WRITER

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

1938 - 2025

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Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (Gikuyu: [ᵑɡoɣe wá ðiɔŋɔ]; born James Ngugi; 5 January 1938 – 28 May 2025) was a Kenyan author and academic, who has been described as East Africa's leading novelist and an important figure in modern African literature. Ngũgĩ wrote primarily in English before switching to writing primarily in Gikuyu and becoming a strong advocate for literature written in native African languages. His works include novels such as the celebrated novel The River Between, plays, short stories, memoirs, children's literature and essays ranging from literary to social criticism. He was the founder and editor of the Gikuyu-language journal Mũtĩiri. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is the 2,175th most popular writer, the 8th most popular biography from Kenya and the most popular Kenyan Writer.

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Among WRITERS

Among writers, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o ranks 2,175 out of 7,302. Before him are Nelson Algren, Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, Antimachus, Herman Bang, Alexander Imich, and S. S. Van Dine. After him are Apollonius Dyscolus, Dagny Juel, Jacques Futrelle, Erich Mühsam, Leonora Christina Ulfeldt, and Fernando de Rojas.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1938, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o ranks 160. Before him are Tengiz Kitovani, Beata Tyszkiewicz, David Baltimore, Igor Sergeyev, Sergei Novikov, and Jean Eustache. After him are Oleg Gordievsky, Goh Kun, Luis Artime, Ronny Cox, Alan Dershowitz, and Manuel Sanchís Martínez. Among people deceased in 2025, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o ranks 36. Before him are Eugen Doga, Khamtai Siphandon, Dražen Dalipagić, Pierre Nora, Robert Benton, and Costas Simitis. After him are Oleg Gordievsky, Geneviève Page, Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, Zurab Tsereteli, Bertrand Blier, and Hugo Gatti.

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In Kenya

Among people born in Kenya, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o ranks 8 out of 150. Before him are Richard Dawkins (1941), Barack Obama Sr. (1936), Roger Whittaker (1936), Jomo Kenyatta (1893), Louis Leakey (1903), and Daniel arap Moi (1924). After him are Deep Roy (1949), Mwai Kibaki (1931), Richard Leakey (1944), Kipchoge Keino (1940), Eliud Kipchoge (1984), and Uhuru Kenyatta (1961).

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Among WRITERS In Kenya

Among writers born in Kenya, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o ranks 1. After him are Philippa Gregory (1954), Grace Ogot (1930), and Binyavanga Wainaina (1971).

Kenyan born Writers

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