Mary Roberts Rinehart

Mary Roberts Rinehart was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie. Rinehart published her first mystery novel The Circular Staircase in 1908, which introduced the "had I but known" narrative style. Rinehart is also considered the source of "the butler did it" plot device in her novel The Door (1930), although the exact phrase does not appear in her work. She also worked to tell the stories and experiences of front line soldiers during World War I, one of the first women to travel to the Belgian front lines.

12 August 1876

Born on the same birth day (12 August): Cara Delevingne • Charlie O'Donnell • Ian Hutchinson (motorcyclist) • John Holt (cricketer) • Margaret Burbidge • Mark Knopfler • Marvin Zeegelaar • Michael Kidd • Sam Hoare (rugby league) • Stefanos Tsitsipas

Born in the same month (August 1876): Alexander I of Serbia • Charles F. Kettering • Giovanni Giuriati • Ivan Bilibin • John Scaddan • Kim Ku • Mary Ritter Beard • Mata Hari • Pingali Venkayya • Stylianos Gonatas • Varghese Payyappilly