)
Modern era
John Cage
September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992
American avant-garde composer (1912-1992)
Early Modern era
Pocahontas
1596 – 1617
American native woman
Modern era
Isabella Bird
October 15, 1831 – October 8, 1904
British traveler, writer, photographer and naturalist (1831–1904)
Modern era
Gertrude Bell
July 14, 1868 – July 12, 1926
British traveller, writer, mountaineer, politician, archaeologist and spy (1868–1926)
Modern era
Percy Fawcett
August 18, 1867 – 1925
British explorer, anthropologist and archaeologist (1867–1925)
Modern era
Reinhold Messner
b. September 17, 1944
Italian mountaineer, adventurer and explorer (born 1944)
Modern era
Beryl Markham
October 26, 1902 – August 3, 1986
British writer, aviator, adventurer, racehorse trainer (1902–1986)
Modern era
Alexandra David-Neel
October 24, 1868 – September 8, 1969
French explorer, spiritualist, Buddhist, Taoist, anarchist and writer
Modern era
Alexei Leonov
May 30, 1934 – October 11, 2019
Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, first human to conduct a spacewalk (1934-2019)
Modern era
Millicent Fawcett
June 11, 1847 – August 5, 1929
English politician, writer, and activist (1847–1929)
Modern era
Mary Seacole
1805 – May 14, 1881
British-Jamaican businesswoman and nurse
Modern era
Dorothea Dix
April 4, 1802 – July 17, 1887
American author and social reformer (1802–1887)
Modern era
Betty Friedan
February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006
American feminist writer and activist (1921–2006)
Modern era
Angela Davis
b. January 26, 1944
American political activist, scholar, and author (born 1944)
Modern era
Coretta Scott King
April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006
American author, activist, and civil rights leader; wife of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Modern era
Ken Saro-Wiwa
October 10, 1941 – November 10, 1995
Nigerian social rights activist (1941–1995)
Modern era
Edith Cavell
December 4, 1865 – October 12, 1915
British nurse (1865-1915)