November 20, 1889

Irish novelist Donn Byrne was born Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne on this day in New York in 1889. He was raised in Ireland and grew up speaking English and Irish. He joined the Irish Volunteer Movement. Byrne attended University College Dublin, studying romance languages. He was published in “The National Student,” the student magazine. In 1911, he returned to New York and worked in publishing. His first poem, “The Piper,” appeared in “Harper’s” in 1912. He published several short stories, his first anthology was “Stories without Women” in 1915. Byrne published his first novel, “The Stranger’s Banquet” in 1919. Many more novels would follow.