Ambrose Bierce, Arseny Tarkovsky, Ernesto Sabato, Lawrence Block, Julia Kristeva, Scott Oden, and Robert Charroux are the acclaimed authors who were born or died on a day like this.

Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. He was born on a day like this in Ohio in 1842. His vehemence as a critic, his motto "Nothing matters" and the sardonic view of human nature that informed his work all earned him the nickname "Bitter Bierce". Bierce employed a distinctive style of writing, especially in his stories. His style often embraces an abrupt beginning, dark imagery, vague references to time, limited descriptions, impossible events and the theme of war. Today, he is probably best known for his short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and his satirical lexicon "The Devil's Dictionary". In 1913, Bierce traveled to Mexico to gain first-hand experience of the Mexican Revolution. While traveling with rebel troops, he disappeared without a trace, becoming one of the most notable disappearances in American literary history. Investigations into his fate have proved fruitless, and despite an abundance of theories his end remains shrouded in mystery.

Arseny Tarkovsky
Arseny Alexandrovich Tarkovsky was a prominent Soviet poet and translator. He is considered one of the great 20th century Russian poets. He was also the father of influential film director Andrei Tarkovsky. He was born on a day like this in the Russian Empire. From 1924-25 he worked for a newspaper, where he managed an editorial section written in verse. At that time he translated poetry from Turkmen, Georgian, Armenian and Arabic. His first collection of poetry, "Before Snow", was published in 1962. He passed away on May 27, 1989, in Moscow, and was posthumously awarded the USSR State Prize.

Ernesto Sabato
Ernesto Sabato, born on a day like this in 1911, was an Argentine writer, painter and physicist. He was very influential in the literary world throughout Latin America and won some of the most prestigious prizes in Hispanic literature. Sabato's oeuvre includes three novels: "El Túnel" (1948), "Sobre héroes y tumbas" (1961) and "Abaddón el exterminador" (1974). The first of these received critical acclaim upon its publication. The second is regarded as his masterpiece, though he nearly burnt it like many of his other works. Sabato's essays cover topics as diverse as metaphysics, politics and tango. His writings led him to receive many international prizes, including the Legion of Honour (France), the Prix Médicis (Italy) and the Miguel de Cervantes Prize (Spain). He died on April 30, 2011, aged 99.

Lawrence Block
Lawrence Block is an acclaimed contemporary American crime writer best known for two long-running New York-set series. Block was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 1993. He was born in Buffalo on a day like this in 1938. The first of his work to appear was the 1957 story "You Can't Lose." He has since published more than fifty novels and more than a hundred short stories, as well as a series of books for writers. Block's most famous creation, the ever-evolving Matthew Scudder, was introduced in 1976's "The Sins of the Fathers" as an alcoholic ex-cop working as an unlicensed private investigator in Hell's Kitchen. Block's other major series, humorous and much lighter in tone, relates the misadventures of gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr. The series is rich in sophisticated, witty dialogue. Besides Scudder and Rhodenbarr, Block has written eight novels about Evan Tanner, an adventurer and accidental revolutionary who, as a result of an injury sustained in the Korean War, cannot sleep. "Small Town", Block's first non-series book in fifteen years was published in 2003. Block has also written dozens of short stories over the years, and he is the only three-time winner of the Edgar Award for Best Short Story.

Julia Kristeva
Julia Kristeva, born on a day like this in 1941, is a Bulgarian-French philosopher, literary critic, psychoanalyst, sociologist, feminist, and, most recently, novelist. She has lived in France since the mid-1960s. Kristeva became influential in international critical analysis, cultural theory and feminism after publishing her first book "Semeiotikè" in 1969. In the past decade, Kristeva has written a number of novels that resemble detective stories. While the books maintain narrative suspense and develop a stylized surface, her readers also encounter ideas intrinsic to her theoretical projects. Her fictional oeuvre, which includes "The Old Man and the Wolves", "Murder in Byzantium", and "Possessions", while often allegorical, also approaches the autobiographical in some passages. Kristeva was awarded the Holberg International Memorial Prize in 2004. She has also won the 2006 Hannah Arendt Award for Political Thought.

Scott Oden
Scott Oden was born on a day like this in Columbus, Indiana. He is an American historical novelist. His settings run the gamut, from Late Period Egypt to the era of Alexander the Great to Medieval Cairo. His lifelong fascination with ancient history began in 1976, when his third-grade teacher showed his class slides from the traveling Tutankhamun exhibit. His first book was the critically acclaimed "Men of Bronze"(2005). His other works include: "Memnon"(2006), "The Lion of Cairo"(2010), and "Serpent of Hellas"(2012).

Robert Charroux
Robert Charroux was the best-known pen-name of Robert Grugeau. Born on April 7, 1909, he was a French author known for his ancient astronaut theories and writing in other fringe subject. Robert Charroux worked for the French post office until becoming a full-time writer of fiction in the early 1940s. He also wrote the scripts for a French comic strip. Charroux was a pioneer of the theory of ancient astronauts, publishing at least six non-fiction works in this genre in the last decade of his life, including "One Hundred Thousand Years of Man's Unknown History"(1963, 1970), "Forgotten Worlds"(1973), "Masters of the World"(1974), "The Gods Unknown"(1974) and "Legacy of the Gods"(1974). He passed away on a day like this in 1978.

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