WRITER

Hunter S. Thompson

1937 - 2005

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Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author, regarded as a pioneer of New Journalism along with Gay Talese, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Joan Didion, and Tom Wolfe. He rose to prominence with the book Hell's Angels (1967), for which he lived a year among the Hells Angels motorcycle club to write a first-hand account of their lives and experiences. In 1970, he wrote an unconventional article titled "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved" for Scanlan's Monthly, which further raised his profile as a countercultural figure. It also set him on the path to establish the subgenre of New Journalism that he called "Gonzo", a style in which the writer becomes central to, and participant in the narrative. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Hunter S. Thompson is the 1,547th most popular writer (down from 1,310th in 2019), the 2,249th most popular biography from United States (down from 1,572nd in 2019) and the 181st most popular American Writer.

Hunter S. Thompson is most famous for his work as a journalist and author. He was the founder of the gonzo journalism style and is best known for his book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

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Among WRITERS

Among writers, Hunter S. Thompson ranks 1,547 out of 7,302Before him are Guido Adler, Seamus Heaney, Marianne Weber, Hipponax, Sabino Arana, and Manuel Puig. After him are Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Samuel Pepys, Auguste Maquet, Richard Lovelace, Augusto Roa Bastos, and Chernorizets Hrabar.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1937, Hunter S. Thompson ranks 99Before him are George Takei, Keizō Obuchi, Ronald Venetiaan, Eugen Doga, Jerry Reed, and Erich Segal. After him are Peter Burke, Boris Pugo, Cornelius A. Smith, Mitsuo Kamata, Daniel McFadden, and Monika Ertl. Among people deceased in 2005, Hunter S. Thompson ranks 70Before him are William Westmoreland, Ba Jin, Vincent Schiavelli, Barrington Moore Jr., Maurice Trintignant, and John Garang. After him are Narriman Sadek, Augusto Roa Bastos, Cicely Saunders, Robert Moog, Dana Elcar, and Julio César Turbay Ayala.

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Hunter S. Thompson ranks 2,249 out of 20,380Before him are John Carradine (1906), Daniel Bell (1919), H. Robert Horvitz (1947), Cindy Crawford (1966), Don Budge (1915), and Jerry Stiller (1927). After him are Alfred Stieglitz (1864), Joe Lynn Turner (1951), Clarissa Pinkola Estés (1945), Roger Myerson (1951), Harvey Milk (1930), and James Earl Ray (1928).

Among WRITERS In United States

Among writers born in United States, Hunter S. Thompson ranks 181Before him are Thornton Wilder (1897), Fredric Jameson (1934), Henry Steel Olcott (1832), Ken Kesey (1935), Erich Segal (1937), and Betty Friedan (1921). After him are Clarissa Pinkola Estés (1945), Solomon Northup (1808), Flannery O'Connor (1925), Don DeLillo (1936), Ken Wilber (1949), and Robert Jordan (1948).