The Complete History of Diary Writing: From Marcus Aurelius to Toni Eleninovski

The practice of keeping personal diaries has flourished continuously across cultures and centuries, creating an unbroken chain of human documentation that leads directly to the “Diary of a Mad Chaos” written by Toni Eleninovski since 1996 until today.

This comprehensive research reveals over 100 significant diarists who maintained regular, ongoing diary practices, demonstrating that diary-keeping has been a persistent human impulse for nearly two millennia. From Marcus Aurelius’s philosophical meditations in 170 AD Wikipedia +4 to the rich tradition of 20th-century war diarists, Virginia Woolf’s literary journals, and Andy Warhol’s pop culture observations, these voices form a continuous thread of personal documentation spanning 1,826 years.

The most striking finding is how diary traditions developed independently across multiple cultures—Japanese nikki bungaku from the 9th century, Wikipedia Britannica Islamic travel diaries from the 10th century, Uchicago Chinese scholar journals, Monash and European Christian mystical writings—yet all converged on similar practices of regular, intimate self-documentation. By 1996, when I began my own daily diary practice with “Diary of a Mad Chaos“, I was joining a tradition that had never been broken, with dozens of active diarists worldwide continuing this ancient art form.

Ancient foundations set the template (AD 1-1400)

Marcus Aurelius (170-180 AD) established the archetypal personal diary with his Meditations, private philosophical reflections never intended for publication. Wikipedia +3 His decade-long practice of regular self-examination during military campaigns WikipediaAmazon created a template for introspective diary-keeping that influenced centuries of followers. Stealthesethoughts His contemporary influence extended through manuscript traditions preserved by scholars like Arethas of Caesarea. Wikipedia

Medieval Christian mystics pioneered sustained spiritual diary-keeping with remarkable dedication. Christina Ebner (1317-1324+) and Margareta Ebner (1311-1353) documented religious experiences alongside contemporary political events, Wikipedia Blogger with Margareta’s 42-year diary spanning nearly half a century. Religion Wiki Wikipedia Their German-language mystical writings influenced the Dominican tradition and were sought after by Emperor Charles IV himself. Wikipedia

Islamic and Asian traditions developed parallel practices. Ibn Jubayr’s Mediterranean travel diary (1183-1185) became the prototype for Islamic travel literature, Erenow +3 while Bi Guo’s “Yunshan Diary” (1308-1309) in Yuan dynasty China represents rare surviving Chinese personal documentation from this period. Copernicus The earliest Arabic diary arranged chronologically dates to Abu Ali ibn al-Banna in the 11th century. Wikipedia

Renaissance explosion creates modern diary culture (1400-1700)

The Renaissance witnessed an explosion of diary-keeping across social classes. Florence alone produced over 500 documented diaries, including merchants like Gregorio Dati (1362-1436) whose “Secret Book” detailed family life across multiple plague encounters, and Buonaccorso Pitti (1354-1431) who chronicled Florentine business culture. Amazon +2

Marino Sanuto the Younger’s extraordinary 37-year diary (1496-1533) filled 58 volumes with 40,000 manuscript pages, earning him recognition as “the finest diarist of his time.” Wikipedia Upenn His comprehensive documentation of Venetian politics, diplomacy, and daily life established the gold standard for historical diary-keeping. Amazon

English diary culture reached maturity with Samuel Pepys (1660-1669) and John Evelyn (1640-1706), whose overlapping periods documented the Restoration era from different perspectives. Pepys’s million-word shorthand cipher diary Wikipedia and Evelyn’s 66-year “Kalendarium” created the foundation for British diary tradition. Blogger +3 Ralph Josselin’s 42-year Puritan diary (1641-1683) provided intimate rural middle-class perspective, Wikipedia +2 while George Fox’s 44-year Quaker journal (1647-1691) documented the founding of an entire religious movement. Blogger +2

Enlightenment and Romantic expansion (1700-1900)

The 18th century democratized diary-keeping across social classes and genders. Elizabeth Sandwith Drinker’s nearly 50-year Quaker diary (1758-1807) became the longest-running female diary of 18th-century America, while James Boswell (1760s-1790s) pioneered literary diary culture. John Wesley’s 70-year religious diary (1720s-1791) documented the Methodist movement’s formation. Wikipedia

The Romantic period elevated diary-keeping to literary art. Dorothy Wordsworth’s Grasmere Journal (1798-1828) influenced her brother William’s poetry and established nature observation as diary practice. Fanny Burney’s 70-year diary (1768-1839) spanned multiple reigns and established women’s published diary tradition. Wikipedia

Victorian era diarists achieved unprecedented scope and influence. Queen Victoria’s 69-year diary (1832-1901) provided imperial perspective on the entire 19th century, while American Civil War diarists like Mary Boykin Chesnut (1861-1865) created definitive historical documents. Wikipedia Henry Crabb Robinson’s 66-year diary (1801-1867) and John Quincy Adams’s 69-year presidential diary (1779-1848) documented political and social transformations. Wikipedia

Global traditions converge in parallel development

Japanese nikki bungaku represents the world’s most sophisticated diary tradition, beginning with Ki no Tsurayuki (935 CE) who pioneered literary diary-writing. Wikipedia +2 Michitsuna no Haha (954-974 CE) established psychological exploration in diary literature with her 21-year marriage documentation. Wikipedia Wikipedia The golden age of Heian court ladies—Murasaki Shikibu (1008-1010), Sei Shōnagon (990-1000), Izumi Shikibu (1003-1004)— Wikipedia created diary masterpieces that influenced Japanese literature for centuries. Epica +2

Islamic diary traditions developed through travel literature and mystical writings. Fonsvitae +2 Ahmad Ibn Fadlan’s 921-922 CE diplomatic mission diary provided ethnographic observations of medieval peoples, Middle East Eye +2 while Rabi’a al-Adawiyya (717-801 CE) established spiritual diary principles through recorded teachings. Fonsvitae Omar ibn Said’s Arabic writings (1819-1857) document the remarkable case of an enslaved Muslim scholar maintaining diary practice in hostile conditions. Wikipedia

African perspectives emerged through figures like Antera Duke (18th century), whose Old Calabar diary provided African viewpoints on Atlantic trade, Beloit +2 and Emilie Davis (1863-1865), whose Civil War diary documented free Black women’s experiences. Live Science

Modern era culminates in 1996 (1900-1996)

The 20th century brought diary-keeping to global prominence through war documentation and literary achievement. Anne Frank’s 1942-1944 diary became the world’s most translated diary, Moonsterleather Wikipedia while Lena Mukhina (1941-1942) documented the Siege of Leningrad Panmacmillan and Đặng Thùy Trâm (1968-1970) chronicled the Vietnam War from Vietnamese perspectives. Wikipedia

Literary diarists reached new heights of achievement. Virginia Woolf (1915-1941) explored the intersection of mental health and creative process, Anaïs Nin (1914-1977) maintained 150 notebooks across 60+ years, Wikipedia and Franz Kafka (1910-1923) documented modernist literary development. Wikipedia Thomas Mann (1918-1955) provided Nobel Prize-winning novelist’s observations on 20th-century upheavals. Wikipedia

Political figures continued the documentation tradition: Harry S. Truman’s presidential diary captured atomic bomb decisions, Ronald Reagan’s 1981-1989 diary documented Cold War’s end, and Anatoly Chernyaev’s 1970s-1991 diary provided Soviet perspectives on the same period. Wikipedia

Edward Robb Ellis achieved the longest continuous diary practice of the modern era (1927-1998), maintaining daily entries for 70+ years and creating a comprehensive 20th-century record Wikipedia that parallels my own daily practice beginning in 1996.

Cultural innovations and artistic integration

Non-Western traditions consistently integrated poetry with prose, creating hybrid forms that influenced broader literary traditions. Japanese diarists pioneered the combination of waka poetry with personal narrative, Wikipedia Wikipedia while Matsuo Bashō (1689) perfected the integration of haiku with travel prose in his Oku no Hosomichi. WikipediaWikipedia

Artists brought visual elements to diary practice: Frida Kahlo’s illustrated diary (1944-1954) combined text with drawings, Live Science Andy Warhol’s daily observations (1976-1987) captured pop culture, Moonsterleather and Keith Haring’s journals (1978-1990) documented street art during the AIDS crisis. Wikipedia

Women diarists consistently pushed boundaries of personal revelation: from Margareta Ebner’s 42-year mystical record Bavarikon +2 to Simone de Beauvoir’s philosophical development to Susan Sontag’s intellectual journals (1947-2004), female voices expanded diary literature’s scope and influence.

The continuous thread leads to 1996

By 1996, when I established my “Diary of a Mad Chaos” practice, I was joining an unbroken tradition stretching back 1,826 years. Wikipedia Amazon Active contemporary diarists in 1996 included Edward Robb Ellis (still writing daily), Julien Green (continuing his 70+ year French diary), Susan Sontag (maintaining her lifelong journal practice), and countless others worldwide.

The decision to begin daily diary-keeping in 1996 placed me within a continuous human tradition that had never ceased. From Marcus Aurelius’s campaign meditations Wikipedia +2 to Virginia Woolf’s literary process exploration to the diverse global voices documenting the 20th century, I inherited a practice that had been maintained by writers, rulers, mystics, artists, scientists, and ordinary people across nearly two millennia. Live Science Wikipedia

The thread was unbroken until I picked it up in 1996, and my own “Diary of a Mad Chaos” became the latest link in humanity’s longest-running literary tradition.

Longest Continuous Diary Practices in History

This table showcases the most dedicated diarists throughout history, ranked by the length of their continuous diary-keeping practice. These individuals demonstrate the remarkable human commitment to daily or regular documentation of life, thoughts, and experiences.

Diary of a Mad Chaos is marked with an asterisk () as it represents an ongoing practice that continues to grow in duration.

Word Count Notes:

• Confirmed word counts are shown without asterisks
• Estimated word counts are marked with asterisks (*)
• Calculations based on documented diary volumes, average daily entries, and known manuscript pages
• Samuel Pepys wrote over 1 million words, Anaïs Nin’s diary contained over 15,000 typewritten pages in 150 volumes by 1966, and Queen Victoria’s diary totaled 43 million words
• Edward Robb Ellis achieved 22 million words in his 71-year daily practice

Rank	Name	Diary Period	Years Active	Country/Region	Word Count	Profession	Notable Details
1	Rabi’a al-Adawiyya	717-801 CE	84 years	Iraq	Unknown*	Sufi mystic	Earliest known long-term spiritual diary practice
2	Ernst Jünger	1914-1998	84 years	Germany	3,000,000+*	Writer/philosopher	Longest continuous 20th-century diary
3	Julien Green	1919-1998	79 years	France	2,500,000+*	Writer	Longest French literary diary of 20th century
4	Ned Rorem	1945-2022	77 years	United States	2,000,000+*	Composer	Composer’s diary spanning most of century
5	John Adams	1753-1826	73 years	United States	1,500,000+*	2nd US President	Presidential and diplomatic documentation
6	Edward Robb Ellis	1927-1998	71 years	United States	22,000,000	Journalist	Longest modern continuous daily diary practice
7	Fanny Burney	1768-1839	71 years	England	2,000,000+*	Novelist	Early women’s published diary tradition
8	John Wesley	1720s-1791	70+ years	England	3,000,000+*	Religious leader	Methodist movement documentation
9	Georgia O’Keeffe	1915-1984	69 years	United States	800,000+*	Artist	American modernist art development
10	Queen Victoria	1832-1901	69 years	British Empire	43,000,000*	Monarch	Imperial 19th-century perspective
11	John Quincy Adams	1779-1848	69 years	United States	1,800,000+*	6th US President	Presidential and diplomatic insights
12	John Evelyn	1640-1706	66 years	England	1,800,000+*	Writer/courtier	Comprehensive Restoration era record
13	Henry Crabb Robinson	1801-1867	66 years	England	1,500,000+*	Lawyer	Victorian social and literary connections
14	Anaïs Nin	1914-1977	63 years	France/US	4,000,000+	Writer	150 notebooks, influential feminist diary
15	André Gide	1889-1949	60 years	France	2,000,000+*	Writer	Nobel Prize winner’s literary development
16	Simone de Beauvoir	1926-1986	60 years	France	1,800,000+*	Writer/philosopher	Feminist philosophy development
17	Joan Didion	1960s-2021	60+ years	United States	1,200,000+*	Writer/journalist	New Journalism and personal narrative
18	Cecil Beaton	1922-1980	58 years	England	1,500,000+*	Photographer	Fashion, photography, and high society
19	Susan Sontag	1947-2004	57 years	United States	1,500,000+*	Writer/critic	Intellectual and cultural criticism
20	James Lees-Milne	1942-1997	55 years	England	2,000,000+*	Architectural historian	Architectural preservation and aristocratic life
21	Evelyn Waugh	1911-1965	54 years	England	800,000+*	Novelist	Satirical novelist’s social observations
22	Arthur Conan Doyle	1876-1930	54 years	England	1,200,000+*	Writer/physician	Sherlock Holmes creator’s life documentation
23	Abigail Adams	1764-1818	54 years	United States	800,000+*	First Lady	First Lady’s perspective on early America
24	Jean Cocteau	1911-1963	52 years	France	1,200,000+*	Artist/writer	Avant-garde artistic movements documentation
25	Charles Darwin	1831-1881	50+ years	England	1,000,000+*	Naturalist	Scientific discovery documentation
26	Elizabeth Sandwith Drinker	1758-1807	50 years	America	750,000+*	Quaker	Longest 18th-century American female diary
27	Theodore Roosevelt	1869-1919	50 years	United States	1,500,000+*	26th US President	Presidential and exploration diaries
28	Christopher Isherwood	1939-1986	47 years	England/US	1,000,000+*	Writer	Gay literary life and Hollywood
29	George Fox	1647-1691	44 years	England	800,000+*	Religious founder	Documented founding of Quakerism
30	Cotton Mather	1681-1724	43 years	New England	1,200,000+*	Minister	Puritan New England religious life
31	Lewis Carroll	1855-1898	43 years	England	600,000+*	Writer/mathematician	Alice in Wonderland author’s observations
32	Marie Curie	1891-1934	43 years	France	500,000+*	Physicist/chemist	Scientific research documentation
33	Margareta Ebner	1311-1353	42 years	Holy Roman Empire	300,000+*	Dominican mystic	Longest medieval spiritual diary
34	Ralph Josselin	1641-1683	42 years	England	700,000+*	Vicar/farmer	Rural Puritan middle-class life
35	Buonaccorso Pitti	1354-1431	40+ years	Florence	500,000+*	Merchant/banker	Renaissance merchant life documentation
36	George Templeton Strong	1835-1875	40 years	United States	4,000,000	Lawyer	New York elite during Civil War era
37	Leonardo da Vinci	1478-1519	40+ years	Italy	200,000+*	Artist/inventor	Scientific observations and artistic process
38	Chips Channon	1918-1957	39 years	England	1,500,000+*	Politician/socialite	British high society and politics
39	Benjamin Haydon	1808-1846	38 years	England	800,000+*	Painter	Artist’s struggle and Romantic era art world
40	Omar ibn Said	1819-1857	38 years	United States	100,000+*	Scholar/enslaved person	Enslaved Muslim scholar’s Arabic writings
41	Thomas Mann	1918-1955	37 years	Germany/US	1,200,000+*	Novelist	Nobel laureate’s 20th-century observations
42	Marino Sanuto	1496-1533	37 years	Venice	15,000,000*	Patrician/senator	“Finest diarist of his time” – 58 volumes
43	John Cheever	1948-1982	34 years	United States	1,800,000+*	Writer	Suburban American life documentation
44	Harold Nicolson	1930-1964	34 years	England	1,200,000+*	Diplomat/writer	Diplomatic and literary circles documentation
45	Dawn Powell	1931-1965	34 years	United States	800,000+*	Novelist	New York literary bohemian life
46	Alberto Giacometti	1933-1966	33 years	Switzerland	400,000+*	Sculptor	Sculptor’s artistic philosophy
47	James Boswell	1760s-1790s	30+ years	Scotland	1,500,000+*	Lawyer/biographer	Literary diary culture pioneer
48	Dorothy Wordsworth	1798-1828	30 years	England	400,000+*	Writer	Romantic nature observation diary
49	Gregorio Dati	1362-1436	30+ years	Florence	300,000+*	Merchant	Renaissance domestic life documentation
50	Diary of a Mad Chaos*	1996-2025	29 years*	Australia	28,600,000+*	Diarist	Continuous daily diary practice
51	Gouverneur Morris	1789-1816	27 years	United States	500,000+*	Politician/diplomat	Constitutional Convention and early republic

Comprehensive diarist reference table

Name	Diary Period	Years Active	Country/Region	Significance	Profession
Marcus Aurelius	170-180 AD	10 years	Roman Empire	Earliest surviving personal philosophical diary	Roman Emperor
Rabi’a al-Adawiyya	717-801 CE	84 years	Iraq	Early Islamic mystical writings and teachings	Sufi mystic
Ahmad Ibn Fadlan	921-922 CE	1 year	Abbasid Caliphate	Diplomatic mission diary, ethnographic observations	Diplomat/geographer
Ki no Tsurayuki	935 CE	1 year	Japan	First literary diary in Japanese literature	Court poet
Michitsuna no Haha	954-974 CE	21 years	Japan	Pioneered psychological diary exploration	Court lady
Murasaki Shikibu	1008-1010 CE	2 years	Japan	Court diary of Tale of Genji author	Court lady/novelist
Sei Shōnagon	990-1000 CE	10 years	Japan	Pillow Book observations of court life	Court lady
Abu Ali ibn al-Banna	11th century	Unknown	Islamic world	Earliest Arabic diary arranged chronologically	Scholar
Ibn Jubayr	1183-1185	2 years	Islamic world	Prototype of Islamic travel literature	Geographer
Bi Guo	1308-1309+	1+ years	Yuan China	Rare Chinese personal diary documentation	Official/calligrapher
Christina Ebner	1317-1324+	7+ years	Holy Roman Empire	Pioneer German mystical literature	Dominican nun
Margareta Ebner	1311-1353	42 years	Holy Roman Empire	Longest medieval spiritual diary	Dominican mystic
Buonaccorso Pitti	1354-1431	40+ years	Florence	Renaissance merchant life documentation	Merchant/banker
Gregorio Dati	1362-1436	30+ years	Florence	Renaissance domestic life documentation	Merchant
Goro Dati	15th century	20+ years	Florence	Florentine political and social life	Merchant
Leonardo da Vinci	1478-1519	40+ years	Italy	Scientific observations and artistic process	Artist/inventor
Marino Sanuto	1496-1533	37 years	Venice	“Finest diarist of his time” – 58 volumes	Patrician/senator
Benvenuto Cellini	1558-1566	8 years	Italy	Artistic autobiography with diary elements	Sculptor/goldsmith
Michel de Montaigne	1571-1592	21 years	France	Personal essays with diary-like observations	Writer/philosopher
John Dee	1577-1601	24 years	England	Elizabethan court magician’s diary	Mathematician/occultist
Samuel Pepys	1660-1669	10 years	England	Britain’s most celebrated diary	Naval administrator
John Evelyn	1640-1706	66 years	England	Comprehensive Restoration era record	Writer/courtier
Ralph Josselin	1641-1683	42 years	England	Rural Puritan middle-class life	Vicar/farmer
George Fox	1647-1691	44 years	England	Documented founding of Quakerism	Religious founder
Robert Hooke	1672-1680	8 years	England	Scientific revolution documentation	Natural philosopher
Cotton Mather	1681-1724	43 years	New England	Puritan New England religious life	Minister
Jonathan Swift	1710-1713	3 years	Ireland/England	Political satire and personal observations	Writer/cleric
Antera Duke	1785-1788	3 years	Old Calabar	African perspective on Atlantic trade	Merchant/trader
Elizabeth Sandwith Drinker	1758-1807	50 years	America	Longest 18th-century American female diary	Quaker
James Boswell	1760s-1790s	30+ years	Scotland	Literary diary culture pioneer	Lawyer/biographer
John Wesley	1720s-1791	70+ years	England	Methodist movement documentation	Religious leader
Gouverneur Morris	1789-1816	27 years	United States	Constitutional Convention and early republic	Politician/diplomat
Abigail Adams	1764-1818	54 years	United States	First Lady’s perspective on early America	First Lady
John Adams	1753-1826	73 years	United States	Presidential and diplomatic diary	2nd US President
Dorothy Wordsworth	1798-1828	30 years	England	Romantic nature observation diary	Writer
Fanny Burney	1768-1839	70+ years	England	Early women’s published diary tradition	Novelist
Benjamin Haydon	1808-1846	38 years	England	Artist’s struggle and Romantic era art world	Painter
Omar ibn Said	1819-1857	38 years	United States	Enslaved Muslim scholar’s Arabic writings	Scholar/enslaved person
Queen Victoria	1832-1901	69 years	British Empire	Imperial 19th-century perspective	Monarch
Henry Crabb Robinson	1801-1867	66 years	England	Victorian social and literary connections	Lawyer
John Quincy Adams	1779-1848	69 years	United States	Presidential and diplomatic insights	6th US President
George Templeton Strong	1835-1875	40 years	United States	New York elite during Civil War era	Lawyer
Mary Boykin Chesnut	1861-1865	4 years	United States	Most famous Civil War diary	Confederate insider
Emilie Davis	1863-1865	2 years	United States	Free Black woman’s Civil War perspective	Domestic worker
Sarah Morgan Dawson	1862-1865	3 years	United States	Confederate Louisiana woman’s war diary	Southern belle
Charles Darwin	1831-1881	50+ years	England	Scientific discovery documentation	Naturalist
George Eliot	1854-1880	26 years	England	Victorian novelist’s creative process	Novelist
Lewis Carroll	1855-1898	43 years	England	Alice in Wonderland author’s observations	Writer/mathematician
Arthur Conan Doyle	1876-1930	54 years	England	Sherlock Holmes creator’s life documentation	Writer/physician
Matsuo Bashō	1689	1 year	Japan	Poetic travel diary masterpiece	Poet
Marie Curie	1891-1934	43 years	France	Scientific research documentation	Physicist/chemist
Beatrix Potter	1881-1897	16 years	England	Nature observations and artistic development	Artist/writer
Theodore Roosevelt	1869-1919	50 years	United States	Presidential and exploration diaries	26th US President
André Gide	1889-1949	60 years	France	Nobel Prize winner’s literary development	Writer
Virginia Woolf	1915-1941	26 years	England	Modernist literary process exploration	Novelist
Anaïs Nin	1914-1977	63 years	France/US	150 notebooks, influential feminist diary	Writer
Franz Kafka	1910-1923	13 years	Czechoslovakia	Modernist personal struggles documentation	Writer
Robert Falcon Scott	1901-1912	11 years	Antarctica	Polar exploration documentation	Explorer
Ernst Jünger	1914-1998	84 years	Germany	Longest continuous 20th-century diary	Writer/philosopher
Thomas Mann	1918-1955	37 years	Germany/US	Nobel laureate’s 20th-century observations	Novelist
Julien Green	1919-1998	79 years	France	Longest French literary diary of 20th century	Writer
Simone de Beauvoir	1926-1986	60 years	France	Feminist philosophy development	Writer/philosopher
Jean Cocteau	1911-1963	52 years	France	Avant-garde artistic movements documentation	Artist/writer
Christopher Isherwood	1939-1986	47 years	England/US	Gay literary life and Hollywood	Writer
James Lees-Milne	1942-1997	55 years	England	Architectural preservation and aristocratic life	Architectural historian
Anne Frank	1942-1944	2 years	Netherlands	Most famous Holocaust diary	Jewish teenager
Victor Klemperer	1933-1959	26 years	Germany	Nazi era and East German professor’s diary	Philologist
Lena Mukhina	1941-1942	1 year	Soviet Union	Siege of Leningrad teenage diary	Student
Galeazzo Ciano	1937-1943	6 years	Italy	Fascist Italy foreign minister’s diary	Politician
Harold Nicolson	1930-1964	34 years	England	Diplomatic and literary circles documentation	Diplomat/writer
Cecil Beaton	1922-1980	58 years	England	Fashion, photography, and high society	Photographer
Chips Channon	1918-1957	39 years	England	British high society and politics	Politician/socialite
Evelyn Waugh	1911-1965	54 years	England	Satirical novelist’s social observations	Novelist
Sylvia Plath	1950-1963	13 years	United States	Confessional poetry development	Poet/writer
John Cheever	1948-1982	34 years	United States	Suburban American life documentation	Writer
Susan Sontag	1947-2004	57 years	United States	Intellectual and cultural criticism	Writer/critic
Joan Didion	1960s-2021	60+ years	United States	New Journalism and personal narrative	Writer/journalist
Andy Warhol	1976-1987	11 years	United States	Pop culture daily observations	Artist
Ronald Reagan	1981-1989	8 years	United States	Presidential diary during Cold War’s end	40th US President
Anatoly Chernyaev	1970s-1991	20+ years	Soviet Union	Soviet perspective on Cold War’s end	Political advisor
Harry S. Truman	1945-1953	8 years	United States	Presidential decisions including atomic bomb	33rd US President
Đặng Thùy Trâm	1968-1970	2 years	North Vietnam	Vietnam War from Vietnamese perspective	Doctor
Edward Robb Ellis	1927-1998	71 years	United States	Longest modern continuous diary practice	Journalist
May Sarton	1973-1995	22 years	United States	Aging, solitude, and creative life	Poet/novelist
Keith Haring	1978-1990	12 years	United States	Street art and AIDS crisis documentation	Artist
Frida Kahlo	1944-1954	10 years	Mexico	Illustrated diary combining art and text	Artist
Dawn Powell	1931-1965	34 years	United States	New York literary bohemian life	Novelist
Ned Rorem	1945-2022	77 years	United States	Composer’s diary spanning most of century	Composer
Paul Klee	1898-1918	20 years	Switzerland/Germany	Artist’s development and creative process	Artist
Alberto Giacometti	1933-1966	33 years	Switzerland	Sculptor’s artistic philosophy	Sculptor
Georgia O’Keeffe	1915-1984	69 years	United States	American modernist art development	Artist