Edmund Wilson

Edmund Wilson Jr. was an American writer, literary critic and journalist. He is widely regarded as one of the most important literary critics of the 20th century. Wilson began his career as a journalist, writing for publications such as Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. He helped to edit The New Republic, served as chief book critic for The New Yorker, and was a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books. Wilson was the author of more than twenty books, including Axel's Castle, Patriotic Gore, and a work of fiction, Memoirs of Hecate County. He was a friend of many notable figures of the time, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and John Dos Passos. His scheme for a Library of America series of national classic works came to fruition through the efforts of Jason Epstein after Wilson's death. He was a two-time winner of the National Book Award and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964.

8 May 1895

Born on the same birth date (8 May 1895): Fulton J. Sheen • James H. Kindelberger

Born on the same birth day (8 May): Adrián González • Aloysius Stepinac • Barbara Howard (athlete) • David Hurst • Edward Tompkins • Felix Jones • Fernandel • Gary Glitter • Heather Harper • Lúcio • Mark Noble • Mike D'Antoni • Turkey Stearnes

Born in the same month (May 1895): Fidél Pálffy • James H. Kindelberger • Jiddu Krishnamurti • Joe Murphy (Irish republican) • Lucian Blaga • Lázaro Cárdenas • Maurice Tate • May Hollinworth • Nikolai Yezhov • Prescott Bush • Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr. • Saul Adler • Supermarine Spitfire • William D. Byron • William Grant Still