Terry Pratchett

Person in history

Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (born 1948)

Life at a glance

Died
2015 · March 12

Their story

Who they were

Sir Terence David John Pratchett was an English author, humorist, and satirist, best known for the Discworld series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the apocalyptic comedy novel Good Omens (1990), which he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman.

Early life

Early life and education Pratchett was born on 28 April 1948 in Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire , England, the only child of David (1921–2006), a mechanic, and Eileen Pratchett (neé Kearns) (1922–2010), a secretary, of Hay-on-Wye . [ 1 ] His maternal grandparents came from Ireland. [ 2 ] Pratchett attended Holtspur School, where he was bullied for his speech impediments . He was disliked by the head teacher , who, Pratchett said,

Path and career

Career Shorts and early novels (1965–1982) Pratchett left school at aged 17, in 1965, to start a career in journalism. [ 1 ] He began this with an apprenticeship with Arthur Church, the editor of the Bucks Free Press . [ 1 ] In this position he wrote, among other things, more than 80 stories for the Children's Circle section under the name Uncle Jim. These were published regularly by the outlet, with the first on 8 October 1965. [ 2 ]

Why this date

Terry Pratchett appears on our March 12 calendar for 2015 as a death entry.

Sources

Cite this page

“Terry Pratchett”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/people/terry-pratchett, accessed October 28, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about Terry Pratchett

When did Terry Pratchett die?

March 12 2015.

Who else was born on this day?

The date page lists everyone we hold for that calendar day.

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