Apr 17, 2014 Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel-Winning Author, Dead At 87 (Image source: Flickr / Jose Lara) BY MATT PICHT Literary giant and Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez has died at the age of 87. Márquez's death was confirmed to various media outlets by close friends and family Thursday afternoon. The author had suffered several years of declining health following a cancer diagnosis in 1999. (Via CBS) Born in 1927, Márquez was raised by his grandparents in the town of in Aracataca, Colombia. He began his writing career as a journalist before turning to fiction with the novella "Leaf Storm." (Via The Guardian) Márquez's most famous novel by far is "One Hundred Years of Solitude." The novel was a definitive work in the genre of magical realism, which confuses the border between the real and the supernatural. (ViaHarperCollins Publishers) "One Hundred Years of Solitude" cemented Márquez's place as one of the most important authors of the twentieth century. His work especially resonated throughout Latin America, where he was affectionately known as "Gabo." In 1982, Márquez won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Gabo used his acceptance speech to speak about the difficulties Latin American literature faced when trying to communicate to a Western audience. "Our crucial problem has been a lack of conventional means to render our lives believable. This, my friends, is the crux of our solitude." Márquez did not shy away from politics, and his close friendship with Fidel Castro was the subject of a huge controversy. U.S. officials branded Márquez "subversive" and denied him a visa for many years. (Via CNN) Politicians mourned the author's death Thursday. Colombia's president Juan Manuel Santos tweeted, "A thousand years of solitude and sadness at the death of the greatest Colombian of all time." And President Obama added in a statement, "The world has lost one of its greatest visionary writers." Márquez is survived by his wife Mercedes Barcha and his two sons, Rodrigo and Gonzalo.

From “Great Expectations” to “Oliver Twist”, one of the best known authors of English literature was celebrated Tuesday -- 200 years after his birth. BBC was at his childhood home in Portsmouth for the occasion.

“Today the street outside was crowded with well-wishers at the first in a series of celebrations which traced his career.”

A career that included the novel “A Christmas Carol” with its timeless characters Ebenezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim. Britain’s Telegraph saw Prince Charles lay a wreath Tuesday at Dickens’ grave in Westminster Abbey, while actor Ralph Fiennes read from his novel “Bleak House”.

“I want’s to tell him that I’m as poor as him now and have come there to be laid along with him. By and by Joe, bye and bye.”

But while Dickens the writer is still highly regarded, ABC Australia found that not everyone holds Dickens the man in such esteem -- the outlet spoke with a Dickens expert from the New South Wales state library.

“He was really quite appalling the way he treated his wife.  I think he did have a lot of hang ups and problems but I don’t think that that really matters when we look at the books.

The Guardian celebrated the birthday by hypothetically asking Dickens how he would cope in the modern world.

“Film producers will be calling on your mobile phone – but you will be wary, because you have always had to protect yourself from suppliants and admirers. Could you give up your famous quill pen and ink to toy with a computer? I guess you could.”

And there was good news for Dickens fans in London, as Euronews found.

“After a two month refurbishment the Charles Dickens museum in London has reopened its doors. The former Dickens’ house has the world’s most important Dickens’ collection with over 100,000 items.”

But even if you're not an avid reader Dickens can still be enjoyed. IMDb credit the author with inspiring 326 feature length titles.