WRITER
Wilbur Smith
1933 - 2021

Wilbur Smith
Wilbur Addison Smith (9 January 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Northern Rhodesian-born British-South African novelist specializing in historical fiction about international involvement in Southern Africa across four centuries. He gained a film contract with his first published novel, When the Lion Feeds, which encouraged him to become a full-time writer. He went on to write three long chronicles of the South African experience, which became best-sellers. He acknowledged his publisher Charles Pick's advice to "write about what you know best"; his work focuses on southern African ways of life, with emphasis on hunting, mining, romance, and conflict. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Wilbur Smith is the 997th most popular writer (down from 875th in 2019), the most popular biography from Zambia and the most popular Zambian Writer.
Wilbur Smith is most famous for his historical fiction novels set in Africa, particularly the Courtney series.
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Among WRITERS
Among writers, Wilbur Smith ranks 997 out of 7,302. Before him are Sherwood Anderson, Joachim du Bellay, Ghassan Kanafani, Vasily Zhukovsky, Branislav Nušić, and Thomas Wolfe. After him are John Grisham, Joost van den Vondel, Aziz Nesin, Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, Andrew of Crete, and Agathon.
Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsSherwood Anderson
1876 - 1941
HPI: 68.24
Rank: 991
Joachim du Bellay
1522 - 1560
HPI: 68.23
Rank: 992
Ghassan Kanafani
1936 - 1972
HPI: 68.23
Rank: 993
Vasily Zhukovsky
1783 - 1852
HPI: 68.23
Rank: 994
Branislav Nušić
1864 - 1938
HPI: 68.23
Rank: 995
Thomas Wolfe
1900 - 1938
HPI: 68.23
Rank: 996
Wilbur Smith
1933 - 2021
HPI: 68.22
Rank: 997
John Grisham
1955 - Present
HPI: 68.19
Rank: 998
Joost van den Vondel
1587 - 1679
HPI: 68.19
Rank: 999
Aziz Nesin
1915 - 1995
HPI: 68.18
Rank: 1,000
Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff
1788 - 1857
HPI: 68.18
Rank: 1,001
Andrew of Crete
660 - 740
HPI: 68.16
Rank: 1,002
Agathon
448 BC - 401 BC
HPI: 68.16
Rank: 1,003
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1933, Wilbur Smith ranks 78. Before him are Willie Nelson, Cormac McCarthy, Godfried Danneels, Richard S. Castellano, Peter Mansfield, and Horst Buchholz. After him are Sam Jones, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Teresa Berganza, Waichiro Omura, Henryk Górecki, and Tomislav Ivić. Among people deceased in 2021, Wilbur Smith ranks 57. Before him are Richard Rogers, Chick Corea, Bernard Haitink, Abolhassan Banisadr, E. O. Wilson, and Donald Rumsfeld. After him are Eduardo Martínez Somalo, Sam Jones, Betty White, Jean-Claude Carrière, Jorge Medina, and Abdul Qadeer Khan.
Others Born in 1933
Go to all RankingsWillie Nelson
MUSICIAN
1933 - Present
HPI: 68.43
Rank: 72
Cormac McCarthy
WRITER
1933 - 2023
HPI: 68.40
Rank: 73
Godfried Danneels
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1933 - 2019
HPI: 68.39
Rank: 74
Richard S. Castellano
ACTOR
1933 - 1988
HPI: 68.30
Rank: 75
Peter Mansfield
PHYSICIST
1933 - 2017
HPI: 68.29
Rank: 76
Horst Buchholz
ACTOR
1933 - 2003
HPI: 68.23
Rank: 77
Wilbur Smith
WRITER
1933 - 2021
HPI: 68.22
Rank: 78
Sam Jones
BASKETBALL PLAYER
1933 - 2021
HPI: 68.12
Rank: 79
Yevgeny Yevtushenko
WRITER
1933 - 2017
HPI: 68.09
Rank: 80
Teresa Berganza
SINGER
1933 - 2022
HPI: 68.00
Rank: 81
Waichiro Omura
SOCCER PLAYER
1933 - 2003
HPI: 67.93
Rank: 82
Henryk Górecki
COMPOSER
1933 - 2010
HPI: 67.88
Rank: 83
Tomislav Ivić
COACH
1933 - 2011
HPI: 67.78
Rank: 84
Others Deceased in 2021
Go to all RankingsRichard Rogers
ARCHITECT
1933 - 2021
HPI: 68.99
Rank: 51
Chick Corea
MUSICIAN
1941 - 2021
HPI: 68.95
Rank: 52
Bernard Haitink
MUSICIAN
1929 - 2021
HPI: 68.95
Rank: 53
Abolhassan Banisadr
POLITICIAN
1933 - 2021
HPI: 68.91
Rank: 54
E. O. Wilson
BIOLOGIST
1929 - 2021
HPI: 68.83
Rank: 55
Donald Rumsfeld
POLITICIAN
1932 - 2021
HPI: 68.46
Rank: 56
Wilbur Smith
WRITER
1933 - 2021
HPI: 68.22
Rank: 57
Eduardo Martínez Somalo
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1927 - 2021
HPI: 68.18
Rank: 58
Sam Jones
BASKETBALL PLAYER
1933 - 2021
HPI: 68.12
Rank: 59
Betty White
ACTOR
1922 - 2021
HPI: 68.02
Rank: 60
Jean-Claude Carrière
WRITER
1931 - 2021
HPI: 67.99
Rank: 61
Jorge Medina
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1926 - 2021
HPI: 67.92
Rank: 62
Abdul Qadeer Khan
PHYSICIST
1936 - 2021
HPI: 67.90
Rank: 63
In Zambia
Among people born in Zambia, Wilbur Smith ranks 1 out of 41. After him are Kenneth Kaunda (1924), Stanley Fischer (1943), Robert John "Mutt" Lange (1948), Levy Mwanawasa (1948), Godfrey Chitalu (1947), Frederick Chiluba (1943), Edgar Lungu (1956), Michael Sata (1937), Peter Dickinson (1927), Hakainde Hichilema (1962), and Denise Scott Brown (1931).
Others born in Zambia
Go to all RankingsWilbur Smith
WRITER
1933 - 2021
HPI: 68.22
Rank: 1
Kenneth Kaunda
POLITICIAN
1924 - 2021
HPI: 67.18
Rank: 2
Stanley Fischer
ECONOMIST
1943 - 2025
HPI: 66.00
Rank: 3
Robert John "Mutt" Lange
MUSICIAN
1948 - Present
HPI: 65.95
Rank: 4
Levy Mwanawasa
POLITICIAN
1948 - 2008
HPI: 62.33
Rank: 5
Godfrey Chitalu
SOCCER PLAYER
1947 - 1993
HPI: 61.47
Rank: 6
Frederick Chiluba
POLITICIAN
1943 - 2011
HPI: 61.26
Rank: 7
Edgar Lungu
POLITICIAN
1956 - 2025
HPI: 61.05
Rank: 8
Michael Sata
POLITICIAN
1937 - 2014
HPI: 60.33
Rank: 9
Peter Dickinson
WRITER
1927 - 2015
HPI: 58.78
Rank: 10
Hakainde Hichilema
POLITICIAN
1962 - Present
HPI: 58.43
Rank: 11
Denise Scott Brown
ARCHITECT
1931 - Present
HPI: 56.47
Rank: 12
Among WRITERS In Zambia
Among writers born in Zambia, Wilbur Smith ranks 1. After him are Peter Dickinson (1927), and Alan Rusbridger (1953).
Wilbur Smith
1933 - 2021
HPI: 68.22
Rank: 1
Peter Dickinson
1927 - 2015
HPI: 58.78
Rank: 2
Alan Rusbridger
1953 - Present
HPI: 42.53
Rank: 3