The Most Famous

WRITERS from Benin

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This page contains a list of the greatest Beninese Writers. The pantheon dataset contains 7,302 Writers, 1 of which were born in Benin. This makes Benin the birth place of the 123rd most number of Writers behind Guatemala, and Panama.

Top 1

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Beninese Writers of all time. This list of famous Beninese Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

Photo of Phillis Wheatley

1. Phillis Wheatley (1753 - 1784)

With an HPI of 64.53, Phillis Wheatley is the most famous Beninese Writer.  Her biography has been translated into 41 different languages on wikipedia.

Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly (c. 1753 – December 5, 1784) was an American author who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry. Born in West Africa, she was kidnapped and subsequently sold into slavery at the age of seven or eight and transported to North America, where she was bought by the Wheatley family of Boston. After she learned to read and write, they encouraged her poetry when they saw her talent. On a 1773 trip to London with the Wheatleys' son, seeking publication of her work, Wheatley met prominent people who became her patrons. The publication in London of her Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral on September 1, 1773, brought her fame both in England and the American colonies. Prominent figures, such as George Washington, praised her work. A few years later, African-American poet Jupiter Hammon praised her work in a poem of his own. Wheatley was emancipated by the Wheatleys shortly after the publication of her book of poems. The Wheatleys died soon thereafter and Phillis Wheatley married John Peters, a poor grocer. They lost three children, who all died young. Wheatley-Peters died in poverty and obscurity at the age of 31.

People

Pantheon has 1 people classified as Beninese writers born between 1753 and 1753. Of these 1, none of them are still alive today. The most famous deceased Beninese writers include Phillis Wheatley.

Deceased Beninese Writers

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