1900 in literature
Encyclopedia
The year 1900 in literature
involved some significant new books and publications, as well as the deaths of several highly prominent writers, including among them the late Irish poet Oscar Wilde
and the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
.
The highly influential American author L. Frank Baum
wrote the first and most famous of his Oz books, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
, in 1900. The book would later go on to be translated into hundreds of languages, distributed worldwide, and come to be part of American popular culture for decades, as well as inspire an equally successful and memorable 1939 screening
, along with numerous other adaptations.
The year marked several publications on the literarily influential Boer Wars: Winston Churchill
, the future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
and a major Allied
political figure in World War II
penned a memoir, Ian Hamilton's March
, describing his experiences accompanying the British army during the Second Boer War
, and Arthur Conan Doyle
(famous as the creator of Sherlock Holmes
) wrote on the subject in his The Great Boer War
.
Zelda Fitzgerald
, the future American novelist and wife of fellow writer F. Scott Fitzgerald
was born on July 24 of 1900. Margaret Mitchell
, who would become known as the author of Gone With the Wind
, was born little more than 3 months later.
and Zelda Fitzgerald
, the former of which would go on to pen one of the most successful novels of all time, Gone With the Wind
, published in 1936. The work sparked various highly acclaimed adaptations.
A list, ordered by date of birth (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname) of births in 1900 of literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including nationality and year of birth. More prominent figures are bolded:
The year involved the deaths of at least several highly prominent writers, including among them the following: The late poet Oscar Wilde
(a "celebrity" poet in late-19th century western European society), the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
(critical and acclaimed philologist of Weimar Classicism
and one of the most famous German thinkers), the English poet Ernest Dowson
(marking the death of one of the last notable poets of the Decadent movement
), John Ruskin
(one of the most important historical art critics and an influential essayist), Francišak Bahuševič
(a literary pioneer of New Belarusian literature
), Stephen Crane
, R. D. Blackmore
and José Maria de Eça de Queiroz, often considered the greatest Portuguese
writer in the realist
style.
A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname
) of deaths in 1900 of literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including nationality and year of birth. More prominent figures are bolded:
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
involved some significant new books and publications, as well as the deaths of several highly prominent writers, including among them the late Irish poet Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
and the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
.
The highly influential American author L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
wrote the first and most famous of his Oz books, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
, in 1900. The book would later go on to be translated into hundreds of languages, distributed worldwide, and come to be part of American popular culture for decades, as well as inspire an equally successful and memorable 1939 screening
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
, along with numerous other adaptations.
The year marked several publications on the literarily influential Boer Wars: Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, the future Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
and a major Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
political figure in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
penned a memoir, Ian Hamilton's March
Ian Hamilton's March
Ian Hamilton's March is a book written by Winston Churchill. It is a description of his experiences accompanying the British army during the Second Boer War, continuing after the events described in London to Ladysmith via Pretoria.-Writing:...
, describing his experiences accompanying the British army during the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
, and Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
(famous as the creator of Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
) wrote on the subject in his The Great Boer War
The Great Boer War
right|thumb|Title page from The Great Boer WarThe Great Boer War is a non-fiction work on the Boer War by Arthur Conan Doyle and first published in 1900. By the end of the war in 1902 the book had been published in 16 editions, constantly revised by Doyle...
.
Zelda Fitzgerald
Zelda Fitzgerald
Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald , born Zelda Sayre in Montgomery, Alabama, was an American novelist and the wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. She was an icon of the 1920s—dubbed by her husband "the first American Flapper"...
, the future American novelist and wife of fellow writer F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
was born on July 24 of 1900. Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
, who would become known as the author of Gone With the Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
, was born little more than 3 months later.
Events
- Ermete NovelliErmete NovelliErmete Novelli was an Italian actor and playwright.Born in Lucca, the son of a prompter, Novelli made his first appearance in 1866, and played character and leading comedy parts in the best companies between 1871 and 1884...
establishes the Casa di Goldoni at Rome, in imitation of the Comédie Française
New books
- L. Frank BaumL. Frank BaumLyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
- A New WonderlandThe Magical Monarch of MoThe Surprising Adventures of the Magical Monarch of Mo and His People is the first full-length children's fantasy book by L. Frank Baum...
- The Wonderful Wizard of OzThe Wonderful Wizard of OzThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
- A New Wonderland
- Mary Elizabeth BraddonMary Elizabeth BraddonMary Elizabeth Braddon was a British Victorian era popular novelist. She is best known for her 1862 sensation novel Lady Audley's Secret.-Life:...
— The Infidel - Ernest BramahErnest BramahErnest Bramah , born Ernest Brammah Smith, was an English author. He published 21 books and numerous short stories and features. His humorous works were ranked with Jerome K Jerome, and W.W. Jacobs, his detective stories with Conan Doyle, his politico-science fiction with H.G. Wells and his...
— The Wallet of Kai LungThe Wallet of Kai LungThe Wallet of Kai Lung is a collection of fantasy stories by Ernest Bramah, all but the last of which feature Kai Lung, an itinerant story-teller of ancient China. It was first published in hardcover in London by Grant Richards in 1900, and there have been numerous editions since... - Gelett BurgessGelett BurgessFrank Gelett Burgess was an artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist. An important figure in the San Francisco Bay Area literary renaissance of the 1890s, particularly through his iconoclastic little magazine, The Lark, he is best known as a writer of nonsense verse...
— Goops, and How to Be Them (1st GoopsGoopsThe Goops books, originally published between 1900 and 1950, were created by the artist, art critic, poet, author and humorist, Gelett Burgess. The characters debuted, conceptually, in the illustrations of Burgess' publication, The Lark, in the late 19th century...
book) - ColetteColetteColette was the surname of the French novelist and performer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette . She is best known for her novel Gigi, upon which Lerner and Loewe based the stage and film musical comedies of the same title.-Early life and marriage:Colette was born to retired military officer Jules-Joseph...
— Claudine at School (FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: Claudine à l'école) - Joseph ConradJoseph ConradJoseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
— Lord JimLord JimLord Jim is a novel by Joseph Conrad originally published as a serial in Blackwood's Magazine from October 1899 to November 1900.An early and primary event is Jim's abandonment of a ship in distress on which he is serving as a mate... - Marie CorelliMarie CorelliMarie Corelli was a British novelist. She enjoyed a period of great literary success from the publication of her first novel in 1886 until World War I. Corelli's novels sold more copies than the combined sales of popular contemporaries, including Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G...
— The Master Christian - Stephen CraneStephen CraneStephen Crane was an American novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism...
— Whilomville Stories - Gabriele D'AnnunzioGabriele D'AnnunzioGabriele D'Annunzio or d'Annunzio was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, and dramatist...
— The Flame of Life - Theodore DreiserTheodore DreiserTheodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of...
— Sister CarrieSister CarrieSister Carrie is a novel by Theodore Dreiser about a young country girl who moves to the big city where she starts realizing her own American Dream by first becoming a mistress to men that she perceives as superior and later as a famous actress... - Robert GrantRobert Grant (novelist)Robert Grant was an American author and a jurist who participated in a review of the Sacco and Vanzetti trial a few weeks before their executions.-Biography:...
— Unleavened BreadUnleavened BreadUnleavened Bread is a 1900 novel by American writer Robert Grant.... - Jerome K. JeromeJerome K. JeromeJerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humorist, best known for the humorous travelogue Three Men in a Boat.Jerome was born in Caldmore, Walsall, England, and was brought up in poverty in London...
— Three Men on the BummelThree Men on the BummelThree Men on the Bummel is a humorous novel by Jerome K. Jerome. It was published in 1900, eleven years after his most famous work, Three Men in a Boat .... - Octave MirbeauOctave MirbeauOctave Mirbeau was a French journalist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, novelist, and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, while still appealing to the literary and artistic avant-garde...
— The Diary of a Chambermaid - Bradford C. Peck — The World a Department StoreThe World a Department StoreThe World a Department Store: A Story of Life Under a Coöperative System is a utopian novel written by Bradford C. Peck, and published by him in 1900. The book was one entrant in the wave of utopian and dystopian writing that occurred in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries...
- Emilio SalgariEmilio SalgariEmilio Salgari was an Italian writer of action adventure swashbucklers and a pioneer of science fiction.For over a century, his novels were mandatory reading for generations of youth eager for exotic adventures. In Italy, his extensive body of work was more widely read than that of Dante. Today...
— The Tigers of MompracemThe Tigers of MompracemThe Tigers of Mompracem is an exotic adventure novel written by Italian author Emilio Salgari, published in 1900. It features his most famous character, Sandokan.-Plot introduction:...
- Henryk SienkiewiczHenryk SienkiewiczHenryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. A Polish szlachcic of the Oszyk coat of arms, he was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his...
— The Teutonic KnightsThe Teutonic Knights (novel)The Knights of the Cross or The Teutonic Knights is a 1900 historical novel written by the eminent Polish Modernist writer and the 1905 Nobel laureate, Henryk Sienkiewicz...
- Booth TarkingtonBooth TarkingtonBooth Tarkington was an American novelist and dramatist best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novels The Magnificent Ambersons and Alice Adams...
— Monsieur Beaucaire - Jules VerneJules VerneJules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
- The Will of an EccentricThe Will of an EccentricThe Will of an Eccentric is an adventure novel written by Jules Verne based on the Game of the Goose.-Publication history:*1899,France, Paris, J...
- The Castaways of the FlagThe Castaways of the FlagThe Castaways of the Flag is an adventure novel written by Jules Verne. The two volumes of the novel were initially published in English translation as two separate volumes: Their Island Home and The Castaways of the Flag...
- The Will of an Eccentric
- Mary Augusta WardMary Augusta WardMary Augusta Ward née Arnold; , was a British novelist who wrote under her married name as Mrs Humphry Ward.- Early life:...
— Eleanor - H. G. WellsH. G. WellsHerbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
— Love and Mr LewishamLove and Mr LewishamLove and Mr Lewisham is a 1900 novel by H. G. Wells, amongst his first outside the science fiction genre.-Plot summary:Mr. Lewisham leaves the country to live in London. His youthful dreams of fame and glory slowly fade, replaced by the possibility of redemption through love. Mr. Lewisham attends... - Mary E. Wilkins Freeman — The Heart's Highway
New drama
- Anton ChekhovAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
— Uncle VanyaUncle VanyaUncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski.... - James HerneJames HerneJames A. Herne , was an American playwright, born James Ahearn. Considered by some critics to be the "American Ibsen," his controversial play Margaret Fleming is often credited with having begun modern drama in America....
— Sag HarborSag Harbor (play)Sag Harbor was a sentimental comedy by American playwright James Herne. It inaugurated Oscar Hammerstein's Theatre Republic, the first Broadway theater on West 42nd Street, on September 27, 1900, starring the author as Capt. Dan Marble. Lionel Barrymore later took up the role... - George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
— Captain Brassbound's ConversionCaptain Brassbound's ConversionCaptain Brassbound's Conversion is a play by G. Bernard Shaw. It was published in Shaw's 1901 collection Three Plays for Puritans . The first American production of the play starred Ellen Terry in 1907.... - Arthur SchnitzlerArthur SchnitzlerDr. Arthur Schnitzler was an Austrian author and dramatist.- Biography :Arthur Schnitzler, son of a prominent Hungarian-Jewish laryngologist Johann Schnitzler and Luise Markbreiter , was born in Praterstraße 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian...
— La RondeLa Ronde (play)La Ronde is a 1900 play by Arthur Schnitzler. It scrutinizes the sexual morals and class ideology of its day through a series of encounters between pairs of characters . By choosing characters across all levels of society, the play offers social commentary on how sexual contact transgresses...
(GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Reigen) - August StrindbergAugust StrindbergJohan August Strindberg was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography,...
- The Dance of Death
- EasterEasterEaster is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
Poetry
- Oxford Book of English VerseOxford Book of English VerseThe Oxford Book of English Verse most commonly means the Oxford Book of English Verse 1250–1900 edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch, an anthology of English poetry that had a very substantial influence on popular taste and perception of poetry for at least a generation...
1250-1900 (edited by Arthur Quiller-CouchArthur Quiller-CouchSir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch was a Cornish writer, who published under the pen name of Q. He is primarily remembered for the monumental Oxford Book Of English Verse 1250–1900 , and for his literary criticism...
) - G. K. ChestertonG. K. ChestertonGilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
— The Wild Knight and Other Poems - Ismail Hossain ShirajiIsmail Hossain ShirajiSyed Ismail Hossain Siraji was a Bangladeshi writer and poet. He was born in Sirajganj in Pabna, East Bengal . He added the suffix Shiraji in honour of his home region. He wanted a Muslim revolution and went to Turkey in 1912 with a medical team during the Balkan War...
— Anal Prabaha
Non-fiction
- William "Cocktail" Boothby — The World's Drinks And How To Mix ThemThe World's Drinks And How To Mix ThemThe World's Drinks And How To Mix Them is a cocktail manual by William "Cocktail" Boothby originally published in 1900, with revised editions in 1908, 1930 and 1934.....
- Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
- Ian Hamilton's MarchIan Hamilton's MarchIan Hamilton's March is a book written by Winston Churchill. It is a description of his experiences accompanying the British army during the Second Boer War, continuing after the events described in London to Ladysmith via Pretoria.-Writing:...
- London to Ladysmith via PretoriaLondon to Ladysmith via PretoriaLondon to Ladysmith via Pretoria is a book written by Winston Churchill. It is a personal record of Churchill's impressions during the first five months of the Second Boer War. It includes an account of the Relief of Ladysmith, and also the story of Churchill's capture and dramatic escape from the...
- Ian Hamilton's March
- Arthur Conan DoyleArthur Conan DoyleSir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
— The Great Boer WarThe Great Boer Warright|thumb|Title page from The Great Boer WarThe Great Boer War is a non-fiction work on the Boer War by Arthur Conan Doyle and first published in 1900. By the end of the war in 1902 the book had been published in 16 editions, constantly revised by Doyle... - The Nuttall EncyclopaediaThe Nuttall EncyclopaediaThe Nuttall Encyclopædia: Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge is an early 20th-century encyclopedia, edited by Rev. James Wood, first published in London in 1900 by Frederick Warne & Co Ltd.-Description:...
(edited by James WoodJames Wood (encyclopedist)The Reverend James Wood was the editor of The Nuttall Encyclopaedia. According to the title page of the encyclopedia, Wood was also the editor of "Nuttall's Standard Dictionary" and the compiler of "The Nuttall Dictionary of Quotations".-References:...
) - Sigmund FreudSigmund FreudSigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
— The Interpretation of DreamsThe Interpretation of DreamsThe Interpretation of Dreams is a book by psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. The first edition begins:.The book introduces Freud's theory of the unconscious with respect to dream interpretation... - Joaquim NabucoJoaquim NabucoJoaquim Aurélio Barreto Nabuco de Araújo was a Brazilian writer, statesman, and a leading voice in the abolitionist movement of his country.-Biography:...
— My Formation (PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
: Minha formaçãoMinha formaçãoMinha formação purports to be the autobiography of Joaquim Nabuco, who was a Brazilian writer. It is often cited as a classic of the Brazilian literature, which was first published in 1900.-References:...
)
Births
Among the most important literary births during the turn of the 19th century were those of Margaret MitchellMargaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
and Zelda Fitzgerald
Zelda Fitzgerald
Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald , born Zelda Sayre in Montgomery, Alabama, was an American novelist and the wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. She was an icon of the 1920s—dubbed by her husband "the first American Flapper"...
, the former of which would go on to pen one of the most successful novels of all time, Gone With the Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
, published in 1936. The work sparked various highly acclaimed adaptations.
- January 9 — Emmanuel D'AstierEmmanuel d'AstierEmmanuel d'Astier de La Vigerie was a French journalist, politician and member of the French Resistance.-Biography:Born in Paris, he attended the Naval Academy, but resigned from the French Navy in 1923...
, French journalist (d. 1969) - January 15 — William HeinesenWilliam HeinesenAndreas William Heinesen was a poet, composer and painter from the Faroe Islands.- His Writing :The Faroese capital Tórshavn is always the centre of Heinesen's writing. He is famous for having once called Tórshavn "The Navel of the World". His writing focuses on contrasts between darkness and...
, FaroeseFaroese peopleThe Faroese or Faroe Islanders are a Germanic ethnic group native to the Faeroe Islands. The Faroese are of mixed Norse and Gaelic origins.About 21,000 Faroese live in neighbouring countries, particularly in Denmark, Iceland and Norway....
writer (d. 1991) - February 4 — Jacques PrévertJacques PrévertJacques Prévert was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain very popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. Some of the movies he wrote are extremely well regarded, with Les Enfants du Paradis considered one of the greatest films of all time.-Life and...
, French poet (d. 1977) - February 19 — Giorgos SeferisGiorgos SeferisGiorgos or George Seferis was the pen name of Geōrgios Seferiádēs . He was one of the most important Greek poets of the 20th century, and a Nobel laureate...
, Greek poet (d. 1971) - February 22 — Seán Ó FaoláinSeán Ó FaoláinSeán Proinsias Ó Faoláin was an Irish short story writer. He was elected Saoi of Aosdána in 1986.Born as John Francis Whelan in Cork City, County Cork, Ireland, Sean Ó Faoláin wrote his first stories in the 1920s. Through 90 stories, written over a period of 60 years, Ó Faoláin charts the...
, Irish short story writer (d. 1991) - April 19 — Richard HughesRichard Hughes (writer)Richard Arthur Warren Hughes OBE was a British writer of poems, short stories, novels and plays.He was born in Weybridge, Surrey. His father was a civil servant Arthur Hughes, and his mother Louisa Grace Warren who had been brought up in Jamaica...
, English novelist (d. 1976) - April 24 — Elizabeth GoudgeElizabeth GoudgeElizabeth de Beauchamp Goudge was an English author of novels, short stories and children's books as Elizabeth Goudge...
, English novelist and children's author (d. 1984) - March 15 — Gilberto FreyreGilberto FreyreGilberto de Mello Freyre was a Brazilian sociologist, anthropologist, historian, writer, painter and congressman. His best-known work is a sociological treatise named Casa-Grande & Senzala...
, Brazilian author (d. 1987) - May 1 — Ignazio SiloneIgnazio SiloneIgnazio Silone was the pseudonym of Secondino Tranquilli, an Italian author and politician.-Early life and career:...
, novelist (d. 1978) - May 24 — Eduardo De FilippoEduardo De FilippoEduardo De Filippo was an Italian actor, playwright, screenwriter, author and poet, best known for his Neapolitan works Filumena Marturano and Napoli Milionaria.-Biography:...
, Italian author (d. 1984) - June 11 — Leopoldo MarechalLeopoldo MarechalLeopoldo Marechal was one of the most important Argentine writers of the twentieth century.- Biographical notes :...
, Argentine writer (d. 1970) - June 29 — Antoine de Saint-ExupéryAntoine de Saint-ExupéryAntoine de Saint-Exupéry , officially Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint Exupéry , was a French writer, poet and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of France's highest literary awards, and in 1939 was the winner of the U.S. National Book Award...
, novelist (d. 1944) - July 18 — Nathalie SarrauteNathalie SarrauteNathalie Sarraute was a French lawyer and writer of Russian Jewish origin.-Life:Sarraute was born Natalia/Natacha Tcherniak in Ivanovo , 300 km north-east of Moscow in 1900 , and, following...
, Russian born Francophone lawyer and writer (d. 1999) - July 24 — Zelda FitzgeraldZelda FitzgeraldZelda Sayre Fitzgerald , born Zelda Sayre in Montgomery, Alabama, was an American novelist and the wife of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. She was an icon of the 1920s—dubbed by her husband "the first American Flapper"...
, wife and inspiration of F. Scott Fitzgerald (d. 1948) - September 7 — Taylor CaldwellTaylor CaldwellJanet Miriam Holland Taylor Caldwell was an Anglo-American novelist and prolific author of popular fiction, also known by the pen names Marcus Holland and Max Reiner, and by her married name of J. Miriam Reback....
, novelist (d. 1985) - September 9 — James HiltonJames HiltonJames Hilton was an English novelist who wrote several best-sellers, including Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr. Chips.-Biography:...
, novelist (d. 1954) - October 16 — Edward ArdizzoneEdward ArdizzoneEdward Jeffrey Irving Ardizzone, CBE, RA was an English artist, writer and illustrator, chiefly of children's books.-Early life:...
, children's writer and illustrator (d. 1979) - November 8 — Margaret MitchellMargaret MitchellMargaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
, Gone with the Wind author (d. 1949) - November 19 — Anna SeghersAnna SeghersAnna Seghers was a German writer famous for depicting the moral experience of the Second World War.- Life :...
, novelist (d. 1983) - December 16 — V. S. PritchettV. S. PritchettSir Victor Sawdon Pritchett CH CBE , was a British writer and critic. He was particularly known for his short stories, collected in a number of volumes...
, short story writer (d. 1997)
Deaths
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
(a "celebrity" poet in late-19th century western European society), the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
(critical and acclaimed philologist of Weimar Classicism
Weimar Classicism
Weimar Classicism is a cultural and literary movement of Europe. Followers attempted to establish a new humanism by synthesizing Romantic, classical and Enlightenment ideas...
and one of the most famous German thinkers), the English poet Ernest Dowson
Ernest Dowson
Ernest Christopher Dowson , born in Lee, London, was an English poet, novelist and writer of short stories, associated with the Decadent movement.- Biography :...
(marking the death of one of the last notable poets of the Decadent movement
Decadent movement
The Decadent movement was a late 19th century artistic and literary movement of Western Europe. It flourished in France, but also had devotees in England and throughout Europe, as well as in the United States.-Overview:...
), John Ruskin
John Ruskin
John Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
(one of the most important historical art critics and an influential essayist), Francišak Bahuševič
Francišak Bahuševic
Francišak Bahuševič -Biography:Was born in Ambary manor in Vilna uezd of Vilna Governorate. As known, this manor in the end life was got by Vasily Tyapinsky. The participant of January Uprising of 1863-1864. After January Uprising left Belarus. Lived in Ukraine. Studied in Nezhinsk legal liceum....
(a literary pioneer of New Belarusian literature
Belarusian literature
Belarusian literature is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by speakers of the Belarusian language.- Pre-17 century:...
), Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane was an American novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism...
, R. D. Blackmore
R. D. Blackmore
Richard Doddridge Blackmore , referred to most commonly as R. D. Blackmore, was one of the most famous English novelists of the second half of the nineteenth century. Over the course of his career, Blackmore achieved a close following around the world...
and José Maria de Eça de Queiroz, often considered the greatest Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
writer in the realist
Literary realism
Literary realism most often refers to the trend, beginning with certain works of nineteenth-century French literature and extending to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century authors in various countries, towards depictions of contemporary life and society "as they were." In the spirit of...
style.
A list, ordered by date of death (and, if the date is either unspecified or repeated, ordered alphabetically by surname
Surname
A surname is a name added to a given name and is part of a personal name. In many cases, a surname is a family name. Many dictionaries define "surname" as a synonym of "family name"...
) of deaths in 1900 of literary figures, authors of written works or literature-related individuals follows, including nationality and year of birth. More prominent figures are bolded:
- Unspecified — BerdakhBerdakhBerdakh, pseudonym of Berdimurat , was a Karakalpak poet. He was the most famous representative of Karakalpak classical literature. He was the son of a poor fisherman and was born in Karakalpakstan, in a distant village what is now Muynak. His mother died when he was 10 years old...
, UzbekUzbeksThe Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
poet (b. 1827) - Unspecified — Michael BodkinMichael BodkinMichael Bodkin was the inspiration for Michael Furey in James Joyce's short story The Dead.Michael 'Sonny' Bodkin was a descendant of The Tribes of Galway, and lived at No. 2 Prospect Hill, where his family ran a shop. He worked as a clerk in the local Gas Company, and a student Galway University...
, IrishIrish peopleThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
real-world inspiration to famous writer James Joyce (b. 1879) - Unspecified — Gustav Jacob BornGustav Jacob BornGustav Jacob Born was a German histologist and medical author, and father of Max Born. His wife Gretchen Kauffmann gave birth to Max and a daughter Käthe , but she died on 29 August 1886. Gustav married a second time with Bertha Lipstein, she gave birth to another son, Wolfgang Gustav Jacob...
, German medical author and histologist (b. 1851) - January 19 — William LarminieWilliam LarminieWilliam Larminie was an Irish poet and folklorist.He was born in Castlebar, County Mayo, of Huguenot descent and was educated at Kingstown School and Trinity College Dublin, from which he graduated in 1871 with a moderatorship in classics...
, Irish poet and folklorist (b. 1849) - January 20 — Richard Doddridge Blackmore, EnglishEnglish peopleThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
novelist (b. 1825) - January 25 — Frederick H. ChapinFrederick H. ChapinFrederick H. Chapin was an American business man, mountaineer, photographer, amateur archaeologist and author. He is best known for his exploration of mesas and ruins found in the Mesa Verde area of Colorado. Although his book is relatively unknown today, his descriptions, maps and quality...
, AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author and explorer (b. 1852) - January 29 — John RuskinJohn RuskinJohn Ruskin was the leading English art critic of the Victorian era, also an art patron, draughtsman, watercolourist, a prominent social thinker and philanthropist. He wrote on subjects ranging from geology to architecture, myth to ornithology, literature to education, and botany to political...
, English art critic, social thinker and poet (b. 1819) - January 31 — John Sholto Douglas, ScottishScottish peopleThe Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
nobleman and nemesis of Oscar Wilde (b. 1844) - February 6 — Elijah BenamozeghElijah BenamozeghElijah Benamozegh, sometimes Elia or Eliyahu, was an Italian Orthodox rabbi and a noted Kabbalist, highly respected in his day as one of Italy's most eminent Jewish scholars. He served for half a century as rabbi of the important Jewish community of Livorno, where the Piazza Benamozegh now...
, ItalianItalian peopleThe Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
spiritual writer, major Kaballist figure and rabbi (b. 1822) - February 14 — Giovanni CanestriniGiovanni CanestriniGiovanni Canestrini was an Italian naturalist and biologist who was a native of Revò.He initially studied in Gorizia and Meran, then furthered his education in natural sciences at the University of Vienna...
, Italian scientist, essayist and prolific translator (b. 1835) - February 18 — Eugenio BeltramiEugenio BeltramiEugenio Beltrami was an Italian mathematician notable for his work concerning differential geometry and mathematical physics...
, Italian mathematician, theorist and mathematics writer (b. 1835) - February 23 — Ernest DowsonErnest DowsonErnest Christopher Dowson , born in Lee, London, was an English poet, novelist and writer of short stories, associated with the Decadent movement.- Biography :...
, English poet and novelist (b. 1867) - March 11 — Joseph Louis François BertrandJoseph Louis François BertrandJoseph Louis François Bertrand was a French mathematician who worked in the fields of number theory, differential geometry, probability theory, economics and thermodynamics....
, FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
professor and mathematics writer (b. 1822) - March 30 — David Léon CahunDavid Léon CahunDavid Léon Cahun was a French traveler, Orientalist and writer.-Life:Cahun's family, who came originally from Lorraine, destined him for a military career. However, owing to family affairs he was compelled to relinquish this, and he devoted himself to geographical and historical studies...
, French Orientalist and writer (b. 1841) - April 12 — James Richard CockeJames Richard CockeJames Richard Cocke , who had been blind since infancy, was an American physician, homeopath, and a pioneer hypnotherapist.- Early life :...
, American author and hypnotherapy pioneer (b. 1863) - April 21 — Charles BeecherCharles BeecherCharles Beecher was an American minister, composer of religious hymns, and prolific author.Beecher was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, the son of Lyman Beecher, an abolitionist Congregationalist preacher from Boston and Roxana Foote Beecher...
, American composer, minister and prolific writer (b. 1815) - April 23 — Charles Isaac EltonCharles Isaac EltonCharles Isaac Elton, QC was an English lawyer, antiquary, and politician.He was born in Southampton. Educated at Cheltenham and Balliol College, Oxford, he was elected a fellow of Queen's College in 1862. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1865...
, English historian, politician and writer (b. 1839) - April 27 — Francišak BahuševičFrancišak BahuševicFrancišak Bahuševič -Biography:Was born in Ambary manor in Vilna uezd of Vilna Governorate. As known, this manor in the end life was got by Vasily Tyapinsky. The participant of January Uprising of 1863-1864. After January Uprising left Belarus. Lived in Ukraine. Studied in Nezhinsk legal liceum....
, Belarusian poet, writer and lawyer (b. 1840) - April 30 — George Campbell, 8th Duke of ArgyllGeorge Campbell, 8th Duke of ArgyllGeorge John Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll KG, KT, PC, FRS, FRSE , styled Marquess of Lorne until 1847, was a Scottish peer, Liberal politician as well as a writer on science, religion, and the politics of the 19th century.-Background:Argyll was born at Ardencaple Castle, Dunbartonshire, the...
, Scottish politician and writer (b. 1823) - May 4 — Hugo BadalićHugo BadalicHugo Badalić was a Croatian writer.-Biography:Badalić attended primary school in his native city and Kostajnica, and the gymnasium in Zagreb. After finishing the gymnasium he went to university in Vienna where he graduated with a degree in Classical philology in 1874...
, CroatianCroatsCroats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
writer and professor (b. 1851) - May 20 — André Léo, French novelist and journalist (b. 1824)
- June 2 — Clarence CookClarence CookClarence Chatham Cook was a 19th-century American author and art critic.Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Cook graduated from Harvard in 1849 and worked as a teacher. Between 1863 and 1869, Cook wrote a series of articles about American art for The New York Tribune...
, American author and art critic (b. 1828) - June 3 — Mary KingsleyMary KingsleyMary Henrietta Kingsley was an English writer and explorer who greatly influenced European ideas about Africa and African people.-Early life:Kingsley was born in Islington, London on 13 October 1862...
, English travel writer and explorer (b. 1862) - June 4 — Edwards Amasa ParkEdwards Amasa ParkEdwards Amasa Park was an American Congregational theologian.He was the son of Calvin Park...
, American theologian, pastor and writer (b. 1808) - June 5 — Stephen CraneStephen CraneStephen Crane was an American novelist, short story writer, poet and journalist. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism...
, American writer, journalist and poet (b. 1871) - June 19 — Salvador CamachoSalvador CamachoSalvador Camacho Roldán was a Colombian lawyer, businessman and politician who, as Presidential Designate, served as President of Colombia ad interim in 1868 and again in 1871....
, ColombianColombian peopleColombian people are from a multiethnic Spanish speaking nation in South America called Colombia. Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and are a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:...
economist, politician and writer (b. 1827) - July 3 — Fernand BrouezFernand BrouezFernand Brouez was the founder and publisher of La Société Nouvelle . He initially edited the magazine with Belgian-born Arthur James, whom he met at the Université Libre de Bruxelles', and after 1889 with various other individuals.The second son of Jules Brouez and Victorine Sapin, Fernand and...
, Belgian editor and founder of La Société Nouvelle (b. 1861) - July 22 — Lucius E. ChittendenLucius E. ChittendenLucius Eugene Chittenden was a Vermont author, banker, lawyer, politician and peace advocate who served as Register of the Treasury during the Lincoln administration.-Early life:...
, American writer and Lincoln administration member (b. 1824) - July 29 — Henry Spencer AshbeeHenry Spencer AshbeeHenry Spencer Ashbee was a book collector, writer, and bibliographer, notorious for his massive, clandestine three volume bibliography of erotic literature written under the pseudonym of Pisanus Fraxi.-Life:...
, English book collector, writer and bibliographer (b. 1834) - August 2 — Sydney Robert BellinghamSydney Robert BellinghamSydney Robert Bellingham was an Irish-born businessman, lawyer, journalist and political figure in Canada East. He represented Argenteuil in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1867 to 1878.-Birth:...
, Irish CanadianIrish CanadianIrish Canadian are immigrants and descendants of immigrants who originated in Ireland. 1.2 million Irish immigrants arrived, 1825 to 1970, at least half of those in the period from 1831-1850. By 1867, they were the second largest ethnic group , and comprised 24% of Canada's population...
journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1808) - August 16 — José Maria de Eça de Queiroz, Portuguese novelist (b. 1845)
- August 25 — Friedrich NietzscheFriedrich NietzscheFriedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
, German philosopher and philologist (b. 1844) - August 28 — Henry SidgwickHenry SidgwickHenry Sidgwick was an English utilitarian philosopher and economist. He was one of the founders and first president of the Society for Psychical Research, a member of the Metaphysical Society, and promoted the higher education of women...
, English philosopher (b. 1838) - September 18 — Anne BealeAnne BealeAnne Beale was a popular Welsh novelist and poet.She lived at Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire, but later moved to London, where she died at 68 Belsize Road, South Hampstead...
, WelshWelsh peopleThe Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
novelist and poet (b. 1816) - September 29 — Samuel Fenton CarySamuel Fenton CarySamuel Fenton Cary was a congressman and significant temperance movement leader in the nineteenth century. Cary became well-known nationally as a prohibitionist author and lecturer.-Life:...
, American author and notable prohibitionist (b. 1814) - October 13 — Louis Adolphe CocheryLouis Adolphe CocheryLouis Adolphe Cochery was a French politician and journalist.-References:...
, French journalist and politician (b. 1819) - October 27 — James Henry BowkerJames Henry BowkerColonel James Henry Bowker , was a South African naturalist and soldier. He was co-author with Roland Trimen of South African Butterflies ....
, South African co-author of South African Butterflies (b. 1822) - November 12 — Thomas Arnold the Younger, English literary scholar (b. 1823)
- November 16 — Isidore BartheGeorges-Isidore BartheGeorges-Isidore Barthe was a Quebec lawyer, publisher, journalist, and political figure. He represented Richelieu in the Canadian House of Commons as an Independent Conservative from 1870 to 1872 and 1874 to 1878....
, French CanadianFrench CanadianFrench Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
journalist, publisher, and translator (b. 1834) - November 27 — David Carnegie, AustralianAustralian peopleAustralian people, or simply Australians, are the citizens of Australia. Australia is a multi-ethnic nation, and therefore the term "Australian" is not a racial identifier. Aside from the Indigenous Australian population, nearly all Australians or their ancestors immigrated within the past 230 years...
explorer and travel writer (b. 1871) - November 30 — Oscar WildeOscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, Irish celebrity, poet, dramatist and short story writer (b. 1854) - December 15 — Charles Cotesworth Beaman, American lawyer and author (b. 1840)
- December 30 — Henry Ames BloodHenry Ames BloodHenry Ames Blood was an American civil servant, poet, playwright and historian. He is chiefly remembered for The History of Temple, N. H.-Life:...
, American poet, dramatist and historian (b. 1836) - December 31 — Oscar AlinOscar AlinOscar Josef Alin was a Swedish historian and politician.Alin was born in Falun. In 1872 he completed his doctorate and became docent of political science, and in 1882 professor skytteanus of Government and Eloquence at Uppsala University...
, Swedish historian, politician and author (b. 1846)