Portal:Biography
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Biography (from the Greek words bíos (βίος), meaning 'life', and gráphein (γράφειν), meaning 'to write') is a genre of Literature or Film which presents a relatively full account of the most interesting and important events of a notable person's life. While a biography may focus on a Fictional person, the term usually refers to non-fiction works. As opposed to summaries of people's lives, such as Profiles or Curriculum vitae, a biography is a continuous narrative which interprets and explains the person's character, personality, and social context.
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich
,listen (help·info) (Russian: Дми́трий Дми́триевич Шостако́вич , Dmitrij Dmitrievič Šostakovič) (September 25 [O.S. September 19] 1906 – August 9, 1975) was a Russian Composer of the Soviet period. Shostakovich had a complex and difficult relationships with the Soviet government, suffering two official denunciations of his music, in 1936 and 1948, and the periodic banning of his work. At the same time, he received a number of accolades and state awards and served in the Supreme Soviet. Despite the official controversy, his works were popular; he is now held to be, as Grove's honers him, the most talented Soviet composer of his generation. (read more...)
Thomas Young (June 13, 1773 – May 10, 1829) was an English Scientist, researcher, physician and Polymath. In addition to contributing to the fields of Optics, Physics and Physiology. He wrote articles on Linguistics and Egyptology for Encyclopedia Britannica. (read more...)
- ... that botanist Thomas Frederic Cheeseman (pictured) had a wide range of interests: he also described a few species of marine gastropods?
- ... former Regimental Sergeant Major Harry Lapwood was known as having the loudest voice in the New Zealand House of Representatives?
- ... that in 1951, Bulgarian politician and exile G. M. Dimitrov helped found the first Bulgarian NATO company?
- ... that Edith Killgore Kirkpatrick published a short book of favorite songs titled Louisiana Let's Sing in honor of her husband Claude's unsuccessful candidacy for Governor of Louisiana in 1963?
- ... that Canal engineer Hugh Henshall was both pupil of and brother-in-law to James Brindley, the famous canal architect of the Industrial Revolution?
- ... that it took Peter Steinfeld six and a half weeks to write the opening eleven pages of his first screenplay, Drowning Mona?
List of projects that involve biography articles:
See also: Biographies of living persons • Manual of Style (biographies)
"It is not histories I am writing, but lives; the most glorious deeds do not always indicate virtue or vice, but a small thing like a phrase or a jest often reveals more of a character than the bloodiest battles."
— Plutarch
- Write
- Review
- Peer Review: Early life of Pedro II of Brazil • Alboin • Richard Baker (UK businessman) • Tillson Harrison • Honório Carneiro Leão, Marquis of Paraná • JoAnn E. Manson • I. M. Pei • Taeyang • William Stanley (Victorian inventor) • Madeleine de La Tour d'Auvergne • Jon Gettman • Nikita Khrushchev • John Rosenberger • The Dirtbombs • Nicholas U. Mayall • Jessica Lee Rose • Kiliaen van Rensselaer (Dutch merchant) • Per Ahlmark • William J. Jefferson • John Christie (murderer) • Janek Gwizdala • Mary C. Seward • Charlie Soong • Hussain Muhammad Ershad • Will to Power (band) • Military career of L. Ron Hubbard • David Robinson (horticulturist) • Joe Jackson • Richard Pace (Jamestown) • Harold Pinter • Wangari Maathai • Umar Israilov • Sarah Boyle • John Mitchell (football coach) • Colleen Howe •Florence Shapiro • Robert Ford (politician) • John Edward • Mario Ančić • Tess Gerritsen • Christa McAuliffe • Pope John Paul II • Jada Pinkett Smith • Pin Malakul • Dwight Lauderdale • Ramakrishna
- Assess: Assessment requests • Assess an article
Births
- 1773 - William Henry Harrison, President of the United States (d. 1841) (pictured)
- 1783 - Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet (d. 1852)
- 1874 - Amy Lowell, American poet (d. 1925)
- 1909 - Carmen Miranda, Brazilian actress (d. 1955)
- 1945 - Mia Farrow, American actress
Deaths
- 1619 - Lucilio Vanini, Italian philosopher (b. 1585)
- 1803 - Jean François de Saint-Lambert, French poet (b. 1716)
- 1881 - Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist (b. 1821)
- 1981 - Bill Haley, American musician (Bill Haley and the Comets) (b. 1925)
People
- Academics • Scientists
- Actors • Artists • Comedians • Dancers • Directors • Musicians • Photographers • Playwrights • Writers
- Astronauts • Aviators • Explorers • Mountain climbers
- Businesspeople • Computer pioneers • Innovators
- Heads of state • Humanitarians • Journalists • Lawyers • Politicians • Warriors
- Sportspeople • Baseball players • Basketball players • Football (soccer) players • Olympians




