Portal:Biography
Appearance
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A page from the first edition of Foxe's Book of Martyrs, published in 1563
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Third Volume of a 1727 edition of Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans printed by Jacob Tonson
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Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Cover of the first English publication, J. Parson's, London, 1793
A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curriculum vitae (résumé), a biography presents a subject's life story, highlighting various aspects of their life, including intimate details of experience, and may include an analysis of the subject's personality. (Full article...)
Featured biographies
Today anniversaries
Pre-1600
- 659 – Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (d.680)
- 1077 – Emperor Zhezong of China (d. 1100)
- 1334 – Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy (d. 1383)
- 1467 – Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode (d. 1538)
- 1581 – James Ussher, Irish archbishop and historian (d. 1656)
1601–1900
- 1643 (NS) – Isaac Newton, English mathematician and physicist (d. 1726/27)
- 1654 – Lars Roberg, Swedish physician and academic (d. 1742)
- 1672 – Hugh Boulter, English-Irish archbishop (d. 1742)
- 1710 – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer, violinist, and organist (d. 1736)
- 1720 – Johann Friedrich Agricola, German organist and composer (d. 1774)
- 1731 – Karl Abraham Zedlitz, Prussian minister of education (d. 1793)
- 1785 – Jacob Grimm, German philologist and mythologist (d. 1863)
- 1809 – Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (d. 1852)
- 1813 – Isaac Pitman, English linguist and educator (d. 1897)
- 1832 – George Tryon, English admiral (d. 1893)
- 1838 – General Tom Thumb, American circus performer (d. 1883)
- 1839 – Carl Humann, German archaeologist, architect, and engineer (d. 1896)
- 1848 – Katsura Tarō, Japanese general and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1913)
- 1858 – Carter Glass, American publisher and politician, 47th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1946)
- 1864 – Clara Emilia Smitt, Swedish doctor and author (d. 1928)
- 1869 – Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1960)
- 1874 – Josef Suk, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1935)
- 1877 – Gibson Gowland, English film actor (d. 1951)
- 1877 – Marsden Hartley, American painter and poet (d. 1943)
- 1878 – A. E. Coppard, English poet and short story writer (d. 1957)
- 1878 – Augustus John, Welsh painter and illustrator (d. 1961)
- 1881 – Wilhelm Lehmbruck, German sculptor (d. 1919)
- 1883 – Max Eastman, American author and poet (d. 1969)
- 1883 – Johanna Westerdijk, Dutch pathologist and academic (d. 1961)
- 1884 – Guy Pène du Bois, American painter, critic, and educator (d. 1958)
- 1889 – M. Patanjali Sastri, Indian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of India (d. 1963)
- 1891 – Edward Brooker, English-Australian sergeant and politician, 31st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1948)
- 1895 – Leroy Grumman, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Grumman Aeronautical Engineering Co. (d. 1982)
- 1896 – Everett Dirksen, American politician (d. 1969)
- 1896 – André Masson, French painter and illustrator (d. 1987)
- 1897 – Chen Cheng, Chinese politician, Vice President of the Republic of China (d. 1965)
- 1900 – James Bond, American ornithologist and zoologist (d. 1989)
1901–present
- 1901 – C. L. R. James, Trinidadian journalist and theorist (d. 1989)
- 1902 – John A. McCone, American businessman and politician, 6th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1991)
- 1903 – Georg Elser, German carpenter and attempted assassin of Adolf Hitler (d. 1945)
- 1913 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (d. 2007)
- 1916 – Lionel Newman, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
- 1916 – Robert Parrish, American actor and director (d. 1995)
- 1920 – William Colby, American intelligence officer, 10th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1996)
- 1920 – Rosalie Crutchley, British actress (d. 1997)
- 1924 – Marianne Werner, German shot putter (d. 2023)
- 1925 – Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish skier and technician (d. 2003)
- 1927 – Paul Desmarais, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Barbara Rush, American actress (d. 2024)
- 1929 – Günter Schabowski, German journalist and politician (d. 2015)
- 1930 – Sorrell Booke, American actor and director (d. 1994)
- 1930 – Don Shula, American football player and coach (d. 2020)
- 1931 – William Deane, Australian judge and politician, 22nd Governor-General of Australia
- 1931 – Nora Iuga, Romanian poet, writer and translator
- 1932 – Carlos Saura, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2023)
- 1934 – Rudolf Schuster, Slovak politician, 2nd President of Slovakia
- 1935 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer (d. 2006)
- 1937 – Grace Bumbry, American operatic soprano (d. 2023)
- 1937 – Dyan Cannon, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1938 – Jim Norton, Irish stage, film and television actor
- 1938 – Eberhard Wagner, German academic, linguist and author
- 1940 – Brian Josephson, Welsh physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1940 – Gao Xingjian, Chinese novelist, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1941 – George P. Cosmatos, Italian-Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 2005)
- 1941 – Kalpnath Rai, Indian politician (d. 1999)
- 1942 – Bolaji Akinyemi, Nigerian political scientist, academic, and politician
- 1942 – Jim Downing, American race car driver and inventor
- 1942 – John McLaughlin, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1943 – Doris Kearns Goodwin, American historian and author
- 1943 – Hwang Sok-yong, South Korean author and educator
- 1944 – Gary Stevens, Australian rugby league player
- 1944 – Alan Sutherland, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2020)
- 1945 – Vesa-Matti Loiri, Finnish actor, musician and comedian (d. 2022)
- 1945 – Richard R. Schrock, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1946 – Arthur Conley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1947 – Chris Cutler, English percussionist, lyricist and music theorist
- 1947 – Marie-Thérèse Letablier, French sociologist and academic
- 1948 – Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (d. 1992)
- 1948 – Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé, Malian civil servant and politician, Prime Minister of Mali (d. 2021)
- 1949 – Mick Mills, English footballer and manager
- 1949 – Bwanga Tshimen, Congolese footballer
- 1950 – Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, Bangladesh poet and academic (d. 2013)
- 1953 – Norberto Alonso, Argentinian footballer
- 1954 – Rob Kerin, Australian politician, 43rd Premier of South Australia
- 1954 – Tina Knowles, American fashion designer, founded House of Deréon
- 1956 – Tom Borton, American jazz saxophonist, songwriter and composer (d. 2011)
- 1956 – Zehava Gal-On, Israeli politician
- 1956 – Ann Magnuson, American actress and performance artist
- 1956 – Bernard Sumner, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1957 – Patty Loveless, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1958 – Matt Frewer, American-Canadian actor
- 1958 – Julian Sands, English actor (d. 2023)
- 1960 – Gavin Miller, Australian rugby league player
- 1960 – Michael Stipe, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1961 – Sidney Green, American basketball player and coach
- 1961 – Cliff Levingston, American basketball player and coach
- 1961 – Graham McTavish, Scottish actor and author
- 1962 – Joe Kleine, American basketball player and coach
- 1963 – Dave Foley, Canadian comedian, actor, director, and producer
- 1963 – Till Lindemann, German singer, songwriter, and poet
- 1963 – Martina Proeber, German diver
- 1964 – Susan Devoy, New Zealand squash player
- 1964 – Dot-Marie Jones, American actress and athlete
- 1964 – Adrian Shelford, New Zealand rugby league player (d. 2003)
- 1965 – Guy Forget, French tennis player
- 1965 – Craig Revel Horwood, Australian-English dancer, choreographer, and director
- 1965 – Julia Ormond, English actress and producer
- 1966 – Deana Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Johnny Nelson, English boxer and sportscaster
- 1967 – David Toms, American golfer and philanthropist
- 1967 – David Wilson, Australian rugby player
- 1969 – Corie Blount, American basketball player
- 1969 – Kees van Wonderen, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1970 – Josh Stamberg, American actor
- 1971 – Shane Walker, Australian rugby league player
- 1971 – Colin Ward, Australian rugby league player
- 1973 – Frank Høj, Danish cyclist
- 1974 – Danilo Hondo, German cyclist
- 1975 – Shane Carwin, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
- 1975 – Paul Watson, English footballer and physiotherapist
- 1976 – Ted Lilly, American baseball player
- 1978 – Dominik Hrbatý, Slovak tennis player
- 1979 – Shergo Biran, German footballer
- 1979 – Tristan Gommendy, French racing driver
- 1980 – D'Arcy Carden, American actress and comedian
- 1980 – Miguel Monteiro, Portuguese footballer
- 1980 – Justin Ontong, South African cricketer
- 1982 – Richard Logan, English footballer
- 1982 – Danny Sullivan, Australian rugby league player
- 1983 – Will Bynum, American basketball player
- 1983 – Richard Rankin, Scottish film, television and theatre actor
- 1984 – Jiří Hudler, Czech ice hockey player
- 1985 – Lenora Crichlow, British actress
- 1985 – Kari Aalvik Grimsbø, Norwegian handball player
- 1985 – Gökhan Gönül, Turkish footballer
- 1985 – Al Jefferson, American basketball player
- 1986 – Younès Kaboul, French footballer
- 1986 – Andrei Krauchanka, Belarusian decathlete
- 1986 – James Milner, English footballer
- 1986 – Charlyne Yi, American actor, comedian, musician, and writer
- 1987 – Marissa Coleman, American basketball player
- 1987 – Kay Voser, Swiss footballer
- 1988 – Anestis Argyriou, Greek footballer
- 1988 – Maximilian Riedmüller, German footballer
- 1989 – Kevin Pillar, American baseball player
- 1989 – Graham Rahal, American race car driver
- 1990 – Iago Falque, Spanish footballer
- 1990 – Raisel Iglesias, Cuban baseball player
- 1990 – Toni Kroos, German footballer
- 1990 – Alberto Paloschi, Italian footballer
- 1991 – Charles Melton, American actor
- 1992 – Kris Bryant, American baseball player
- 1993 – James Michael McAdoo, American basketball player
- 1993 – Mahmoud Metwalli, Egyptian footballer
- 1994 – Derrick Henry, American football player
- 1995 – Sarah Nurse, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1996 – Michael Dickson, Australian gridiron football player
- 1996 – Jackson Hastings, Australian rugby league player
- 1996 – Jasmine Paolini, Italian tennis player
- 1997 – Ante Žižić, Croatian basketball player
- 1998 – Coco Jones, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1998 – Arnoldas Kulboka, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1998 – Liza Soberano, Filipina actress
- 1999 – Nico Hischier, Swiss ice hockey player
- 1999 – Jaeman Salmon, Australian rugby league player
- 1999 – Collin Sexton, American basketball player
- 2001 – Lola Young, English singer and songwriter
- 2003 – Jaeden Martell, American actor
- 2004 – Victor Wembanyama, French basketball player
- 2005 – Dafne Keen, British-Spanish actress
- 2005 – Rob Dillingham, American basketball player
- 2006 – Marc Guiu, Spanish footballer (Full article...)
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