List of satirists and satires

This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire—humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires.

Early satirical authors Aesop (c. 620–560 BCE, Ancient Greece) – Aesop's Fables Diogenes (c. 412–600 BCE, Ancient Greece) Aristophanes (c. 448–380 BCE, Ancient Greece) – The Frogs, The Birds, and The Clouds Gaius Lucilius (c. 180–103 BCE, Roman Republic) Horace (65–8 BCE, Roman Republic) – Satires Ovid (43 BCE – 17 CE, Roman Republic/Roman Empire) – The Art of Love Seneca the Younger (c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Hispania/Rome) – Apocolocyntosis Persius (34–62 CE, Roman Empire) Petronius (c. 27–66 CE, Roman Empire) – Satyricon Juvenal (1st to early 2nd cc. CE, Roman Empire) – Satires Lucian (c. 120–180 CE, Roman Empire) Apuleius (c. 123–180 CE, Roman Empire) – The Golden Ass Various authors (9th century CE and later) – One Thousand and One Nights, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ

Medieval, early modern and 18th-century satirists Godfrey of Winchester (died 1107, England) Ubayd Zakani (عبید زاکانی, died 1370, Persia) – Akhlaq al-Ashraf (Ethics of the Aristocracy) Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375, Italy) – The Decameron James Bramston (1694–1743, England) – satirical poet Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343–1400, England) – The Canterbury Tales Sebastian Brant (also Brandt) (1458 – 1521, Strasbourg) – Das Narrenschiff (Ship of Fools) Gil Vicente (c. 1465–1536, Portugal) Erasmus (1466–1536, Burgundian Netherlands/Switzerland) – The Praise of Folly François Rabelais (c. 1493–1553, France) – Gargantua and Pantagruel Various authors (16th century CE and later, Italy) – Talking statues of Rome Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616, Spain) – Don Quixote Luis de Góngora (1561–1627, Spain) William Shakespeare (1564–1616, England) – Sonnet 130 Francisco de Quevedo (1580–1645, Spain) Juan de Tassis, 2nd Count of Villamediana (1582–1622, Spain) Martin Marprelate (true identity unknown, fl. 1588–1589, England) – Marprelate tracts Samuel Butler (1612–1680, England) – Hudibras Molière (1622–1673, France) – Le Malade imaginaire Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (1623–1673, England) John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1647–1680, England) Jonathan Swift (1667–1745, Ireland/England) – Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, A Tale of a Tub Alicia D'Anvers [née Clarke] (baptised 1668 – 1725, England) – Academia, or, The Humours of the University of Oxford, 1691; The Oxford-Act, 1693 John Gay (1685–1732, England) – The Beggar's Opera Alexander Pope (1688–1744, England) Voltaire (1694–1778, France) – Candide James Bramston (1694–1744, England) William Hogarth (1697–1764, England) – Beer Street and Gin Lane Nicholas Amhurst (1697–1742, England) David Raphael ben Abraham Polido () Henry Fielding (1707–1754, England) Laurence Sterne (1713–1768, Ireland/England) – The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman James Beresford (1764–1840, England) – The Miseries of Human Life Ivan Krylov (1769–1844, Russia) Jane Austen (1775–1817, England) – Thomas Love Peacock (1785–1866, England) – Nightmare Abbey, Crochet Castle Eaton Stannard Barrett (1786–1820, Ireland) – The Heroine Charles Etienne Boniface (1787–1853, France/South Africa) – De Nieuwe Ridderorde of De Temperantisten (in Dutch, The New Knighthood or the Temperance Societies) Giuseppe Gioachino Belli – (1791–1863, Italy) Benjamin Franklin - (1706-1790, US) - Silence Dogood Letters, On Titles of Honor, The Busy-Body Letters, A Witch Trial at Mount Holly, Poor Richard's Almanack, Join, or Die, Felons and Rattlesnakes, The Speech of Polly Baker, On the Slave-Trade

Modern satirists (born 1800–1900) Evan Bevan (1803–1866, Wales) – satirical poetry in Welsh Nikolai Gogol (1809–1852, Russia) – The Government Inspector, Dead Souls Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849, US) – The Man That Was Used Up, A Predicament, Never Bet the Devil Your Head William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863, England) – Vanity Fair Charles Dickens (1812–1870, England) – Hard Times, A Tale of Two Cities Eugène Edine Pottier (1816–1887, France) James Russell Lowell (1819–1891, US) – A Fable for Critics George Derby, also known as John P. Squibob and John Phoenix (1823–1861, US) Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin (1826–1889, Russia) Lewis Carroll (1832–1898, England) – Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass Samuel Butler (1835–1902, England) – Erewhon Mark Twain (1835–1910, US) – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911, England) Narushima Ryūhoku (成島柳北, 1837–1884, Japan) Thomas Nast (1840–1902, US) Ambrose Bierce (1842 – c. 1914, US) – The Devil's Dictionary Anatole France (1844–1924, France) José Maria de Eça de Queirós (1845–1900, Portugal) Oscar Wilde (1854–1900, Ireland/England) – The Importance of Being Earnest George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950, England) Jerome K. Jerome (1859–1927, England) – Three Men in a Boat, Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow Anton Chekhov (1860–1904, Russia) – The Lady with the Dog O. Henry (1862–1910, US) short story writer known for surprise endings, namesake of the O. Henry Award Jalil Mammadguluzadeh (1866–1931, Azerbaijan) Lakshminath Bezbaroa (1868–1938, India, writing in Assamese) Saki, also known as H. H. Munro (1870–1916, England) Trilussa (1873–1950, Italy) Alfred Jarry (1873–1907, France) – Ubu Roi Radoje Domanović (1873–1908, Serbia) Iraj Mirza (ایرج میرزا, 1874–1926, Iran) Karl Kraus (1874–1936, Austria) Will Rogers (1879–1935, US) James Branch Cabell (1879–1958, US) Ali-Akbar Dehkhoda (علی‌اکبر دهخدا, 1879–1959, Iran) H. L. Mencken (1880–1956, US) – cultural critic and author Arkady Averchenko (1881–1925, Russia) P. G. Wodehouse (1881–1975, England/US) Wyndham Lewis (1882–1957, England) Jaroslav Hašek (1883–1923, Austria-Hungary/Czechoslovakia) – The Good Soldier Švejk Oscar Cesare (1885–1948, Sweden/US) Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977, England) – Modern Times, The Great Dictator, Monsieur Verdoux Kurt Tucholsky (1890–1935, Germany) Mikhail Bulgakov (1891–1940, Russia/Soviet Union) – Heart of a Dog, The Master and Margarita Dorothy Parker (1893–1967, US) satirical writer of humorous short stories, poetry and book reviews Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893–1930, Russia/Soviet Union) Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) – Point Counter Point, Brave New World James Thurber (1894-1961, US) – "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" Mikhail Zoshchenko (1894–1958, Soviet Union) Josep Pla (1897–1981, Spain [Catalonia]) Ilf and Petrov: Ilya Ilf (1897–1937, Soviet Union) and Yevgeni Petrov (1903–1942, Soviet Union) – The Twelve Chairs, The Little Golden Calf Yury Olesha (1899–1960, Soviet Union) – Three Fat Men, Envy

Modern satirists (born 1900–1930) Stella Gibbons (1902–1989, England) – author of comic novel Cold Comfort Farm Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966, England) – Brideshead Revisited, Decline and Fall, Scoop George Orwell (1903–1950, England) – Animal Farm, Nineteen Eighty-Four Malcolm Muggeridge (1903–1990, England) Dr. Seuss (1904–1991, US) – The Lorax (1971), The Butter Battle Book (1984) Kurt Kusenberg (1904–1983, Germany) Daniil Kharms (1905–1942, Russia/USSR) H. F. Ellis (1907–2000, England) – The Papers of A. J. Wentworth, B.A., 1949 Jean Effel (1908–1982, France) – cartoonist, author of the cartoon cycle The Creation of the World Natyaguru Nurul Momen (1908-1990, Bangladesh) - pioneer satirist & playwright, author of We are Brothers All, Lest we Forget, Forbidden Pleasures, Bahurupa, Is Law an Ass etc. Al Capp (1909–1979, US) Arkady Raikin (1911–1987, Russia/USSR) – stand-up comedian Aubrey Menen (1912–1989, Britain, India) – satirist, novelist and philosopher Walt Kelly (1913–1973, US) Anthony Burgess (1917–1993, England) – A Clockwork Orange Warrington Colescott (1921–2018, US) Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007, US) – Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions, Cat's Cradle Lenny Bruce (1925–1966, US) – stand-up comedian Joseph Heller (1923–1999, US) – Catch-22 Art Buchwald (1924–2007) – political humor column in The Washington Post Terry Southern (1924–1995, US) – The Magic Christian, Dr. Strangelove Günter Grass (1927–2015, Germany) – The Tin Drum, Cat and Mouse Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999, US) – Dr. Strangelove Harvey Kurtzman (1924–1993, US) Tom Lehrer (1928–2025, US) – That Was the Year That Was Jules Feiffer (1929, US) – satirical cartoonist who wrote the original play and screenplay for Little Murders Ray Bradbury (US) William S. Burroughs (US) – Naked Lunch Dario Fo (Italy) Flannery O'Connor (US) C. Northcote Parkinson (England) Anna Russell (England/Canada) Gore Vidal (US) – Myra Breckinridge Mel Brooks (US) – The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein Erma Bombeck (1927, US) Allan Sherman (1924–1973, US) – musician, parodist, television producer, voice actor Stan Freberg (1926, US) – musician, parodist, voice actor Brian O'Nolan (1911–1966, Ireland) – At Swim-Two-Birds (as Flann O'Brien) Ephraim Kishon (1924, Israel) Jerry Lewis (1926-2017) (US) – comedian, screenwriter, director

Contemporary satirists (born 1930–1960) Joey Skaggs (born 1945, US) - artist and media satirist Mordecai Richler (1931–2001, Canada) Tom Wolfe (born 1931, US) – The Bonfire of the Vanities Vladimir Voinovich (born 1932, Soviet Union/Russia) – The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin, Moscow 2042 Robert Anton Wilson (1932–2007, US) – The Illuminatus! Trilogy Barry Humphries (1934–2023, Australia) – My Gorgeous Life, The Life and Death of Sandy Stone, stage shows Jonathan Miller (1934–2019, England) Alan Bennett (born 1934, England) Mykhailo Zhvanetskyi (born 1934, Soviet Union/Russia) Dudley Moore (1935–2002, England) David Lodge (born 1935, US) – author of "Campus Trilogy" Woody Allen (born 1935, US) Thomas Pynchon (born 1937, US) – V., The Crying of Lot 49, Gravity's Rainbow Richard Ingrams (born 1937, England) John Kennedy O'Toole (born 1937, US) George Carlin (1937–2008, US) – stand-up comedian Peter Cook (1937–1995, England) – of the Satire boom, Beyond the Fringe Eleanor Bron (born 1938, England) David Frost (1939–2013, England) Grigori Gorin (1940–2000, Soviet Union/Russia) Frank Zappa (1940–1993, US) – We're Only in It for the Money, Cruising with Ruben and the Jets Sergei Dovlatov (1941–1990, Soviet Union/Russia) Kioumars Saberi Foumani (کیومرث صابری فومنی, 1941–2004, Iran) Randy Newman (born 1943, US) - Sail Away, Good Old Boys Neil Innes (1944–2019, England) – former Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band founder and member of The Rutles. Writer of satirical songs and books Gennady Khazanov (born 1945, Soviet Union/Russia) – stand-up comedian Luba Goy (born 1945, Canada) Roger Abbott (born 1946, Canada) – sketch comedian. Lewis Grizzard (born 1946, US) Sue Townsend (1946–2014, England) – Adrian Mole Don Ferguson (born 1946, Canada) Jonathan Meades (born 1947, England) – writer, broadcaster and satirist P.J. O'Rourke (1947-2022, US) Terry Pratchett (1948–2015) – humorist and fantasy novelist, The Discworld book series Lewis Black (born 1948, US) – stand-up comic, The Daily Show Mikhail Zadornov (born 1948, Soviet Union/Russia) Garry Trudeau (born 1948, US) Jaafar Abbas (living, Sudan) Christopher Guest (born 1948, US) – This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman Georg Schramm (born 1949, Germany) – Scheibenwischer, Neues aus der Anstalt, kabarett artist Gary Larson (born 1950, US) – cartoonist Fran Lebowitz (born 1950, US) – The Fran Lebowitz Reader, Public Speaking (film) – NYC public intellectual Bailey White (born 1950, US) Joe Queenan (born 1950, US) Steve Bell (born 1951, England) Bill Bryson (born 1951, US) Al Franken (born 1951, US) Douglas Adams (1952–2001, England) – The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Mary Walsh (born 1952, Canada) Phil Hendrie (born 1952, US) – radio host of The Phil Hendrie Show Robert Zubrin (born 1952, US) Christopher Buckley (born 1952) – Thank You for Smoking, The White House Mess