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
- 1377 – Ladislaus of Naples (d. 1414)
- 1458 – Ivan the Young, son of Ivan III of Russia (d. 1490)
- 1472 – Piero the Unfortunate, Italian ruler (d. 1503)
- 1506 – Juliana of Stolberg, German countess (d. 1580)
- 1519 – Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, first Spanish Governor of Florida (d. 1574)
- 1557 – Alfonso Fontanelli, Italian composer (d. 1622)
- 1564 – Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (d. 1642)
1601–1900
- 1612 – Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, French soldier, founded Montreal (d. 1676)
- 1627 – Charles Morton, Cornish nonconformist minister (d. 1698)
- 1638 – Zeb-un-Nissa, Mughal princess and poet (d. 1702)
- 1705 – Charles-André van Loo, French painter (d. 1765)
- 1710 – Louis XV of France (d. 1774)
- 1725 – Abraham Clark, American surveyor, lawyer, and politician (d. 1794)
- 1734 – William Stacy, American colonel (d. 1802)
- 1739 – Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect, designed the Paris Bourse (d. 1813)
- 1748 – Jeremy Bentham, English jurist and philosopher (d. 1832)
- 1759 – Friedrich August Wolf, German philologist and critic (d. 1824)
- 1760 – Lars Ingier, Norwegian road manager, land owner, and mill owner (d. 1828)
- 1760 – Jean-François Le Sueur, French composer and educator (d. 1837)
- 1809 – André Dumont, Belgian geologist and academic (d. 1857)
- 1809 – Cyrus McCormick, American journalist and businessman, co-founded International Harvester (d. 1884)
- 1810 – Mary S. B. Shindler, American poet, writer, and editor (d. 1883)
- 1811 – Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Argentinian journalist and politician, 7th President of Argentina (d. 1888)
- 1812 – Charles Lewis Tiffany, American businessman, founded Tiffany & Co. (d. 1902)
- 1820 – Susan B. Anthony, American suffragist and activist (d. 1906)
- 1825 – Carter Harrison, Sr., American lawyer and politician, 29th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1893)
- 1834 – V. A. Urechia, Moldavian-Romanian historian, author, and playwright (d. 1901)
- 1835 – Demetrius Vikelas, Greek businessman and philanthropist (d. 1908)
- 1839 – Rayko Zhinzifov, Bulgarian poet and translator (d. 1877)
- 1840 – Titu Maiorescu, Romanian philosopher, academic, and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1917)
- 1841 – Manuel Ferraz de Campos Sales, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Brazil (d. 1913)
- 1845 – Elihu Root, American lawyer and politician, 38th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1937)
- 1847 – Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and educator (d. 1927)
- 1849 – Rickman Godlee, English surgeon and academic (d. 1925)
- 1850 – Sophie Bryant, Irish mathematician, academic and activist (d. 1922)
- 1851 – Spiru Haret, Romanian mathematician, astronomer, and politician, 55th Romanian Minister of Internal Affairs (d. 1912)
- 1856 – Emil Kraepelin, German psychiatrist and academic (d. 1926)
- 1861 – Charles Édouard Guillaume, Swiss-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1938)
- 1861 – Alfred North Whitehead, English mathematician and philosopher (d. 1947)
- 1873 – Hans von Euler-Chelpin, German-Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)
- 1874 – Ernest Shackleton, Anglo-Irish captain and explorer (d. 1922)
- 1883 – Sax Rohmer, English-American author (d. 1959)
- 1890 – Robert Ley, German politician (d. 1945)
- 1892 – James Forrestal, American lieutenant and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1949)
- 1893 – Roman Najuch, Polish professional tennis player (d. 1967)
- 1897 – Gerrit Kleerekoper, Dutch gymnast and coach (d. 1943)
- 1898 – Totò, Italian actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1967)
- 1899 – Georges Auric, French composer (d. 1983)
- 1899 – Gale Sondergaard, Danish-American actress (d. 1985)
1901–present
- 1904 – Mary Adshead, English painter (d. 1995)
- 1904 – Antonin Magne, French cyclist and manager (d. 1983)
- 1905 – Harold Arlen, American composer (d. 1986)
- 1907 – Jean Langlais, French organist and composer (d. 1991)
- 1907 – Cesar Romero, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1908 – Sarto Fournier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 38th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1980)
- 1909 – Miep Gies, Austrian-Dutch humanitarian, helped hide Anne Frank and her family (d. 2010)
- 1910 – Irena Sendler, Polish nurse and humanitarian, Righteous Gentile (d. 2008)
- 1912 – George Mikes, Hungarian-English journalist and author (d. 1987)
- 1913 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (d. 1997)
- 1914 – Hale Boggs, American lawyer and politician (d. 1972)
- 1914 – Kevin McCarthy, American actor (d. 2010)
- 1916 – Mary Jane Croft, American actress (d. 1999)
- 1918 – Allan Arbus, American actor and photographer (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Hank Locklin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Ducky Detweiler, American baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Endicott Peabody, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 62nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1997)
- 1920 – Eio Sakata, Japanese Go player (d. 2010)
- 1921 – Norman C. Deno, American chemist and plant scientist, (d. 2017)
- 1922 – John B. Anderson, Swedish-American lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
- 1923 – Yelena Bonner, Soviet-Russian activist (d. 2011)
- 1924 – Robert Drew, American director and producer (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Angella D. Ferguson, American pediatrician
- 1927 – Frank Dunlop, English actor and director
- 1927 – Harvey Korman, American actor and comedian (d. 2008)
- 1927 – Yehoshua Neuwirth, Israeli rabbi and scholar (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Joseph Willcox Jenkins, American composer, conductor, and educator (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Graham Hill, English racing driver and businessman (d. 1975)
- 1929 – James R. Schlesinger, American economist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Bruce Dawe, Australian poet and academic (d. 2020)
- 1931 – Claire Bloom, English actress
- 1931 – Jonathan Steele, English journalist and author
- 1934 – Jimmy Bloomfield, English footballer and manager (d. 1983)
- 1934 – Graham Kennedy, Australian television host and actor (d. 2005)
- 1934 – Niklaus Wirth, Swiss computer scientist, created the Pascal programming language (d. 2024)
- 1934 – Abe Woodson, American football player and minister (d. 2014)
- 1935 – Susan Brownmiller, American journalist and author
- 1935 – Roger B. Chaffee, American lieutenant, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1967)
- 1935 – Gene Hickerson, American football player (d. 2008)
- 1937 – Gregory Mcdonald, American author (d. 2008)
- 1937 – Coen Moulijn, Dutch footballer (d. 2011)
- 1940 – İsmail Cem İpekçi, Turkish journalist and politician, 45th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2007)
- 1940 – Hamzah Haz, Indonesian journalist and politician, 9th Vice President of Indonesia (d. 2024)
- 1941 – Florinda Bolkan, Brazilian actress
- 1941 – Brian Holland, American songwriter and producer
- 1944 – Mick Avory, English musician and songwriter
- 1945 – Jack Dann, American-Australian author and poet
- 1945 – Douglas Hofstadter, American author and academic
- 1946 – Clare Short, English civil servant and politician, Secretary of State for International Development
- 1946 – John Trudell, American author, poet, and actor (d. 2015)
- 1947 – John Adams, American composer
- 1947 – Marisa Berenson, American model and actress
- 1948 – Art Spiegelman, Swedish-American cartoonist and critic
- 1949 – Ken Anderson, American football player
- 1951 – Markku Alén, Finnish racing driver
- 1951 – Melissa Manchester, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1951 – Jane Seymour, English-American actress, producer, and jewelry designer
- 1952 – Tomislav Nikolić, Serbian politician, 4th President of Serbia
- 1952 – Nikolai Sorokin, Russian actor and director (d. 2013)
- 1953 – Ernie Howe, English footballer and manager
- 1953 – Lynn Whitfield, American actress and producer
- 1954 – Matt Groening, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
- 1955 – Janice Dickinson, American model, agent, and author
- 1955 – Christopher McDonald, American actor
- 1956 – Desmond Haynes, Barbadian cricketer and coach
- 1956 – Ann Westin, Swedish comedian
- 1958 – Chrystine Brouillet, Canadian author
- 1958 – Tony McKegney, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1958 – Matthew Ward, American singer-songwriter
- 1959 – Ali Campbell, English singer-songwriter and musician
- 1959 – Joseph R. Gannascoli, American actor
- 1959 – Brian Propp, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1959 – Hugo Savinovich, Ecuadorian wrestler and sportscaster
- 1960 – Darrell Green, American football player
- 1960 – Jock Hobbs, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2012)
- 1962 – Milo Đukanović, Montenegrin politician, 29th Prime Minister of Montenegro
- 1963 – Steven Michael Quezada, American actor, comedian, and politician
- 1964 – Chris Farley, American comedian and actor (d. 1997)
- 1964 – Leland D. Melvin, American engineer and astronaut
- 1964 – Mark Price, American basketball player and coach
- 1965 – Craig Matthews, South African cricketer
- 1967 – Jane Child, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
- 1967 – Syed Kamall, English academic and politician
- 1967 – Craig Simpson, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1969 – Birdman, American rapper and producer
- 1970 – Shepard Fairey, American artist and activist
- 1971 – Alex Borstein, American actress, voice artist, producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Renee O'Connor, American actress, director, and producer
- 1972 – Jaromír Jágr, Czech ice hockey player
- 1973 – Kateřina Neumannová, Czech skier
- 1973 – Amy van Dyken, American swimmer
- 1973 – Sarah Wynter, Australian actress
- 1974 – Miranda July, American actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1974 – Ugueth Urbina, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1974 – Alexander Wurz, Austrian racing driver and businessman
- 1975 – Serge Aubin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1975 – Sébastien Bordeleau, Canadian-French ice hockey player
- 1975 – Annemarie Kramer, Dutch sprinter
- 1975 – Brendon Small, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and actor
- 1976 – Brandon Boyd, American singer-songwriter
- 1976 – Óscar Freire, Spanish cyclist
- 1976 – Ronnie Vannucci Jr., American musician and songwriter
- 1977 – Álex González, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1977 – Ronald Petrovický, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1979 – Hamish Marshall, New Zealand cricketer
- 1979 – James Marshall, New Zealand cricketer
- 1980 – Conor Oberst, American singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Heurelho Gomes, Brazilian footballer
- 1981 – Matt Hoopes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1981 – Rita Jeptoo, Kenyan runner
- 1981 – Diego Martínez, Mexican footballer
- 1981 – Vivek Shraya, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1982 – Shameka Christon, American basketball player
- 1982 – James Yap, Filipino basketball player
- 1983 – Eddie Basden, American basketball player
- 1983 – Don Cowie, Scottish footballer
- 1983 – David Degen, Swiss footballer
- 1983 – Philipp Degen, Swiss footballer
- 1983 – Russell Martin, Canadian baseball player
- 1984 – Gary Clark Jr., American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1984 – Matt Duffer, American film director, writer, and producer
- 1984 – Ross Duffer, American film director, writer, and producer
- 1984 – Nate Schierholtz, American baseball player
- 1985 – Serkan Kırıntılı, Turkish footballer
- 1985 – Natalie Morales, American actress and director
- 1986 – Valeri Bojinov, Bulgarian footballer
- 1986 – Johnny Cueto, Dominican baseball player
- 1986 – Amber Riley, American actress and singer
- 1986 – Laura Sallés, Andorran judoka
- 1988 – Papu Gómez, Argentine footballer
- 1988 – Rui Patrício, Portuguese footballer
- 1989 – Mark Canha, American baseball player
- 1990 – Callum Turner, English actor
- 1991 – Ángel Sepúlveda, Mexican footballer
- 1991 – Rich Swann, American wrestler
- 1993 – Ravi, South Korean rapper
- 1993 – Geoffrey Kondogbia, Central African footballer
- 1993 – Manuel Lanzini, Argentine footballer
- 1994 – Sodapoppin, American Twitch streamer and internet personality
- 1995 – Megan Thee Stallion, American rapper
- 1997 – Derrick Jones Jr., American basketball player
- 1997 – Justin Reid, American football player
- 1998 – Zachary Gordon, American actor
- 1998 – George Russell, English racing driver
- 2000 – Jakub Kiwior, Polish footballer
- 2004 – Šimon Nemec, Slovak ice hockey player (Full article...)
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