Portal:Biography
The Biography Portal
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.
Biographical works are usually non-fiction, but fiction can also be used to portray a person's life. One in-depth form of biographical coverage is called legacy writing. Works in diverse media, from literature to film, form the genre known as biography.
An authorized biography is written with the permission, cooperation, and at times, participation of a subject or a subject's heirs. An unauthorized biography is one written without such permission or participation. An autobiography is written by the person themselves, sometimes with the assistance of a collaborator or ghostwriter. (Full article...)
Featured biographies –
Did you know... -
- ... that the English actor Jude Law is actually named David, a result of his parents naming their children after their best friends?
- ... that Bruce Conner conceived of his short film Cosmic Ray as "presenting the eyes" for blind musician Ray Charles?
- ... that singer Barbara Mandrell thought that when she saw Maureen McCormick play her in her biographical film, "all [she was] going to be able to think about is Marcia Brady"?
- ... that Waharoa, a sculpture by artist Selwyn Muru, was created to metaphorically turn Aotea Square in Auckland into the courtyard of a Māori meeting house?
- ... that writer Profira Sadoveanu and her novelist father Mihail once had to take turns defending their home against attacks by the Iron Guard?
- ... that writer Eliza Bland Smith Erskine Norton married two different men who both lost an arm in battle?
- ... that Winzar Kakiouea was the sole athlete from his nation at the 2024 Olympics?
- ... that one of the districts in the city of Astrakhan is named after Bolshevik leader Aleksandr Trusov?
- ... that Takara's Treasure was created because its artist wanted to draw a story about a boy who speaks a local dialect?
- ... that S'Klallam artist Jeffrey Veregge's "Salish Geek" style blended traditional formline art techniques with bright colors and pop culture references?
- ... that Swiss athlete Clara Thalmann arrived in Barcelona to compete in the People's Olympiad but ended up fighting in the Spanish Civil War?
- ... that in 2022 David DeJulius pledged to donate his student athlete compensation from jersey proceeds to provide books to inner city youth?
Get involved
For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's Biography-related articles, see WikiProject Biography.
On this day – December 6
Births
- 1421 – Henry VI of England, last King of England from the House of Lancaster (d. 1471)
- 1898 – Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- 1916 – Kristján Eldjárn, 3rd President of Iceland (d. 1982)
- 1917 – Irv Robbins, co-founder of Baskin-Robbins (d. 2008)
- 1920 – George Porter, English chemist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
- 1930 – Daniel Lisulo, 3rd Prime Minister of Zambia (d. 2000)
Deaths
- 1352 – Pope Clement VI, 4th Avignon Pope (b. 1291)
- 1892 – Werner von Siemens, German businessman and founder of Siemens (b. 1816)
- 1889 – Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1808)
- 1951 – Harold Ross, American journalist and founder of The New Yorker (b. 1892)
- 1976 – João Goulart, 24th President of Brazil (b. 1918)
- 1990 – Tunku Abdul Rahman, 1st Prime Minister of Malaysia (b. 1903)
In the news
- 13 February 2024 – Estonia–Russia relations
- Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas is reportedly placed on the Russian Interior Ministry's register of wanted people due to the country's removal of Soviet War Memorials, making Kallas the first known government leader to be added to a wanted list by Russian authorities. (The Guardian)
- 4 February 2024 – 66th Annual Grammy Awards
- Taylor Swift wins Album of the Year for Midnights, becoming the first artist to win the award four times. She also announces the release of a new album, The Tortured Poets Department, on April 19. (Variety)
- 27 January 2024 –
- Venezuela's Supreme Court ratifies a ban from seeking any political office for 15 years on María Corina Machado, opposition leader backed by the United States. (Le Monde) (The Economist)
- 24 January 2024 –
- The Constitutional Court of Thailand acquits former Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat for owning shares in the defunct media company iTV, thereby allowing Limjaroenrat to resume serving as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives. (AP)
- 23 January 2024 –
- North Korea demolishes the Arch of Reunification in Pyongyang after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ruled out peaceful reunification with South Korea. (NDTV)
- The Senate of the Philippines' committee on women conducts a public hearing regarding the alleged abuses within the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Three women, two Ukrainian nationals and one Filipino, accuse church leader Apollo Quiboloy of sexually abusing them. (CNN Philippines)