Birthdate: December 28, 1934

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Riddrie, Glasgow, Scotland

Died: December 29, 2019

Alasdair Gray was a Scottish artist and writer whose works have inspired several other prominent writers like Irvine Welsh, Alan Warner, Janice Galloway, Chris Kelso, and A. L. Kennedy. His first novel Lanark, which was published in 1981, is viewed as a watershed in the history of Scottish fiction. He also painted murals, including one at the Hillhead subway station.