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
- 1372 – Louis I, Duke of Orléans (d. 1407)
- 1479 – Lazarus Spengler, German hymnwriter (d. 1534)
- 1560 – William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, Dutch count (d. 1620)
- 1593 – Georges de La Tour, French painter (probable; d. 1652)
- 1599 – John Berchmans, Belgian Jesuit scholastic and saint (d. 1621)
1601–1900
- 1615 – Innocent XII, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1700)
- 1683 – Johann Wilhelm Weinmann, German botanist (d. 1741)
- 1700 – Michel Blavet, French flute player and composer (d. 1768)
- 1719 – John Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (d. 1797)
- 1720 – Charles Bonnet, Swiss historian and author (d. 1793)
- 1741 – Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1790)
- 1763 – Guillaume Brune, French general and diplomat (d. 1815)
- 1764 – Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1845)
- 1770 – Daniel Lambert, English animal breeder (d. 1809)
- 1781 – Karl Friedrich Schinkel, German painter and architect, designed the Konzerthaus Berlin (d. 1841)
- 1798 – Abigail Fillmore, American wife of Millard Fillmore, 14th First Lady of the United States (d. 1853)
- 1800 – Mustafa Reşid Pasha, Ottoman politician, 212th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (d. 1858)
- 1815 – James Curtis Hepburn, American physician, linguist, and missionary (d. 1911)
- 1825 – Hans Gude, Norwegian-German painter and academic (d. 1903)
- 1855 – Percival Lowell, American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1916)
- 1857 – B. H. Roberts, English-American historian and politician (d. 1933)
- 1860 – Hugo Wolf, Slovene-Austrian composer (d. 1903)
- 1862 – Paul Prosper Henrys, French general (d. 1943)
- 1864 – Alexej von Jawlensky, Russian-German painter (d. 1941)
- 1870 – William Glackens, American painter and illustrator (d. 1938)
- 1874 – Ellery Harding Clark, American jumper, coach, and lawyer (d. 1949)
- 1880 – Josef Gočár, Czech architect (d. 1945)
- 1883 – Enrico Toselli, Italian pianist and composer (d. 1926)
- 1884 – Hugh Walpole, New Zealand-English author and educator (d. 1941)
- 1886 – Home Run Baker, American baseball player and manager (d. 1963)
- 1886 – Albert William Stevens, American captain and photographer (d. 1949)
- 1888 – Paul Morand, French author and diplomat (d. 1976)
- 1890 – Fritz Busch, German conductor and director (d. 1951)
- 1892 – Janet Flanner, American journalist and author (d. 1978)
- 1897 – Yeghishe Charents, Armenian poet and activist (d. 1937)
- 1898 – Henry Hathaway, American director and producer (d. 1985)
- 1899 – John Hasbrouck Van Vleck, American physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1980)
- 1899 – Pancho Vladigerov, Bulgarian pianist and composer (d. 1978)
- 1900 – Andrée Bosquet, Belgian painter (d. 1980)
- 1900 – Giorgos Seferis, Greek poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
1901–present
- 1902 – Hans Bellmer, German-French painter and sculptor (d. 1975)
- 1904 – Clifford Roach, Trinidadian cricketer and footballer (d. 1988)
- 1907 – Dorothy Tangney, Australian politician (d. 1985)
- 1908 – Walter Annenberg, American publisher, philanthropist, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (d. 2002)
- 1908 – Myrtle Bachelder, American chemist and Women's Army Corps officer (d. 1997)
- 1910 – Sammy Kaye, American saxophonist, songwriter, and bandleader (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Kemal Tahir, Turkish journalist and author (d. 1973)
- 1911 – José Ardévol, Cuban composer and conductor (d. 1981)
- 1911 – L. Ron Hubbard, American author, founder of Scientology (d. 1986)
- 1913 – William J. Casey, American politician, 13th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1987)
- 1913 – Sergey Mikhalkov, Russian author and playwright (d. 2009)
- 1914 – W. O. Mitchell, Canadian author and playwright (d. 1998)
- 1914 – Edward O'Hare, American lieutenant and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1943)
- 1916 – Lindy Boggs, American educator and politician, 5th United States Ambassador to the Holy See (d. 2013)
- 1916 – Jacque Fresco, American engineer and academic (d. 2017)
- 1920 – Ralph J. Roberts, American businessman, co-founded Comcast (d. 2015)
- 1921 – Al Jaffee, American cartoonist (d. 2023)
- 1923 – Dimitrios Ioannidis, Greek general (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Roy Haynes, American drummer and composer (d. 2024)
- 1926 – Carlos Roberto Reina, Honduran lawyer and politician, President of Honduras (d. 2003)
- 1929 – Zbigniew Messner, Polish economist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Walter Jacob, American Reform rabbi (d. 2024)
- 1933 – Diane Dillon, American illustrator
- 1933 – Mahdi Elmandjra, Moroccan economist and sociologist (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Gero von Wilpert, German author and academic (d. 2009)
- 1935 – David Nobbs, English author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1938 – Robert Gammage, American captain and politician (d. 2012)
- 1939 – Neil Sedaka, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1941 – Donella Meadows, American environmentalist, author, and academic (d. 2001)
- 1941 – Lee Moses, American R&B Soul Singer and Guitarist (d. 1998)
- 1942 – Dave Cutler, American computer scientist and engineer
- 1942 – Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian poet and author (d. 2008)
- 1942 – Scatman John, American singer-songwriter (d. 1999)
- 1942 – George Negus, Australian journalist and television host (d. 2024)
- 1944 – Terence Burns, Baron Burns, English economist and academic
- 1945 – Anatoly Fomenko, Russian mathematician and academic
- 1946 – Yonatan Netanyahu, American-Israeli colonel (d. 1976)
- 1947 – Lesley Collier, English ballerina and educator
- 1947 – Beat Richner, Swiss pediatrician and cellist (d. 2018)
- 1947 – Lyn St. James, American race car driver
- 1949 – Ze'ev Bielski, Israeli politician
- 1949 – Sian Elias, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 12th Chief Justice of New Zealand
- 1949 – Trevor Sorbie, Scottish hairdresser (d. 2024)
- 1950 – Joe Bugner, Hungarian-British boxer and actor
- 1950 – Bernard Julien, Trinidadian cricketer
- 1950 – Charles Krauthammer, American physician, journalist, and author (d. 2018)
- 1950 – William H. Macy, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1952 – Wolfgang Rihm, German composer and educator
- 1952 – Tim Sebastian, English journalist and author
- 1953 – Andy Bean, American golfer (d. 2023)
- 1953 – Michael Curry, American bishop, 27th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
- 1953 – Deborah Raffin, American actress (d. 2012)
- 1954 – Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos, Guyanese-English politician and diplomat
- 1954 – Robin Duke, Canadian actress and screenwriter
- 1955 – Bruno Conti, Italian footballer and manager
- 1955 – Glenne Headly, American actress (d. 2017)
- 1955 – Olga Rukavishnikova, Russian pentathlete
- 1956 – Dana Delany, American actress and producer
- 1956 – Jamie Dimon, North-American businessman and banker
- 1957 – John Hoeven, American banker and politician, 31st Governor of North Dakota
- 1957 – Moses Hogan, American composer and conductor (d. 2003)
- 1958 – Mágico González, Salvadoran footballer
- 1958 – Rick Lazio, American lawyer and politician
- 1958 – Caryl Phillips, Caribbean-English author and playwright
- 1959 – Dirk Wellham, Australian cricketer
- 1960 – Adam Clayton, English-Irish musician and songwriter
- 1960 – Joe Ranft, American animator, screenwriter, and voice actor (d. 2005)
- 1962 – Alfredo Maia, Portuguese politician
- 1963 – Mariano Duncan, Dominican baseball player and manager
- 1963 – Vance Johnson, American football player
- 1963 – Fito Páez, Argentine musician, songwriter and filmmaker
- 1964 – Will Clark, American baseball player
- 1964 – Craig Dimond, Australian rugby league player
- 1964 – Trevor Gillmeister, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1966 – Chico Science, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
- 1967 – Andrés Escobar, Colombian footballer (d. 1994)
- 1967 – Pieter Vink, Dutch footballer and referee
- 1969 – Darren Fritz, Australian rugby league player
- 1970 – Tim Story, American director and producer
- 1971 – Annabeth Gish, American actress
- 1971 – Allan Nielsen, Danish footballer and manager
- 1971 – Adina Porter, American actress
- 1972 – Common, American rapper and actor
- 1972 – Trent Dilfer, American football player, coach, and analyst
- 1973 – Edgar Davids, Surinamese-Dutch footballer and manager
- 1973 – David Draiman, American singer-songwriter
- 1973 – Bobby Jackson, American basketball player and coach
- 1974 – James Brinkley, Scottish cricketer
- 1974 – Thomas Enqvist, Swedish tennis player and sportscaster
- 1975 – Mark Clattenburg, English football referee
- 1976 – Troy Hudson, American basketball player and rapper
- 1976 – Danny Masterson, American actor and producer
- 1978 – Tom Danielson, American cyclist
- 1979 – Johan Santana, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1979 – Cédric Van Branteghem, Belgian sprinter
- 1980 – Caron Butler, American basketball player
- 1980 – Brad Watts, Australian rugby league player
- 1982 – Izi Castro Marques, Brazilian basketball player
- 1982 – Nicole Ohlde, American basketball player
- 1983 – Kaitlin Sandeno, American swimmer
- 1984 – Geeta Basra, Indian actress
- 1985 – Alcides, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Emile Hirsch, American actor
- 1986 – Neil Wagner, South African-New Zealand cricketer
- 1987 – Marco Andretti, American race car driver
- 1987 – Andreas Beck, German footballer
- 1988 – Furdjel Narsingh, Dutch footballer
- 1989 – Holger Badstuber, German footballer
- 1989 – Peaches Geldof, English columnist, television personality, and model (d. 2014)
- 1989 – Sandy León, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1989 – Marko Marin, German footballer
- 1989 – Robert Wickens, Canadian racing driver
- 1990 – Anicet Abel, Malagasy footballer
- 1990 – Marcell Dareus, American football player
- 1991 – Daniel Greig, Australian speed skater
- 1991 – Tristan Thompson, American basketball player
- 1992 – Lucy Fry, Australian actress
- 1992 – George MacKay, English actor
- 1992 – Ozuna, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter and rapper
- 1992 – L, South Korean actor and singer
- 1993 – Tyrone Mings, English footballer
- 1994 – Gerard Deulofeu, Spanish footballer
- 1994 – Mohammed Siraj, Indian cricketer
- 1995 – Mikaela Shiffrin, American skier
- 1995 – Jang Su-jeong, South Korean tennis player
- 1996 – Brayden Point, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1997 – Pyper America, American model, actress, and musician
- 1997 – Landry Shamet, American basketball player
- 1998 – Jay-Roy Grot, Dutch footballer
- 1998 – Jack Harlow, American rapper, singer-songwriter, and actor
- 2001 – Thomas Dearden, Australian rugby league player
- 2002 – Frank Gore Jr., American football player
- 2004 – Coco Gauff, American tennis player (Full article...)
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