Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut (1823 - 1886)

Diarist. Born Mary Boykin Miller at Pleasant Hill in Stateboro, South Carolina, the eldest child of Mary Boykin and Senator Stephen Decatur Miller. She was educated home before she was sent to Madame Talvande’s French School for Young Ladies, a boarding school in Charleston, at the age of about 13. She met James Chestnut, Jr. […]

Andre Chenier (1762 - 1794)

Poet. Born in Constantinople – what is today Istanbul, Turkey – the son of Louis Chénier, the French consul in Constantinople, and Elisabeth Santi-Lomaca of Greece. In 1773 he enrolled in the Collège de Navarre in Paris. In 1783 he became a cadet in a French regiment at Strasbourg, he had no affinity for military […]

Nien Cheng (1915 - 2009)

Author. The survivor of more than six years of torture in a Red Chinese prison, she wrote a best-selling account of her experiences. Raised in a wealthy family, she studied at the London School of Economics where in 1935 she met her future husband, Kang-chi Cheng (deceased 1957). Following their marriage, the couple worked in […]

Anton Chekhov (1860 - 1904)

Author. Russia’s greatest dramatist and short story writer, he had a seminal influence on 20th Century literature. Chekhov was born in Taganrog, the grandson of a former serf who had purchased his freedom. His father, a grocer and domestic tyrant, went bankrupt in 1876, and to avoid debtor’s prison he fled to Moscow with most […]

John Cheever (1912 - 1982)

Master American Writer of Short Stories and Novels. Hailing from an old New England family, his father lost much of his money in the stock market crash. He was a high school dropout, but a brilliant wordsmith. Served as a sergeant in the US Army. Began selling short stories to the New Yorker and other […]

Fermín Chávez (1924 - 2006)

Historian. Strongly involved with the peronism, he wrote more than 40 books, among them are: “Historia y Antología de la Poesía Gauchesca,” “Eva Perón sin Mitos,” “Eva Perón en la Historia,” “Civilización y Barbarie en la Historia de la Cultura Argentina,” and many others. (bio by: 380W)

Geoffrey Chaucer (1970 - 1400)

Poet. He was an English literary most noted as the best poet of the Middle Ages. Educated at St. Paul’s Cathedral School, he became acquainted with the influential writing of Virgil and Ovid. During his lifetime as an author, his most acclaimed book work was “The Canterbury Tales”, a collection of stories and poems. Many […]

Bruce Chatwin (1940 - 1989)

Author. Charles Bruce Chatwin, who seldom used his first name, was born in Sheffield in Yorkshire, although his parents came from Birmingham and he spent much of his youth in that city. His father was a solicitor who, at the time of his children’s birth (another son, Hugh, was born in 1944) was serving abroad […]

Thomas Chatterton (1752 - 1770)

Poet.  Famous for creating one of the 18th Century’s most notorious literary hoaxes. He was the son of a church choirmaster who died three months before Thomas was born,   and he grew up in poverty. At the age of eight he was sent to the school founded by Edward Colston, which was a charitable […]

Mary Coyle Chase (1906 - 1981)

Playwright, Journalist. She was a pioneering female newspaper reporter, starting with the Denver “Rocky Mountain News” from 1924 to 1931, and later working for United Press International news agency and the International News Service. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1945 for her play “Harvey”, a drama about inebriated drinker ‘Elwood P. Dowd’ and […]

James Hadley Chase (1906 - 1985)

Author. Born René Brabazon Raymond in London,  he was one of the most popular and prolific mystery writers of his time. During the Second World War he served as a pilot in the RAF, achieving the rank of Squadron Leader. Chase published some 80 books, of which more than twenty have been adapted into films. […]

Borden Chase (1900 - 1971)

Motion Picture Screenwriter, Author. He is best known for writing the screenplay for the 1948 Howard Hawks-directed western motion picture “Red River”, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.  Family links:  Spouse:  Patricia Chase (1926 – 1974)* *Calculated relationship

Henri Charrière (1906 - 1973)

Writer and Folk Figure. He was born in Ardèche (France) and died in Madrid (Spain). He is best known as the author of Papillon, that details his numerous escapes from his imprisonment in 1932 to his escape to Venezuela. His nickname is Papillon (Butterfly in french language), from a butterfly tattoo in his chest). He […]

Joseph Charless, Sr (1772 - 1834)

Founder of the first newspaper established in St. Louis, Missouri. Of Welsh origin, his family moved to Ireland in 1663 and as a young man he participated in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. After the failure of that patriotic movement he fled to France and from there came to the United States. He was a […]

John Roy Chapman (1927 - 2001)

Notable British playwright. Started out as a stage playwright, particularly Whitehall farces, with such plays as “Dry Rot”(1958), “Not Now Darling”(1973) and “Simple Spyman”(1958). He later moved into television with productions such as “Are You Being Served?,” “Fresh Fields (for which he was awarded an Emmy in 1984), “The Liver Birds” and “Allo Allo!” (bio […]

George Chapman (1970 - 1634)

Poet, Playwright, Translator. He was the first to translate the works of Homer into English, beginning with his “Seven Books of the Iliad” in 1598. This was followed by the complete “Iliad” in 1611, the “Odyssey” in 1615, and “The Whole Works of Homer” in 1616. Chapman took liberties with the material that reflected his […]

Dickey Chapelle (1919 - 1965)

Photojournalist. When she was killed in Viet Nam, she was both the first war correspondent killed in that conflict, as well as the first American woman reporter to be killed in any conflict. Born Georgette Louise Meyer, she was attending MIT by the age of sixteen, taking aeronautical design classes.  Later, she went to New […]

Iris Chang (1968 - 2004)

Author. She was the author of several books including “The Rape of Nanking,” “The Chinese in America” and “Thread of the Silkworm.” She died form a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 36. (bio by: Erik Lander)

Raymond Chandler (1888 - 1959)

Novelist, Screenwriter. He is considered by many to be a founder, along with Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain and other Black Mask writers, of the hard-boiled school of detective fiction. The character in his novels, Philip Marlowe, along with Hammett’s Sam Spade, is considered by some to be synonymous with “private detective,” both having been […]

Whittaker Chambers (1901 - 1961)

Journalist, Author, Soviet Agent. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he studied at Columbia University, and gained a modest reputation as a writer. Translated several works, notably “Bambi”, into English. He was an active American Communist (1925 to 1929, 1931 to 1938), writing for the Daily Worker and editing the New Masses. Along the way he became […]

Ephraim Chambers (1970 - 1740)

Encyclopaedist. Founder of ‘Chamber’s Cyclopaedia’, which is still published. Dr. Johnson claimed his style was based on Chambers’. His epitiaph (written by himself) is ‘multis pervulgatus, paucis notus; qui vitam inter lucem et umbram, nec eruditus, nec idiota, literis deditus, transegit’. (bio by: David Conway)

Dulce Chacón (1954 - 2003)

Spanish Writer. Dulce Chacón is remembered for her books “La Voz Dormida,” “Querrán Ponerle Nombre,” “Las Palabras de la Piedra,” “Contra el Desprestigio de la Altura,” “Algún Amor que no Mate” and “Cielos de Barro.” Politically active, she was member of “Woman Against the War” and “Culture Against the War.” (bio by: José L Bernabé […]

Rosa Chacel (1898 - 1994)

Author. She lived Spain during Spanish Civil War fleeing from fascism. Among her books are “Memorias de Leticia Valle,” “La Sinrazón,” “La Confesión,” “Desde el Amanecer,” “Barrio de Maravillas,” and “Acrópolis.” (bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni)  Family links:  Spouse:  Timoteo Pérez Rubio (1896 – 1977)* *Calculated relationship

Juan Chabás (1910 - 1954)

Author. He was born in Denia, Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana He was a member of Generation of 1927. He worked for magazines such as “Cervantes,” “Tableros” and “Horizonte” and for the newspapers “Diario de Barcelona” and “Luz” of Madrid. During Spanish Civil War, he was a member of Alliance of Antifascist Intelectuals. Later, he was forced […]

Miguel de Cervantes (1547 - 1616)

Renowned Spanish Writer. From his first novel, La Galatea, to his final production Los Trabajos de Persiles y Segismunda in 1617, Cervantes won the respect and admiration of the world. The fourth of 7 children, he was born into a poor family but from a very early age Cervantes showed his love for adventure and […]

Luis Cernuda (1902 - 1963)

Noted Spanish-born poet. He fled to England, and ultimately Mexico, to escape the fascism in Spain. Among his books of poems: “Los Placeres Prohibidos”, “Donde Habite el Olvido”, “La Realidad y el Deseo”, and “Como Quién Espera el Alba.” He is buried in Panteón Jardín, City of Mexico. (bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni)

Bennett Cerf (1898 - 1971)

Publisher, Editor, Author and Television Personality. Most Americans are familiar with him as a guest panelist on the television game show, “What’s My Line?” He was co-founder of the publishing company, Random House. A collector of jokes and witticisms, he was noted for his wit and pithy sayings, as exampled in his quotes “The person […]

Vincenzo Cerami (1940 - 2013)

Novelist, Screenwriter. He will be best remembered for the script of the Oscar-winning film “Life Is Beautiful” (1997). In 1976, he published his first novel “Un borghese piccolo piccolo”, ferocious satire about middle-class frustrations of the italian in the seventies which was followed by a successful film adaptation starring Alberto Sordi. During a literary career […]

C. W. Ceram (1915 - 1972)

C.W. Ceram was the pseudonym of German journalist and author Kurt Wilhelm Marek, known for his popular works about archaeology. He chose to write under a pseudonym to distance himself from his earlier work as a propagandist for the Third Reich. Ceram was born in Berlin. During World War II, he was a member of […]

Blaise Cendrars (1887 - 1961)

Author.  Real name Frédéric Louis Sauser.  An innovator in poetry and prose,  he had a significant impact on French literature before and after World War I.  His novels “Gold” (aka “Sutter’s Gold”,  1925) and “Moravagine” (1926) have been translated into over 20 languages.  Cendrars was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.  At 15 he was […]