It's the birthday of Terence Rattigan, born in London (1911), a popular British playwright in the '40s and '50s. He said he wrote for the common theatergoer, whom he called "Aunt Edna."

Terence Rattigan said, " A novelist may lose his readers for a few pages; a playwright never dares lose his audience for a minute."

It's the birthday of novelist and short story writer, James Salter, born in New York City (1925). He's the author of The Hunters, The Arm of Flesh, and many Hollywood screenplays as well. James Salter said, "In the richness of language, it's grace, breadth, dexterity, lies its power. To speak with clarity, brevity and wit is like holding a lightning rod."