South African writer J.M. Coetzee is born in Cape Town.

Born John Maxwell Coetzee in Cape Town to Afrikaner parents, Coetzee uses his initials as his pen name. He studied at the University of Cape Town and graduated with an honours degree in English in 1960 and an honours degree in Mathematics the following year.  In 1962, he left for the United Kingdom where he worked as a computer programmer for IBM in London. In 1963, while working in London, he was awarded a Master of Arts Degree at the University of Cape Town. In 1969, he received his PhD from the University of Texas in the United States of America. Coetzee has written extensively throughout his life. He writes novels and essays, his most recent work being the novel, The childhood of Jesus (2013). Coetzee was the first writer to receive the Booker Prize twice. His other accolades include the Nobel Prize for Literature (2003) and The CNA Prize. He is arguably the most celebrated living English writer. Coetzee currently lives in Adelaide, Australia.