Writers from United States

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary American Writers of all time. This list of famous American Writers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of American Writers.

1. #1

   

   Edgar Allan Poe

   1809 - 1849

   HPI 90.35148 languages

   Edgar Allan Poe is most famous for his poem "The Raven" and for writing horror stories.

2. #2

   

   T. S. Eliot

   1888 - 1965

   HPI 87.25112 languages

   T.S. Eliot is most famous for his poem "The Waste Land."

3. #3

   

   Emily Dickinson

   1830 - 1886

   HPI 85.1299 languages

   Emily Dickinson is most famous for her poetry.

4. #4

   

   Ernest Hemingway

   1899 - 1961

   HPI 84.99151 languages

   Ernest Hemingway is most famous for his novel, The Old Man and the Sea.

5. #5

   

   F. Scott Fitzgerald

   1896 - 1940

   HPI 84.6583 languages

   F. Scott Fitzgerald is most famous for his novel The Great Gatsby, which was published in 1925. The novel is set in 1922 and tells the story of a young man, Nick Carraway, who leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City to work in a bond office. He rents a small house next door to the lavish home of Jay Gatsby, a man...Read moreShow less

   F. Scott Fitzgerald is most famous for his novel The Great Gatsby, which was published in 1925. The novel is set in 1922 and tells the story of a young man, Nick Carraway, who leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City to work in a bond office. He rents a small house next door to the lavish home of Jay Gatsby, a man whom he soon discovers is fabulously wealthy, but who seems strangely reluctant to reveal the source of his wealth.

6. #6

   

   Mark Twain

   1835 - 1910

   HPI 83.94157 languages

   Mark Twain is most famous for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

7. #7

   

   Robert Frost

   1874 - 1963

   HPI 83.1881 languages

   Robert Frost is most famous for his poetry. He is often called the "poet laureate of America."

8. #8

   

   Toni Morrison

   1931 - 2019

   HPI 82.91108 languages

   Toni Morrison is most famous for her novel "Beloved."

9. #9

   

   George R. R. Martin

   b. 1948

   HPI 82.8791 languages

   George R. R. Martin is most famous for his epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.

10. #10

    

    Kurt Vonnegut

    1922 - 2007

    HPI 82.1583 languages

    Kurt Vonnegut is most famous for his novels Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle.