WRITER

Athol Fugard

1932 - 2025

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Harold Athol Lanigan Fugard (; 11 June 1932 – 8 March 2025) was a South African playwright, novelist, actor and director. Widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright and acclaimed as "the greatest active playwright in the English-speaking world" by Time magazine in 1985, he published more than thirty plays. He is best known for his political and penetrating plays opposing the system of apartheid, some of which have been adapted to film. His novel Tsotsi was adapted as a film of the same name, which won an Academy Award in 2005. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Athol Fugard has received more than 695,894 page views. His biography is available in 24 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 21 in 2019). Athol Fugard is the 6,268th most popular writer (down from 5,830th in 2019), the 192nd most popular biography from South Africa (down from 185th in 2019) and the 16th most popular South African Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 700k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 49.99

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 24

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 1.94

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.01

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Athol Fugard ranks 6,268 out of 7,302. Before him are Philip G. Epstein, Matti Yrjänä Joensuu, Derek Taylor, Lauren Weisberger, Renata Viganò, and Gita Mehta. After him are Ingvar Ambjørnsen, George Farquhar, Howard Jacobson, Mah Laqa Bai, Róža Domašcyna, and Lloyd C. Douglas.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1932, Athol Fugard ranks 518. Before him are Slide Hampton, Daniel Kleppner, Poul Pedersen, Derek Taylor, Barbara Shelley, and Vitold Kreyer. After him are Robert L. Forward, Danny Hodge, Coxsone Dodd, Gennadiy Shatkov, Bob Lutz, and Mae Faggs. Among people deceased in 2025, Athol Fugard ranks 106. Before him are Calistrat Cuțov, Djamel Menad, Barbara Frischmuth, Maria Teresa Horta, Émilie Dequenne, and Dick Button. After him are Barbie Hsu, Johnny Tillotson, Wings Hauser, Greg Bell, David Johansen, and Brian Murphy.

Others Born in 1932

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Others Deceased in 2025

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In South Africa

Among people born in South Africa, Athol Fugard ranks 192 out of 454. Before him are Roger Michell (1956), Steven Pienaar (1982), Reeva Steenkamp (1983), Clarence Walker (1898), Mzilikazi (1790), and Leal (null). After him are Karel Schoeman (1939), Griselda Pollock (1949), Florence Fuller (1867), Charlbi Dean (1990), Baleka Mbete (1949), and Govan Mbeki (1910).

Others born in South Africa

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Among WRITERS In South Africa

Among writers born in South Africa, Athol Fugard ranks 16. Before him are Deon Meyer (1958), Ingrid Jonker (1933), Alan Paton (1903), Andrew Murray (1828), Elsa Joubert (1922), and Antjie Krog (1952). After him are Karel Schoeman (1939), Damon Galgut (1963), Bessie Head (1937), John Langalibalele Dube (1871), Fatima Meer (1928), and Es'kia Mphahlele (1919).

South African born Writers

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