French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac died August 18, 1850 in Paris, France. 

Honoré de Balzac – For the Unemployed Intellectuals
This semi-postal stamp was part of a series started in the 1935 to support unemployed writers, artists and intellectuals. 
A portion of the money raised from these stamps went towards the relief program L’Entr’aide des Travailleurs Intellectuels“(E.T.I.).
Designed and engraved by Antonin (Jean) Delzers 

Honoré de Balzac is one of the most emblematic writers of the French novel. Born on 20 May 1799 in Tours and died prematurely on 18 August 1850 in Paris, he was the author of La Comédie humaine. The Balzacian novel, whether adored or criticized, remains unavoidable today; some characters in La comédie humaine such as Père Goriot, Rastignac or César Birotteau have become true literary legends.
Honoré de Balzac: biography, bibliography, discography, filmography | Fnac

 

Last year’s SOD was a look back at another aviation milestone. August 18, 1903, a month prior to the successful Wright Brothers flight, Karl Jatho claimed to have successfully flown.