Biographers are

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

s who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own

biography 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 curri ...

Biographers

Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome, Au=Austria, AH=Austria/Hungary, Ca=Canada, En=England, Fl=Finland, Fr=France, Ge=Germany, Id=Indonesia, In=India, Ir=Ireland, Is=Israel, Jp=Japan, Nw=Norway, SA=South Africa, Sc=Scotland, SL=Sierra Leone, So=Somalia, Sp=Spain, Sw=Sweden, TT=Trinidad & Tobago, US=United States, Ve=Venezuela, Wl=Wales

A–G

* Hermann Abert (Ge, 1871–1927) –

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

, Niccolò Jommelli, W. A. Mozart * Alfred Ainger (En, 1837–1904) –

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764� ...

* Ellis Amburn (US, 1933–2018) –

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. His career has spanned over six decades, and he has received an Academy Award and three Golden Globe Awards. He also received the Irving G. Thalberg Memor ...

and

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

* Rudolph Angermüller (Ge, 1940–2021) –

Antonio Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian composer and teacher of the classical period (music), classical period. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subje ...

, W. A. Mozart * Núria Añó (Sp. born 1973) – Salka Viertel * Marie Célestine Amélie d'Armaillé (1830–1918) – Catherine de Bourbon, Élisabeth of France, Marie Leszczyńska,

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

, Marie-Thérèse, Duchess of Angoulême, Septimanie d'Egmont), Désirée Clary * Rosemary Ashton (Sc/En, born 1947) –

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

* Aaron Badgley (Ca, living) –

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Culture ...

and

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

* Deborah Baker (US, living) – Allen Ginsberg and Laura Riding * Elizabeth Biddulph, Baroness Biddulph (En, 1834–1916) – Charles Yorke, 4th Earl of Hardwicke * Jennie M. Bingham (US, 1859–1933) — Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury,

Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Nicholls (; 21 April 1816 – 31 March 1855), commonly known as Charlotte Brontë (, commonly ), was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë family, Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood and whose novel ...

, Margaret Fuller,

, Briton Rivière * Lucie Boissonnas (1839–1877) –

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 ( N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of the English writer Samuel Johnson, '' Life of Samuel ...

(Sc, 1740–1795) –

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

* Paula Broadwell (US, born 1972) – David Petraeus * Max Brod (AH/Is, 1884–1968) –

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...

* Leslie Brody (US, born 1952) – Jessica Mitford * Vincent Brome (En, 1910–2004) – various writers * Egerton Brydges (En, 1762–1837) – English writers * Andrea Cagan (US, living) –

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...

(Sc, 1795–1881) – John Sterling and

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

* Robert A. Caro (US, born 1935) –

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid-20th century. Moses is regarded as one of the most powerful and influentia ...

and

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

* Humphrey Carpenter (En, 1946–2005) –

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlinson ...

, W. H. Auden,

Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

Robert Runcie and

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...

* Virginia Spencer Carr (US, 1929–2012) –

Carson McCullers Carson McCullers (February 19, 1917 – September 29, 1967) was an American novelist, short-story writer, playwright, essayist, and poet. Her first novel, ''The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'' (1940), explores the spiritual isolation of misfits ...

Paul Bowles Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...

and

John Dos Passos John Roderigo Dos Passos (; January 14, 1896 – September 28, 1970) was an American novelist, most notable for his U.S.A. (trilogy), ''U.S.A.'' trilogy. Born in Chicago, Dos Passos graduated from Harvard College in 1916. He traveled widely as a ...

* Charles Castle (En, 1939–2013) –

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...

, Oliver Messel, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, La Belle Otero, Richard Tauber * George Cavendish (En, 1494 – c. 1562) –

Thomas Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal (catholic), cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's Lord High Almoner, almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and ...

* Nirad C. Chaudhuri (In, 1897–1999) – Clive of India and

Max Müller Friedrich Max Müller (; 6 December 1823 – 28 October 1900) was a German-born British comparative philologist and oriental studies, Orientalist. He was one of the founders of the Western academic disciplines of Indology and religious s ...

Ron Chernow Ronald Chernow (; born March 3, 1949) is an American writer, journalist, and biographer. He has written bestselling historical non-fiction biographies. Chernow won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize, 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Biography and the 2011 American ...

(US, born 1949) * Na Chokkan (In, born 1977) –

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who List of India national cricket captains#Men's cricket, captained the Indian national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketer ...

, Dhirubhai Ambani,

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

, Rahul Dravid, Azim Premji, Lakshmi Mittal,

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

etc. in Tamil * Vincent Cronin (En, 1924–2011) –

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

and

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

* Douglas Day (US, 1932–2004) –

Malcolm Lowry Clarence Malcolm Lowry (; 28 July 1909 – 26 June 1957) was an English poet and novelist who is best known for his 1947 novel ''Under the Volcano'', which was voted No. 11 in the Modern Library's 100 Best Novels list.

* Thomas DiLorenzo (US, born 1954) –

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

* Damon DiMarco (US, born 1971) – Roy Simmons * Richard Ellmann (US, 1918–1987) –

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

and W. B. Yeats * Alberthiene Endah (Id, living) –

Chrisye Hajji Chrismansyah Rahadi (; born Christian Rahadi ; 16 September 1949 – 30 March 2007), better known by his stage name Chrisye (), was an Indonesian progressive pop singer and songwriter. In 2011, ''Rolling Stone Indonesia'' declared him the ...

, Krisdayanti and Raam Punjabi * Ivar Eskeland (Nw, 1927–2005) – decorated with the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

and winner of the Bastian Prize for his biographies of Gisle Straume and

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

* Wayne Federman (US, born 1959) – Pete Maravich * Elaine Feinstein (En, 1930–2019) –

Marina Tsvetaeva Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva ( rus, Марина Ивановна Цветаева, p=mɐˈrʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə tsvʲɪˈta(j)ɪvə, links=yes; 31 August 1941) was a Russian poet. Her work is some of the most well-known in twentieth-century Russ ...

, Pushkin,

Ted Hughes Edward James Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. He wa ...

* Mary Fels (US, 1863–1953) – Joseph Fels * Kitty Ferguson (US, born 1941) –

Stephen Hawking Stephen William Hawking (8January 194214March 2018) was an English theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between ...

* William Fitzstephen (En, died 1190) –

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

* Amanda Foreman (En/US, born 1968) – Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire * Esther G. Frame (US, 1840–1920) – Esther G. Frame *

Antonia Fraser Lady Antonia Margaret Caroline Fraser, (; born 27 August 1932) is a British author of history, novels, biographies and detective fiction. She is the widow of the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Harold Pinter (1930–2008), and prior to h ...

(En, born 1932) –

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...

and

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

* Russell Freedman (US, 1929–2018) –

* Douglas Southall Freeman (US, 1886–1953) –

and

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

* Leonie Frieda (Sw/En, born 1956) –

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...

* Jean Overton Fuller (En, 1915–2009) – Noor-un-nisa Inayat Khan,

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 1792 – 8 July 1822) was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame durin ...

, Algernon Charles Swinburne and

Sir Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General for England and Wales, Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under James VI and I, King ...

Elizabeth Gaskell Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (''née'' Stevenson; 29 September 1810 – 12 November 1865), often referred to as Mrs Gaskell, was an English novelist, biographer, and short story writer. Her novels offer detailed studies of Victorian era, Victoria ...

(En, 1810–1865) –

Peter Gay Peter Joachim Gay ( né Fröhlich ; June 20, 1923 – May 12, 2015) was a German-American historian, educator, and author. He was a Sterling Professor of History at Yale University and former director of the New York Public Library's Center for ...

(US, 1923–2015) –

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...

and W. A. Mozart *

Gary Giddins Gary Giddins (born 1948) is an American jazz critic and author. He wrote for ''The Village Voice'' from 1973; his "Weather Bird" column ended in 2003. In 1986, Gary Giddins and John Lewis created the American Jazz Orchestra which presented conc ...

(US, born 1948) –

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

and

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

Martin Gilbert Sir Martin John Gilbert (25 October 1936 – 3 February 2015) was a British historian and honorary Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. He was the author of 88 books, including works on Winston Churchill, the 20th century, and Jewish history inc ...

(En, 1936–2015)

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

* Annie Somers Gilchrist (US, 1841–1912) * Josef Greiner (Au, c. 1886–1947) –

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

* Adrian Greenwood (En, 1973–2016) – Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde * Peter Guralnick (US, born 1943) –

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

and Sam Phillips *Gamal Abdul Nasir Zakaria (ID, born 1965) –

Mohammad Natsir Mohammad Natsir (17 July 19086 February 1993) was an Islamic scholar and politician. He was Indonesia's fifth List of Prime Ministers of Indonesia, prime minister. After moving to Bandung from his hometown Solok, West Sumatra for senior high sch ...

H–M

* Seppo Heikinheimo (Fl, 1938–1997) – Aarre Merikanto, Oskar Merikanto and

Martti Talvela Martti Olavi Talvela (4 February 1935 – 23 July 1989) was a Finnish operatic bass. Born in Hiitola, Finland (now in the Republic of Karelia), the eighth of ten children

* Charles Higham (England/US, 1931–2012) –

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

and

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

* Thomas Jefferson Hogg (En, 1792–1862) –

* Richard Holmes (England, born 1945) –

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

, Coleridge, ''The Age of Wonder'' * Michael Holroyd (En, born 1935) –

Lytton Strachey Giles Lytton Strachey (; 1 March 1880 – 21 January 1932) was an English writer and critic. A founding member of the Bloomsbury Group and author of ''Eminent Victorians'', he established a new form of biography in which psychology, psychologic ...

* Imogen Holst (En, 1907–1984) –

Gustav Holst Gustav Theodore Holst (born Gustavus Theodore von Holst; 21 September 1874 – 25 May 1934) was an English composer, arranger and teacher. Best known for his orchestral suite ''The Planets'', he composed many other works across a range ...

* Marilla Baker Ingalls (US, 1828–1902) – Mah Po *

Walter Isaacson Walter Seff Isaacson (born May 20, 1952) is an American journalist who has written biographies of Henry Kissinger, Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Jennifer Doudna and Elon Musk. As of 2024, Isaacson is a profes ...

(US, born 1952) –

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...

and

Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger (May 27, 1923 – November 29, 2023) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 56th United States secretary of state from 1973 to 1977 and the 7th National Security Advisor (United States), natio ...

* Edward Jablonski (US, 1922–2004) –

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

and

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

* Elizabeth Jenkins (En, 1905–2010) –

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English writer and magistrate known for the use of humour and satire in his works. His 1749 comic novel ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'' was a seminal work in the genre. Along wi ...

, Lady Caroline Lamb Joseph Lister and

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

(En, 1709–1784) – '' Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets'' * Ernest Jones (Wl, 1879–1958) –

* Kathleen Jones (EnAl, born 1946) –

Katherine Mansfield Kathleen Mansfield Murry (née Beauchamp; 14 October 1888 – 9 January 1923) was a New Zealand writer and critic who was an important figure in the Literary modernism, modernist movement. Her works are celebrated across the world and have been ...

* Landon Jones (US, living) – William Clark * Alicia Jurado (Arg, 1922–2011) – William Henry Hudson,

Cunninghame Graham Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham (24 May 1852 – 20 March 1936) was a Scottish politician, writer, journalist and adventurer. He was a Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP); the first ever socialist member of the Parliam ...

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo ( ; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator regarded as a key figure in Spanish literature, Spanish-language and international literatur ...

* Shakuntala Karandikar (In, 1931–2018) – Chandrashekhar Agashe * Kitty Kelley (US, born 1942) –

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

and

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress who was the first lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989, as the second wife of President Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in ...

* Jacqueline Kent (Al, born 1947) – Kenneth Cook, Beatrice Davis, Julia Gillard and Hephzibah Menuhin * Harriette A. Keyser (US, 1841–1936) — Henry C. Potter * Jennie Ellis Keysor (US, 1860–1945) -

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

* Marvin Kitman (US, 1929–2023) –

and Bill O'Reilly * Edward Klein (US, born 1937) –

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

* Randy Kryn (US, born 1949) — James Bevel * Robert Lacey (En, born 1944) –

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, Princess Grace, Henry VIII, Henry Ford and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex *Jane Lane (author), Jane Lane (En, 1905–1978) – Titus Oates *Hermione Lee (En, born 1948) – Edith Wharton, Virginia Woolf *Sidney Lee (En, 1856–1926) – Dictionary of National Biography, William Shakespeare and Queen Victoria *J. Michael Lennon (US, born 1942) – Norman Mailer *Santeri Levas (Fl, 1899–1987) – Clara Schumann, Clara &

, Jean Sibelius *Barbara Levick (En, born 1932) – specialising in Roman emperors *Gail Levin (art historian), Gail Levin (US, born 1948) – Edward Hopper, Judy Chicago and Lee Krasner *Roger Lewis (biographer), Roger Lewis (Wl, born 1960) – Anthony Burgess *Martha D. Lincoln (US, 1838–1911) — John Wesley Powell *Kenneth S. Lynn (US, 1923–2001) – Mark Twain,

and Ernest Hemingway *Brenda Maddox (US/E, 1932–2019) –

, D. H. Lawrence, Nora Joyce, W. B. Yeats and Rosalind Franklin *Norman Mailer (US, 1923–2007) – Marilyn Monroe, Lee Harvey Oswald and Gary Gilmore *Koryun (Am, 5th century) – Mesrop Mashtots *William Manchester (US, 1922–2004) –

, Douglas MacArthur and John F. Kennedy *Cristina Marcano (Ve, born 1960) – Hugo Chávez *Bruce Marshall (writer), Bruce Marshall (Sc, 1899–1987) – Wing Commander (rank), Wing Commander F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas *John Matteson (US, born 1961) – Amos Bronson Alcott, Louisa May Alcott and Margaret Fuller *André Maurois (Fr, 1885–1967) –

, Lord Byron, Benjamin Disraeli, Victor Hugo, Balzac and Sir Alexander Fleming *David McCullough (US, 1933–2022) – Harry S. Truman, John Adams and Theodore Roosevelt *Jimmy McDonough (US, born 1959) – Neil Young, Andy Milligan, Russ Meyer, Tammy Wynette *Merle Miller (US, 1919–1986) – Harry S. Truman and

*James McGrath Morris (US, born 1954) – Joseph Pulitzer, Charles Chapin, Ethel Payne, Ernest Hemingway,

*Miyoshi Kiyotsura (Jp, 847–918) – Japanese scholar-statesman *Ibn al-Qaisarani (Ab, 1056–1113) – medieval Arab biographer of previous medieval biographers *Simon Sebag Montefiore (En, born 1965) – Grigory Potemkin and Joseph Stalin *Thomas Moore (Ir, 1779–1852) – Memoirs of the Life of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Lord Byron and Lord Edward FitzGerald *Jeffrey Morgan (writer), Jeffrey Morgan (Ca, living) – Alice Cooper and The Stooges *Ted Morgan (writer), Ted Morgan (US, born 1932) – William S. Burroughs, W. Somerset Maugham and Franklin D. Roosevelt *Andrew Morton (writer), Andrew Morton (En, born 1953) – Diana, Princess of Wales, Princess Diana, Monica Lewinsky and Tom Cruise

N–Z

*Ira Nadel (Ca, born 1943) – Leon Uris, David Mamet, Tom Stoppard and Leonard Cohen *Alanna Nash (US, born 1950) *Nakane Kōtei (Jp, 1839–1913) *Philip Nel (US, born 1969) – Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss *Cornelius Nepos (AR, 100–24 BC) *Nizamuddin Asir Adrawi (IN, 1926–2021) *Iris Origo (En, 1902–1988) *James Parton (US, 1822–1891) – Horace Greeley, Aaron Burr, Andrew Jackson,

, Thomas Jefferson and Voltaire *Hesketh Pearson (En, 1887–1964) *F. David Peat (En, 1928–2017) – David Bohm *Plutarch (AG, 46–127) *H. F. M. Prescott (En, 1896–1972) – Mary I of England ("Bloody Mary") *Arnold Rampersad (TT, born 1941) – Langston Hughes *Piers Paul Read (En, born 1941) – Alec Guinness *James Redpath (US, born En, 1833–1891) – John Brown (abolitionist) *E. J. Richmond (US, 1825–1918) – Harriet Hosmer *W. Andrew Robinson (En, born 1957) – Satyajit Ray and Rabindranath Tagore *Romain Rolland (Fr, 1866–1944) – Beethoven, Michelangelo, Leo Tolstoy and Gandhi *Henry Stephens Salt, Henry Salt (En, 1851–1939) – Percy Bysshe Shelley, Shelley, Richard Jefferies and Henry David Thoreau *Carl Sandburg (US, 1878–1967) –

*Stacy Schiff (US, born 1961) – United States; Véra Nabokov,

, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Cleopatra and the Witches of Salem, Massachusetts, Salem *Anton Schindler (Ge, 1795–1864) – Ludwig van Beethoven *Anne Sebba (En, born 1951) – Wallis Simpson *Nachman Seltzer (Is, born 1976) *Lee Server (US, living) – Robert Mitchum and Ava Gardner *Miranda Seymour (En, born 1948) – Lady Byron, Annabella Milbanke and Ada Lovelace, Hellé Nice,

*Kirit Shelat (In, born 1946) – India *Dawn Langley Simmons (En, 1937–2000) – Princess Margaret, Margaret Rutherford and Jacqueline Kennedy *Roy S. Simmonds (En, 1925–2000) – John Steinbeck, William March and Edward Joseph Harrington O'Brien, Edward O'Brien *Jean Edward Smith (US, 1932–2019) – Ulysses S. Grant, John Marshall and Lucius D. Clay *Laura J. Snyder (US, born 1964) – Charles Babbage, John F.W. Herschel, William Whewell, Richard Jones (economist), Richard Jones, Johannes Vermeer, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek and Oliver Sacks *Dava Sobel (US, born 1947) – John Harrison, Sister Maria Celeste, daughter of Galileo, Galileo *Maynard Solomon (US, 1930–2020) – Ludwig van Beethoven, Beethoven, W. A. Mozart *Leslie Stephen (En, 1832–1904) – Dictionary of National Biography,

, Alexander Pope, Jonathan Swift

and Thomas Hobbes *Jane Agnes Stewart (US, 1860–1944) — Frances Willard *Irving Stone (US, 1903–1989) *

(En, 1880–1932) – eminent Victorians *Marshall Terrill (US, born 1963) – Steve McQueen,

, Johnny Cash, Billy Graham, Pete Maravich *Mary Wilder Tileston (1843–1934) - Mary Wilder White, Mary Wilder Foote, Amelia Peabody Tileston *Bankole Timothy (SL, 1923–1994), Kwame Nkrumah *Nick Tosches (US, 1949–2019) – Jerry Lee Lewis, Dean Martin and Sonny Liston *Meriol Trevor (En, 1919–2000) – John Henry Newman, Philip Neri, Pope John XXIII, Thomas Arnold and James II of England *Henri Troyat (Fr, 1911–2007) – Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, Gogol,

, Peter the Great, Ivan the Terrible, Anton Chekhov, Ivan Turgenev, Maxim Gorky and Rasputin *Jenny Uglow (En, born 1947) –

, William Hogarth, Thomas Bewick and the Lunar Society *Rosa Kershaw Walker (US, 1840s–1909) – eminent Americans *Blanche Warre-Cornish (En, 1848–1922) – William Thackeray *Alison Weir (historian), Alison Weir (En, born 1937) – Elizabeth I of England, Eleanor of Aquitane,

*Sam Weller (journalist), Sam Weller (US) – Ray Bradbury *Theodore H. White, Theodore White (US, 1915–1986) –

and Richard Nixon *Alice Willard (US, 1860–1936) – Bertha Baur *A. N. Wilson (En, born 1950) – Sir Walter Scott, John Milton, Hilaire Belloc, Leo Tolstoy, C. S. Lewis, Jesus Iris Murdoch and John Betjeman *Molly Worthen (US, born 1981) – Charles Hill (diplomat), Charles Hill, American diplomat and Yale professor *Marguerite Young (US, 1908–1995) – Eugene V. Debs

Autobiographers

*Brianda de Acuña (1576–1630), ''Virtudes de la V. M. Teresa de Iesus, Carmelita Descalza del convento de Valladolid, en el siglo Doña Brianda de Acuña Vela'' *Henry Brooks Adams (US, 1838–1918) – ''The Education of Henry Adams'' *Ayaan Hirsi Ali (So, born 1969) – ''Infidel: My Life'' * Nirad C. Chaudhuri (In, 1897–1999) – ''The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian'' *Henry Cockburn, Lord Cockburn, Henry Cockburn (Sc, 1779–1854) – ''Memorials of His Time'' *Frederick Douglass (US, c. 1817–February 20, 1895) – ''Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave'' (1845), "The Heroic Slave" in ''Autographs for Freedom'' (1853), ''My Bondage and My Freedom'' (1855) and ''Life and Times of Frederick Douglass'' (1881, revised 1892) *Jens Jacob Eschels (Ge, 1757–1842) – first seafarer's autobiography in German *

(US, 1706–1790) – ''The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin'' *Mahatma Gandhi (In, 1869–1948) – ''The Story of My Experiments with Truth'' *Lee Iacocca (US, 1924–2019) – ''Iacocca: An Autobiography'' *Nelson Mandela (SA, 1918–2013) – ''Long Walk to Freedom'' *Frank McCourt (Ir/US, 1930–2009) – ''Angela's Ashes'' (Pulitzer Prize) *Ronald Skirth (En, 1897–1977) – ''The Reluctant Tommy''

Biographers

A–G

H–M

N–Z

Autobiographers

See also