writing a short biography of a famous person

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How to Write a Biography (Examples & Templates)

A biography is a written account of a person’s life that details their life in chronological order. Another person usually writes this detailed account, and it contains reports of their childhood, career, major life events, relationships, and social impact. It also details their relationships with their family, children, and life accomplishments.

The best way to find out more about a popular figure is through reading their biographies, so you need to make sure you get the correct information. Before writing a biography, you need to do a lot of research and interviews to represent a person’s life accurately.

Types of Biography

A biography is the story of someone’s life as written by another writer. Most biographies of popular figures are written years, or even decades, after their deaths. Authors write biographies of popular figures due to either a lack of information on the subject or personal interest.

A biography aims to share a person’s story or highlight a part of their life.

There are different types of biographies, depending on the story. Some biographies are written true to the story, while some are written as fictional works. Biographies can give you true understanding of a person on an internal as well as external level along with a lot of life lessons.

Autobiography

An autobiography is different from a biography because it is written by the subject of the story, themselves. The author writes in the first-person narrative, and it flows step-by-step like a story of their life. Autobiographies contain personal accounts of the subject’s life, along with their perspectives and opinions on events in their life.

How To Write a Biography

Pick a subject.

Picking a subject is the first step in writing a biography. You can pick an already famous person or a relatively unknown person with a great life story. If you already have a few in mind, you can start by asking yourself some questions such as;

• What has the subject accomplished that makes them a good subject?
• Have they had an impact on society?
• Is the subject a celebrity or a well-known personality?
• Will the biography appeal to a wide audience?

Get Permission

When you pick a subject, the next thing to do is to get permission from them or their family or rights owners. Although, with some historical figures, there may not be any need for permission. Getting permission from your subject makes it easier for you to get stories to put into your book. You can get the chance to obtain additional personal stories and anecdotes that will make your book more interesting by doing so as well.

Do The Research

Research is the most important part of a biography’s process as the entire content of the book is dependent on it. Irrespective of what you know about the subject, you need to carry out as much research as possible to get the story’s facts precisely.

Biography research comes from various sources, depending on the book’s subject. Firsthand reports from family, friends, or personal accounts from the subjects are primary sources. They are usually the most accurate and reliable, and they are crucial for a biography. Secondary sources come from other sources like magazines or documentaries.

Pick a Format

Biographies come in various formats, with each of them having their pros and cons. A typical biography will start at the beginning, usually with the birth and childhood of the subject. Yet, if the biography’s theme involves a different event in their life, the author may want to explore the flashback option or one with concurrent events from different times.

Usually, biographies have a theme or a general life lesson at the center. The author’s role is to tell the subject’s story leading up to the major event.

Which-ever format you choose should place the theme at the center, with the other events detailing the journey.

Create a Timeline Of The Story

Since a biography takes place in chronological order, there needs to be a timeline of the events in the right order. The timeline should contain the key events in the subject’s life, in the order the author plans on revealing them. A great way to declutter the story and keep it interesting is to use flashbacks . This way, the author can introduce past events and explain later events excluding the element of monotony.

Add In Your Thoughts

The good thing about biographies is that you don’t have to stick to the hard facts only. As the author, you can share your opinions and emotions in writing. The author has the freedom to do this by commenting on a significant action by the subject in a manner that describes why they feel the subject may have done what they did.

The author can also include commentary on events depicted in the biography – how it was influenced society or its impact on the lives around them. Recounting these events through a different perspective can make the biography more relatable and interesting to read.

FAQ’s

Why is a biography template important.

A biography template has an outline that makes the writing easier for the author. Biography templates usually contain a sample timeline, format, and questions that provide more information about the subject. With a great biography template, you can cut your writing time in half and spend less time coming up with an outline.

How are biographies better in comparison to autobiographies

Since a different person writes biographies, they tend to be more objective and somewhat accurate than autobiographies. An autobiography tells things from the author’s perspective, so their views and perspective cloud it. Thus, a biography will likely tell a more factual story.

These are the important steps you need to take to help you write a great biography. Now, to make things easier for you, we have a free customizable autobiography and biography template that you can use to start your first book. Get the template and start writing today

What are some of the most important elements to keep in consideration while writing a biography?

Any author looking to write a biography must consider the factors below. They aren’t the only important factors, but a biography isn’t complete without them. • Date and place of their birth • Academic background • Professional expertise • Death, if deceased • Facts and anecdotes about the person • Main accomplishments • Detailed accounts of their child and adult life

Biographies tell the untold stories of some incredibly relevant people in the world. But biographies are not always strictly accurate. So, every biographer needs to follow the necessary steps to provide a biography with all the requirements.

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How to Write a Biography of a Famous Person

Writing a biography of a famous person is a challenging yet rewarding task. It requires extensive research, careful attention to detail, and the ability to craft a compelling narrative that captures the essence of the person’s life and achievements. In this article, we will explore how to write a biography of a famous person, as well as provide you with 9 interesting facts about the process.

1. Choose your subject carefully: The first step in writing a biography of a famous person is to choose your subject carefully. Consider selecting someone who has had a significant impact on their field, whether it be in politics, entertainment, sports, or science. It’s important to choose someone who you find interesting and compelling, as you will be spending a significant amount of time researching and writing about them.

2. Conduct thorough research: Once you have chosen your subject, it’s time to start conducting research. This may involve reading books, articles, and interviews about the person, as well as watching documentaries and listening to speeches or podcasts. Make sure to take detailed notes and keep track of your sources, as you will need to reference them in your biography.

3. Outline the person’s life: Before you start writing, it’s helpful to create an outline of the person’s life. This can help you organize your thoughts and ensure that you cover all the important events and milestones in their life. Start with their early life and background, then move on to their career and achievements, and finally, discuss their impact and legacy.

4. Tell a compelling story: A biography is more than just a list of facts and events – it’s a narrative that tells the story of a person’s life. Try to weave together the key events and moments in the person’s life in a way that is engaging and compelling for the reader. Use descriptive language and vivid details to bring the person’s story to life.

5. Include interesting facts and anecdotes: One way to make your biography more engaging is to include interesting facts and anecdotes about the person. These can help to humanize the person and provide insights into their personality and character. Look for unique or little-known facts that can help to add depth and complexity to your portrait of the person.

6. Be objective and balanced: When writing a biography of a famous person, it’s important to be objective and balanced in your portrayal of them. Avoid falling into the trap of hero-worship or demonization, and strive to present a fair and accurate picture of the person, warts and all. Remember that every person is a complex and multi-dimensional individual, and try to capture this complexity in your writing.

7. Consider the person’s impact: In addition to detailing the person’s life and achievements, it’s important to consider their impact on the world around them. How did they change their field or influence the people around them? What is their lasting legacy? These are important questions to consider as you write your biography.

8. Edit and revise: Once you have completed your first draft, it’s time to edit and revise your work. Look for any errors in grammar, spelling, or punctuation, and make sure that your writing is clear and concise. Consider asking a friend or colleague to read your biography and provide feedback, as fresh eyes can often catch things that you may have missed.

9. Seek feedback: Finally, don’t be afraid to seek feedback from others on your biography. Show your work to friends, family, or colleagues and ask for their honest opinions. Constructive criticism can help you improve your writing and make your biography more engaging and compelling for readers.

Now that we have covered the basics of how to write a biography of a famous person, let’s delve into 9 interesting facts about the process:

1. Research is key: Writing a biography requires extensive research to ensure that you have a thorough understanding of the person’s life and achievements.

2. Choose your sources carefully: Make sure to use reputable sources when conducting your research, such as books, articles, and interviews with people who knew the person.

3. Be prepared to spend a lot of time on your biography: Writing a biography is a time-consuming process that requires patience and dedication.

4. Don’t be afraid to get creative: While it’s important to stick to the facts when writing a biography, don’t be afraid to get creative with your writing style and approach.

5. Consider the person’s legacy: When writing a biography, it’s important to consider the person’s lasting legacy and impact on the world.

6. Be prepared for criticism: Writing a biography can be a challenging and sometimes controversial endeavor, so be prepared for criticism from readers and reviewers.

7. Stay organized: Keep detailed notes and records of your research to ensure that you have all the information you need to write your biography.

8. Get feedback: Show your work to others and ask for their feedback to help you improve your writing and make your biography more engaging.

9. Enjoy the process: Writing a biography can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience, so try to enjoy the process and learn as much as you can about the person you are writing about.

Now that we have covered 9 interesting facts about how to write a biography of a famous person, let’s move on to 17 common questions that you may have about the process:

1. How do I choose a subject for my biography?

– When choosing a subject for your biography, consider selecting someone who has had a significant impact on their field and who you find interesting and compelling.

2. How do I conduct research for my biography?

– Research for your biography may involve reading books, articles, and interviews about the person, as well as watching documentaries and listening to speeches or podcasts.

3. How do I structure my biography?

– Create an outline of the person’s life, starting with their early years and background, then moving on to their career and achievements, and finally discussing their impact and legacy.

4. How do I make my biography engaging?

– Use descriptive language, vivid details, and interesting facts and anecdotes to make your biography more engaging and compelling for readers.

5. How do I remain objective when writing a biography?

– Strive to be objective and balanced in your portrayal of the person, avoiding hero-worship or demonization and presenting a fair and accurate picture of the person.

6. How do I edit and revise my biography?

– Look for errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and make sure that your writing is clear and concise. Consider seeking feedback from others to help improve your work.

7. How do I deal with criticism of my biography?

– Be prepared for criticism from readers and reviewers, and use it as an opportunity to learn and improve your writing.

8. How do I capture the person’s personality in my biography?

– Use interesting facts, anecdotes, and insights to help capture the person’s personality and character in your writing.

9. How do I ensure that my biography is accurate?

– Use reputable sources and fact-check your work to ensure that your biography is accurate and well-researched.

10. How do I make my biography stand out from others?

– Use a unique writing style, interesting facts, and a compelling narrative to make your biography stand out and capture the reader’s attention.

11. How do I handle sensitive or controversial topics in my biography?

– Approach sensitive or controversial topics with sensitivity and objectivity, and strive to present a fair and balanced view of the person and their life.

12. How do I structure my research for my biography?

– Keep detailed notes and records of your research to ensure that you have all the information you need to write your biography.

13. How do I ensure that my biography is well-written?

– Use descriptive language, vivid details, and engaging storytelling techniques to make your biography well-written and engaging for readers.

14. How do I choose which events to include in my biography?

– Select events that are significant and relevant to the person’s life and achievements, and that help to tell a compelling story about them.

15. How do I make my biography relevant to today’s readers?

– Consider the person’s impact and legacy, and how their life and achievements continue to resonate with readers today.

16. How do I structure my biography to keep readers engaged?

– Use a clear and logical structure, with engaging storytelling techniques and interesting facts and anecdotes to keep readers engaged throughout your biography.

17. How do I conclude my biography?

– Summarize the person’s life and achievements, their impact and legacy, and leave readers with a lasting impression of the person and their contribution to the world.

In conclusion, writing a biography of a famous person is a challenging yet rewarding task that requires careful research, attention to detail, and a compelling narrative. By following the tips outlined in this article, as well as considering the interesting facts and common questions provided, you can create a biography that captures the essence of the person’s life and achievements in a compelling and engaging way. Remember to stay objective and balanced in your portrayal of the person, seek feedback from others, and enjoy the process of writing and learning about the person you are writing about. Happy writing!

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Posted on Jun 30, 2023

How to Write a Biography: A 7-Step Guide [+Template]

From time to time, nonfiction authors become so captivated by a particular figure from either the present or the past, that they feel compelled to write an entire book about their life. Whether casting them as heroes or villains, there is an interesting quality in their humanity that compels these authors to revisit their life paths and write their story.

However, portraying someone’s life on paper in a comprehensive and engaging way requires solid preparation. If you’re looking to write a biography yourself, in this post we’ll share a step-by-step blueprint that you can follow. 

How to write a biography: 

1. Seek permission when possible 

2. research your subject thoroughly, 3. do interviews and visit locations, 4. organize your findings, 5. identify a central thesis, 6. write it using narrative elements, 7. get feedback and polish the text.

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While you technically don’t need permission to write about public figures (or deceased ones), that doesn't guarantee their legal team won't pursue legal action against you. Author Kitty Kelley was sued by Frank Sinatra before she even started to write His Way , a biography that paints Ol Blue Eyes in a controversial light. (Kelley ended up winning the lawsuit, however).  

Whenever feasible, advise the subject’s representatives of your intentions. If all goes according to plan, you’ll get a green light to proceed, or potentially an offer to collaborate. It's a matter of common sense; if someone were to write a book about you, you would likely want to know about it well prior to publication. So, make a sincere effort to reach out to their PR staff to negotiate an agreement or at least a mutual understanding of the scope of your project. 

At the same time, make sure that you still retain editorial control over the project, and not end up writing a puff piece that treats its protagonist like a saint or hero. No biography can ever be entirely objective, but you should always strive for a portrayal that closely aligns with facts and reality.

If you can’t get an answer from your subject, or you’re asked not to proceed forward, you can still accept the potential repercussions and write an unauthorized biography . The “rebellious act” of publishing without consent indeed makes for great marketing, though it’ll likely bring more headaches with it too. 

✋ Please note that, like other nonfiction books, if you intend to release your biography with a publishing house , you can put together a book proposal to send to them before you even write the book. If they like it enough, they might pay you an advance to write it.  

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Once you’ve settled (or not) the permission part, it’s time to dive deep into your character’s story.  

Deep and thorough research skills are the cornerstone of every biographer worth their salt. To paint a vivid and accurate portrait of someone's life, you’ll have to gather qualitative information from a wide range of reliable sources. 

Start with the information already available, from books on your subject to archival documents, then collect new ones firsthand by interviewing people or traveling to locations. 

Browse the web and library archives

Put your researcher hat on and start consuming any piece on your subject you can find, from their Wikipedia page to news articles, interviews, TV and radio appearances, YouTube videos, podcasts, books, magazines, and any other media outlets they may have been featured in. 

Establish a system to orderly collect the information you find 一 even seemingly insignificant details can prove valuable during the writing process, so be sure to save them. 

Depending on their era, you may find most of the information readily available online, or you may need to search through university libraries for older references. 

For his landmark biography of Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow spent untold hours at Columbia University’s library , reading through the Hamilton family papers, visiting the New York Historical Society, as well as interviewing the archivist of the New York Stock Exchange, and so on. The research process took years, but it certainly paid off. Chernow discovered that Hamilton created the first five securities originally traded on Wall Street. This finding, among others, revealed his significant contributions to shaping the current American financial and political systems, a legacy previously often overshadowed by other founding fathers. Today Alexander Hamilton is one of the best-selling biographies of all time, and it has become a cultural phenomenon with its own dedicated musical. 

Besides reading documents about your subject, research can help you understand the world that your subject lived in. 

Try to understand their time and social environment

Many biographies show how their protagonists have had a profound impact on society through their philosophical, artistic, or scientific contributions. But at the same time, it’s worth it as a biographer to make an effort to understand how their societal and historical context influenced their life’s path and work.

An interesting example is Stephen Greenblatt’s Will in the World . Finding himself limited by a lack of verified detail surrounding William Shakespeare's personal life, Greenblatt, instead, employs literary interpretation and imaginative reenactments to transport readers back to the Elizabethan era. The result is a vivid (though speculative) depiction of the playwright's life, enriching our understanding of his world.

Many readers enjoy biographies that transport them to a time and place, so exploring a historical period through the lens of a character can be entertaining in its own right. The Diary of Samuel Pepys became a classic not because people were enthralled by his life as an administrator, but rather from his meticulous and vivid documentation of everyday existence during the Restoration period.

Once you’ve gotten your hands on as many secondary sources as you can find, you’ll want to go hunting for stories first-hand from people who are (or were) close to your subject.

With all the material you’ve been through, by now you should already have a pretty good picture of your protagonist. But you’ll surely have some curiosities and missing dots in their character arc to figure out, which you can only get by interviewing primary sources.

Interview friends and associates

This part is more relevant if your subject is contemporary, and you can actually meet up or call with relatives, friends, colleagues, business partners, neighbors, or any other person related to them. 

In writing the popular biography of Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson interviewed more than one hundred people, including Jobs’s family, colleagues, former college mates, business rivals, and the man himself.

🔍 Read other biographies to get a sense of what makes a great one. Check out our list of the 30 best biographies of all time , or take our 30-second quiz below for tips on which one you should read next. 

Which biography should you read next?

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When you conduct your interviews, make sure to record them with high quality audio you can revisit later. Then use tools like Otter.ai or Descript to transcribe them 一 it’ll save you countless hours. 

You can approach the interview with a specific set of questions, or follow your curiosity blindly, trying to uncover revealing stories and anecdotes about your subject. Whatever your method, author and biography editor Tom Bromley suggests that every interviewer arrives prepared, "Show that you’ve done your work. This will help to put the interviewee at ease, and get their best answers.” 

Bromley also places emphasis on the order in which you conduct interviews. “You may want to interview different members of the family or friends first, to get their perspective on something, and then go directly to the main interviewee. You'll be able to use that knowledge to ask sharper, more specific questions.” 

Finally, consider how much time you have with each interviewee. If you only have a 30-minute phone call with an important person, make it count by asking directly the most pressing questions you have. And, if you find a reliable source who is also particularly willing to help, conduct several interviews and ask them, if appropriate, to write a foreword as part of the book’s front matter .

Sometimes an important part of the process is packing your bags, getting on a plane, and personally visiting significant places in your character’s journey.

Visit significant places in their life

A place, whether that’s a city, a rural house, or a bodhi tree, can carry a particular energy that you can only truly experience by being there. In putting the pieces together about someone’s life, it may be useful to go visit where they grew up, or where other significant events of their lives happened. It will be easier to imagine what they experienced, and better tell their story. 

In researching The Lost City of Z , author David Grann embarked on a trek through the Amazon, retracing the steps of British explorer Percy Fawcett. This led Grann to develop new theories about the circumstances surrounding the explorer's disappearance.

Hopefully, you won’t have to deal with jaguars and anacondas to better understand your subject’s environment, but try to walk into their shoes as much as possible. 

Once you’ve researched your character enough, it’s time to put together all the puzzle pieces you collected so far. 

Take the bulk of notes, media, and other documents you’ve collected, and start to give them some order and structure. A simple way to do this is by creating a timeline. 

Create a chronological timeline

It helps to organize your notes chronologically 一 from childhood to the senior years, line up the most significant events of your subject’s life, including dates, places, names and other relevant bits. 

You should be able to divide their life into distinct periods, each with their unique events and significance. Based on that, you can start drafting an outline of the narrative you want to create.  

Draft a story outline 

Since a biography entails writing about a person’s entire life, it will have a beginning, a middle, and an end. You can pick where you want to end the story, depending on how consequential the last years of your subject were. But the nature of the work will give you a starting character arc to work with. 

To outline the story then, you could turn to the popular Three-Act Structure , which divides the narrative in three main parts. In a nutshell, you’ll want to make sure to have the following:

• Act 1. Setup : Introduce the protagonist's background and the turning points that set them on a path to achieve a goal. 
• Act 2. Confrontation : Describe the challenges they encounter, both internal and external, and how they rise to them. Then..
• Act 3. Resolution : Reach a climactic point in their story in which they succeed (or fail), showing how they (and the world around them) have changed as a result. 

Only one question remains before you begin writing: what will be the main focus of your biography?

Think about why you’re so drawn to your subject to dedicate years of your life to recounting their own. What aspect of their life do you want to highlight? Is it their evil nature, artistic genius, or visionary mindset? And what evidence have you got to back that up? Find a central thesis or focus to weave as the main thread throughout your narrative. 

Or find a unique angle

If you don’t have a particular theme to explore, finding a distinct angle on your subject’s story can also help you distinguish your work from other biographies or existing works on the same subject.

Plenty of biographies have been published about The Beatles 一 many of which have different focuses and approaches: 

• Philip Norman's Shout is sometimes regarded as leaning more towards a pro-Lennon and anti-McCartney stance, offering insights into the band's inner dynamics. 
• Ian McDonald's Revolution in the Head closely examines their music track by track, shifting the focus back to McCartney as a primary creative force. 
• Craig Brown's One Two Three Four aims to capture their story through anecdotes, fan letters, diary entries, and interviews. 
• Mark Lewisohn's monumental three-volume biography, Tune In , stands as a testament to over a decade of meticulous research, chronicling every intricate detail of the Beatles' journey.

Finally, consider that biographies are often more than recounting the life of a person. Similar to how Dickens’ Great Expectations is not solely about a boy named Pip (but an examination and critique of Britain’s fickle, unforgiving class system), a biography should strive to illuminate a broader truth — be it social, political, or human — beyond the immediate subject of the book. 

Once you’ve identified your main focus or angle, it’s time to write a great story. 

While biographies are often highly informative, they do not have to be dry and purely expository in nature . You can play with storytelling elements to make it an engaging read. 

You could do that by thoroughly detailing the setting of the story , depicting the people involved in the story as fully-fledged characters , or using rising action and building to a climax when describing a particularly significant milestone of the subject’s life. 

One common way to make a biography interesting to read is starting on a strong foot…

Hook the reader from the start

Just because you're honoring your character's whole life doesn't mean you have to begin when they said their first word. Starting from the middle or end of their life can be more captivating as it introduces conflicts and stakes that shaped their journey.

When he wrote about Christopher McCandless in Into the Wild , author Jon Krakauer didn’t open his subject’s childhood and abusive family environment. Instead, the book begins with McCandless hitchhiking his way into the wilderness, and subsequently being discovered dead in an abandoned bus. By starting in medias res , Krakauer hooks the reader’s interest, before tracing back the causes and motivations that led McCandless to die alone in that bus in the first place.

You can bend the timeline to improve the reader’s reading experience throughout the rest of the story too…

Play with flashback 

While biographies tend to follow a chronological narrative, you can use flashbacks to tell brief stories or anecdotes when appropriate. For example, if you were telling the story of footballer Lionel Messi, before the climax of winning the World Cup with Argentina, you could recall when he was just 13 years old, giving an interview to a local newspaper, expressing his lifelong dream of playing for the national team. 

Used sparsely and intentionally, flashbacks can add more context to the story and keep the narrative interesting. Just like including dialogue does…

Reimagine conversations

Recreating conversations that your subject had with people around them is another effective way to color the story. Dialogue helps the reader imagine the story like a movie, providing a deeper sensory experience. 

One thing is trying to articulate the root of Steve Jobs’ obsession with product design, another would be to quote his father , teaching him how to build a fence when he was young: “You've got to make the back of the fence just as good looking as the front of the fence. Even though nobody will see it, you will know. And that will show that you're dedicated to making something perfect.”

Unlike memoirs and autobiographies, in which the author tells the story from their personal viewpoint and enjoys greater freedom to recall conversations, biographies require a commitment to facts. So, when recreating dialogue, try to quote directly from reliable sources like personal diaries, emails, and text messages. You could also use your interview scripts as an alternative to dialogue. As Tom Bromley suggests, “If you talk with a good amount of people, you can try to tell the story from their perspective, interweaving different segments and quoting the interviewees directly.”

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These are just some of the story elements you can use to make your biography more compelling. Once you’ve finished your manuscript, it’s a good idea to ask for feedback. 

If you’re going to self-publish your biography, you’ll have to polish it to professional standards. After leaving your work to rest for a while, look at it with fresh eyes and self-edit your manuscript eliminating passive voice, filler words, and redundant adverbs. 

Then, have a professional editor give you a general assessment. They’ll look at the structure and shape of your manuscript and tell you which parts need to be expanded on or cut. As someone who edited and commissioned several biographies, Tom Bromley points out that a professional “will look at the sources used and assess whether they back up the points made, or if more are needed. They would also look for context, and whether or not more background information is needed for the reader to understand the story fully. And they might check your facts, too.”  

In addition to structural editing, you may want to have someone copy-edit and proofread your work.

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Importantly, make sure to include a bibliography with a list of all the interviews, documents, and sources used in the writing process. You’ll have to compile it according to a manual of style, but you can easily create one by using tools like EasyBib . Once the text is nicely polished and typeset in your writing software , you can prepare for the publication process.  

In conclusion, by mixing storytelling elements with diligent research, you’ll be able to breathe life into a powerful biography that immerses readers in another individual’s life experience. Whether that’ll spark inspiration or controversy, remember you could have an important role in shaping their legacy 一 and that’s something not to take lightly. 

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How to Write a Biography

Biographies are big business. Whether in book form or Hollywood biopics, the lives of the famous and sometimes not-so-famous fascinate us.

While it’s true that most biographies are about people who are in the public eye, sometimes the subject is less well-known. Primarily, though, famous or not, the person who is written about has led an incredible life.

In this article, we will explain biography writing in detail for teachers and students so they can create their own.

While your students will most likely have a basic understanding of a biography, it’s worth taking a little time before they put pen to paper to tease out a crystal-clear definition of one.

What Is a Biography?

A biography is an account of someone’s life written by someone else . While there is a genre known as a fictional biography, for the most part, biographies are, by definition, nonfiction.

Generally speaking, biographies provide an account of the subject’s life from the earliest days of childhood to the present day or, if the subject is deceased, their death.

The job of a biography is more than just to outline the bare facts of a person’s life.

Rather than just listing the basic details of their upbringing, hobbies, education, work, relationships, and death, a well-written biography should also paint a picture of the subject’s personality and experience of life.

Full Biographies

Teaching unit.

Teach your students everything they need to know about writing an AUTOBIOGRAPHY and a BIOGRAPHY.

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Features of a Biography

Before students begin writing a biography, they’ll need to have a firm grasp of the main features of a Biography. An excellent way to determine how well they understand these essential elements is to ask them to compile a checklist like the one-blow

Their checklists should contain the items below at a minimum. Be sure to help them fill in any gaps before moving on to the writing process.

The purpose of a biography is to provide an account of someone’s life.

Biography structure.

ORIENTATION (BEGINNING) Open your biography with a strong hook to grab the reader’s attention

SEQUENCING: In most cases, biographies are written in chronological order unless you are a very competent writer consciously trying to break from this trend.

COVER: childhood, upbringing, education, influences, accomplishments, relationships, etc. – everything that helps the reader to understand the person.

CONCLUSION: Wrap your biography up with some details about what the subject is doing now if they are still alive. If they have passed away, make mention of what impact they have made and what their legacy is or will be.

BIOGRAPHY FEATURES

LANGUAGE Use descriptive and figurative language that will paint images inside your audience’s minds as they read. Use time connectives to link events.

PERSPECTIVE Biographies are written from the third person’s perspective.

DETAILS: Give specific details about people, places, events, times, dates, etc. Reflect on how events shaped the subject. You might want to include some relevant photographs with captions. A timeline may also be of use depending upon your subject and what you are trying to convey to your audience.

TENSE Written in the past tense (though ending may shift to the present/future tense)

THE PROCESS OF WRITING A BIOGRAPHY

Like any form of writing, you will find it simple if you have a plan and follow it through. These steps will ensure you cover the essential bases of writing a biography essay.

Firstly, select a subject that inspires you. Someone whose life story resonates with you and whose contribution to society intrigues you. The next step is to conduct thorough research. Engage in extensive reading, explore various sources, watch documentaries, and glean all available information to provide a comprehensive account of the person’s life.

Creating an outline is essential to organize your thoughts and information. The outline should include the person’s early life, education, career, achievements, and any other significant events or contributions. It serves as a map for the writing process, ensuring that all vital information is included.

Your biography should have an engaging introduction that captivates the reader’s attention and provides background information on the person you’re writing about. It should include a thesis statement summarising the biography’s main points.

Writing a biography in chronological order is crucial . You should begin with the person’s early life and move through their career and achievements. This approach clarifies how the person’s life unfolded and how they accomplished their goals.

A biography should be written in a narrative style , capturing the essence of the person’s life through vivid descriptions, anecdotes, and quotes. Avoid dry, factual writing and focus on creating a compelling narrative that engages the reader.

Adding personal insights and opinions can enhance the biography’s overall impact, providing a unique perspective on the person’s achievements, legacy, and impact on society.

Editing and proofreading are vital elements of the writing process. Thoroughly reviewing your biography ensures that the writing is clear, concise, and error-free. You can even request feedback from someone else to ensure that it is engaging and well-written.

Finally, including a bibliography at the end of your biography is essential. It gives credit to the sources that were used during research, such as books, articles, interviews, and websites.

Tips for Writing a Brilliant Biography

Biography writing tip #1: choose your subject wisely.

There are several points for students to reflect on when deciding on a subject for their biography. Let’s take a look at the most essential points to consider when deciding on the subject for a biography:

Interest: To produce a biography will require sustained writing from the student. That’s why students must choose their subject well. After all, a biography is an account of someone’s entire life to date. Students must ensure they choose a subject that will sustain their interest throughout the research, writing, and editing processes.

Merit: Closely related to the previous point, students must consider whether the subject merits the reader’s interest. Aside from pure labors of love, writing should be undertaken with the reader in mind. While producing a biography demands sustained writing from the author, it also demands sustained reading from the reader.

Therefore, students should ask themselves if their chosen subject has had a life worthy of the reader’s interest and the time they’d need to invest in reading their biography.

Information: Is there enough information available on the subject to fuel the writing of an entire biography? While it might be a tempting idea to write about a great-great-grandfather’s experience in the war. There would be enough interest there to sustain the author’s and the reader’s interest, but do you have enough access to information about their early childhood to do the subject justice in the form of a biography?

Biography Writing Tip #2: R esearch ! Research! Research!

While the chances are good that the student already knows quite a bit about the subject they’ve chosen. Chances are 100% that they’ll still need to undertake considerable research to write their biography.

As with many types of writing , research is an essential part of the planning process that shouldn’t be overlooked. If students wish to give as complete an account of their subject’s life as possible, they’ll need to put in the time at the research stage.

An effective way to approach the research process is to:

1. Compile a chronological timeline of the central facts, dates, and events of the subject’s life

2. Compile detailed descriptions of the following personal traits:

•      Physical looks
•      Character traits
•      Values and beliefs

3. Compile some research questions based on different topics to provide a focus for the research:

• Childhood : Where and when were they born? Who were their parents? Who were the other family members? What education did they receive?
• Obstacles: What challenges did they have to overcome? How did these challenges shape them as individuals?
• Legacy: What impact did this person have on the world and/or the people around them?
• Dialogue & Quotes: Dialogue and quotations by and about the subject are a great way to bring color and life to a biography. Students should keep an eagle eye out for the gems that hide amid their sources.

As the student gets deeper into their research, new questions will arise that can further fuel the research process and help to shape the direction the biography will ultimately go in.

Likewise, during the research, themes will often begin to suggest themselves. Exploring these themes is essential to bring depth to biography, but we’ll discuss this later in this article.

Research Skills:

Researching for biography writing is an excellent way for students to hone their research skills in general. Developing good research skills is essential for future academic success. Students will have opportunities to learn how to:

• Gather relevant information
• Evaluate different information sources
• Select suitable information
• Organize information into a text.

Students will have access to print and online information sources, and, in some cases, they may also have access to people who knew or know the subject (e.g. biography of a family member).

These days, much of the research will likely take place online. It’s crucial, therefore, to provide your students with guidance on how to use the internet safely and evaluate online sources for reliability. This is the era of ‘ fake news ’ and misinformation after all!

COMPLETE TEACHING UNIT ON INTERNET RESEARCH SKILLS USING GOOGLE SEARCH

Teach your students ESSENTIAL SKILLS OF THE INFORMATION ERA to become expert DIGITAL RESEARCHERS.

⭐How to correctly ask questions to search engines on all devices.

⭐ How to filter and refine your results to find exactly what you want every time.

⭐ Essential Research and critical thinking skills for students.

⭐ Plagiarism, Citing and acknowledging other people’s work.

⭐ How to query, synthesize and record your findings logically.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING Tip #3: Find Your Themes In Biography Writing

Though predominantly a nonfiction genre, the story still plays a significant role in good biography writing. The skills of characterization and plot structuring are transferable here. And, just like in fiction, exploring themes in a biographical work helps connect the personal to the universal. Of course, these shouldn’t be forced; this will make the work seem contrived, and the reader may lose faith in the truthfulness of the account. A biographer needs to gain and maintain the trust of the reader.

Fortunately, themes shouldn’t need to be forced. A life well-lived is full of meaning, and the themes the student writer is looking for will emerge effortlessly from the actions and events of the subject’s life. It’s just a case of learning how to spot them.

One way to identify the themes in a life is to look for recurring events or situations in a person’s life. These should be apparent from the research completed previously. The students should seek to identify these patterns that emerge in the subject’s life. For example, perhaps they’ve had to overcome various obstacles throughout different periods of their life. In that case, the theme of overcoming adversity is present and has been identified.

Usually, a biography has several themes running throughout, so be sure your students work to identify more than one theme in their subject’s life.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING Tip: #4 Put Something of Yourself into the Writing

While the defining feature of a biography is that it gives an account of a person’s life, students must understand that this is not all a biography does. Relating the facts and details of a subject’s life is not enough. The student biographer should not be afraid to share their thoughts and feelings with the reader throughout their account of their subject’s life.

The student can weave some of their personality into the fabric of the text by providing commentary and opinion as they relate the events of the person’s life and the wider social context at the time. Unlike the detached and objective approach we’d expect to find in a history textbook, in a biography, student-writers should communicate their enthusiasm for their subject in their writing.

This makes for a more intimate experience for the reader, as they get a sense of getting to know the author and the subject they are writing about.

Biography Examples For Students

• Year 5 Example
• Year 7 Example
• Year 9 Example

“The Rock ‘n’ Roll King: Elvis Presley”

Elvis Aaron Presley, born on January 8, 1935, was an amazing singer and actor known as the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Even though he’s been dead for nearly 50 years, I can’t help but be fascinated by his incredible life!

Elvis grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi, in a tiny house with his parents and twin brother. His family didn’t have much money, but they shared a love for music. Little did they know Elvis would become a music legend!

When he was only 11 years old, Elvis got his first guitar. He taught himself to play and loved singing gospel songs. As he got older, he started combining different music styles like country, blues, and gospel to create a whole new sound – that’s Rock ‘n’ Roll!

In 1954, at the age of 19, Elvis recorded his first song, “That’s All Right.” People couldn’t believe how unique and exciting his music was. His famous hip-swinging dance moves also made him a sensation!

Elvis didn’t just rock the music scene; he also starred in movies like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock.” But fame came with challenges. Despite facing ups and downs, Elvis kept spreading happiness through his music.

Tragically, Elvis passed away in 1977, but his music and charisma live on. Even today, people worldwide still enjoy his songs like “Hound Dog” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Elvis Presley’s legacy as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll will live forever.

Long Live the King: I wish I’d seen him.

Elvis Presley, the Rock ‘n’ Roll legend born on January 8, 1935, is a captivating figure that even a modern-day teen like me can’t help but admire. As I delve into his life, I wish I could have experienced the magic of his live performances.

Growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis faced challenges but found solace in music. At 11, he got his first guitar, a symbol of his journey into the world of sound. His fusion of gospel, country, and blues into Rock ‘n’ Roll became a cultural phenomenon.

The thought of being in the audience during his early performances, especially when he recorded “That’s All Right” at 19, sends shivers down my spine. Imagining the crowd’s uproar and feeling the revolutionary energy of that moment is a dream I wish I could have lived.

Elvis wasn’t just a musical prodigy; he was a dynamic performer. His dance moves, the embodiment of rebellion, and his roles in films like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock” made him a true icon.

After watching him on YouTube, I can’t help but feel a little sad that I’ll never witness the King’s live performances. The idea of swaying to “Hound Dog” or being enchanted by “Can’t Help Falling in Love” in person is a missed opportunity. Elvis may have left us in 1977, but he was the king of rock n’ roll. Long live the King!

Elvis Presley: A Teen’s Take on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Icon”

Elvis Presley, born January 8, 1935, was a revolutionary force in the music world, earning his title as the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Exploring his life, even as a 16-year-old today, I’m captivated by the impact he made.

Hailing from Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis grew up in humble beginnings, surrounded by the love of his parents and twin brother. It’s inspiring to think that, despite financial challenges, this young man would redefine the music scene.

At 11, Elvis got his first guitar, sparking a self-taught journey into music. His early gospel influences evolved into a unique fusion of country, blues, and gospel, creating the electrifying genre of Rock ‘n’ Roll. In 1954, at only 19, he recorded “That’s All Right,” marking the birth of a musical legend.

Elvis wasn’t just a musical innovator; he was a cultural phenomenon. His rebellious dance moves and magnetic stage presence challenged the norms. He transitioned seamlessly into acting, starring in iconic films like “Love Me Tender” and “Jailhouse Rock.”

However, fame came at a cost, and Elvis faced personal struggles. Despite the challenges, his music continued to resonate. Even now, classics like “Hound Dog” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love” transcend generations.

Elvis Presley’s impact on music and culture is undeniable. He was known for his unique voice, charismatic persona, and electrifying performances. He sold over one billion records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling solo artists in history. He received numerous awards throughout his career, including three Grammy Awards and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Elvis’s influence can still be seen in today’s music. Many contemporary artists, such as Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, and Justin Timberlake, have cited Elvis as an inspiration. His music continues to be featured in movies, TV shows, and commercials.

Elvis left us in 1977, but his legacy lives on. I appreciate his breaking barriers and fearlessly embracing his artistic vision. Elvis Presley’s impact on music and culture is timeless, a testament to the enduring power of his artistry. His music has inspired generations and will continue to do so for many years to come.

Teaching Resources

Use our resources and tools to improve your student’s writing skills through proven teaching strategies.

BIOGRAPHY WRITING TEACHING IDEAS AND LESSONS

We have compiled a sequence of biography-related lessons or teaching ideas that you can follow as you please. They are straightforward enough for most students to follow without further instruction.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 1:

This session aims to give students a broader understanding of what makes a good biography.

Once your students have compiled a comprehensive checklist of the main features of a biography, allow them to use it to assess some biographies from your school library or on the internet using the feature checklist.

When students have assessed a selection of biographies, take some time as a class to discuss them. You can base the discussion around the following prompts:

• Which biographies covered all the criteria from their checklist?
• Which biographies didn’t?
• Which biography was the most readable in terms of structure?
• Which biography do you think was the least well-structured? How would you improve this?

Looking at how other writers have interpreted the form will help students internalize the necessary criteria before attempting to produce a biography. Once students have a clear understanding of the main features of the biography, they’re ready to begin work on writing a biography.

When the time does come to put pen to paper, be sure they’re armed with the following top tips to help ensure they’re as well prepared as possible.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 2:

This session aims to guide students through the process of selecting the perfect biography subject.

Instruct students to draw up a shortlist of three potential subjects for the biography they’ll write.

Using the three criteria mentioned in the writing guide (Interest, Merit, and Information), students award each potential subject a mark out of 5 for each of the criteria. In this manner, students can select the most suitable subject for their biography.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 3:

This session aims to get students into the researching phase, then prioritise and organise events chronologically.

Students begin by making a timeline of their subject’s life, starting with their birth and ending with their death or the present day. If the student has yet to make a final decision on the subject of their biography, a family member will often serve well for this exercise as a practice exercise.

Students should research and gather the key events of the person’s life, covering each period of their life from when they were a baby, through childhood and adolescence, right up to adulthood and old age. They should then organize these onto a timeline. Students can include photographs with captions if they have them.

They can present these to the class when they have finished their timelines.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 4:

Instruct students to look over their timeline, notes, and other research. Challenge them to identify three patterns that repeat throughout the subject’s life and sort all the related events and incidents into specific categories.

Students should then label each category with a single word. This is the thematic concept or the broad general underlying idea. After that, students should write a sentence or two expressing what the subject’s life ‘says’ about that concept.

This is known as the thematic statement . With the thematic concepts and thematic statements identified, the student now has some substantial ideas to explore that will help bring more profound meaning and wider resonance to their biography.

BIOGRAPHY LESSON IDEA # 5:

Instruct students to write a short objective account of an event in their own life. They can write about anyone from their past. It needn’t be more than a couple of paragraphs, but the writing should be strictly factual, focusing only on the objective details of what happened.

Once they have completed this, it’s time to rewrite the paragraph, but they should include some opinion and personal commentary this time.

The student here aims to inject some color and personality into their writing, to transform a detached, factual account into a warm, engaging story.

A COMPLETE UNIT ON TEACHING BIOGRAPHIES

Teach your students to write AMAZING BIOGRAPHIES & AUTOBIOGRAPHIES using proven RESEARCH SKILLS and WRITING STRATEGIES .

• Understand the purpose of both forms of biography.
• Explore the language and perspective of both.
• Prompts and Challenges to engage students in writing a biography.
• Dedicated lessons for both forms of biography.
• Biographical Projects can expand students’ understanding of reading and writing a biography.
• A COMPLETE 82-PAGE UNIT – NO PREPARATION REQUIRED.

FREE Biography Writing Graphic Organizer

Use this valuable tool in the research and writing phases to keep your students on track and engaged.

WRITING CHECKLIST & RUBRIC BUNDLE

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To Conclude

By this stage, your students should have an excellent technical overview of a biography’s essential elements.

They should be able to choose their subject in light of how interesting and worthy they are, as well as give consideration to the availability of information out there. They should be able to research effectively and identify emerging themes in their research notes. And finally, they should be able to bring some of their personality and uniqueness into their retelling of the life of another.

Remember that writing a biography is not only a great way to develop a student’s writing skills; it can be used in almost all curriculum areas. For example, to find out more about a historical figure in History, to investigate scientific contributions to Science, or to celebrate a hero from everyday life.

Biography is an excellent genre for students to develop their writing skills and to find inspiration in the lives of others in the world around them.

HOW TO WRITE A BIOGRAPHY TUTORIAL VIDEO

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• / Homework Help
• / Writing Skills

Homework Center: How to Write a Biography

• Homework Center: Writing Skills: How to Write an Essay (Advanced)

How to Write a Biography Essay of a Famous Person

• 22 December 2023
• 20 min read

A biography is a text about the personal life story of a famous individual. Basically, it is common for students in higher learning institutions to get assignments that require them to write academic essays. In this case, one form of these essays is a biographical essay. When writing such an essay, what a student should note is the need to focus on writing on the subject (individual) – life, personality, and life experiences. To remain focused, students must identify significant events in the life of the subject and create a thesis statement around those events. In essence, a biographical essay should capture the childhood of the individual, family history, significant life events, notable accomplishments, and historical significance. Hence, students need to learn how to write a biography of a famous person.

General Features of Writing a Professional Biography Essay

In the pursuit of higher education, students often get essay writing assignments that come in various forms. Basically, one of these forms is biography essays, which are common in liberal arts disciplines, such as history and cultural studies. In this case, the literal meaning of the term “biography” is a life story, meaning that biography essays are about the life of specific individuals. Also, these individuals tend to have a mark in the world, either positively or negatively, being their fame. Therefore, a biography essay aims to make sure that readers gain some knowledge about the specific individual. In turn, writing a biography paper enhances the understanding of what individuals did in their life and why their life experiences were exciting and important enough to be the subject of a biography essay.

Definition of a Biography Essay

Unlike other academic essays that talk about diverse topics, a biography essay focuses on telling about the life of a famous individual. Basically, this means that writers focus on the life and personality of their subject, who is now deceased. In this case, the essay provides students with an opportunity to research the life experiences of subjects and learn exciting facts about them. Generally, subjects of this type of essay happen to be famous individuals, such as politicians, entrepreneurs, historical figures, famous actors, and so on. In essence, they are individuals whom the public would love to know more about – how they lived their life and what made them outstanding in their specific fields.

Writing Elements of a Biography Essay

A biography essay reveals to readers the life of the subject and their contribution to society and the world. Hence, a writer of this type of essay must ensure to capture the following elements in their writing:

• an individual who actually lived;
• a thesis statement that advances a specific idea about the life, personality, and achievements of the individual;
• a fascinating account of one or more significant events in the life of the individual; and
• a description of the critical character traits of the individual.

The Difference With Other Essays

While the standard academic essay may be biographical, especially if it presents factual information about another person’s life, it is fundamentally different from a biography essay. For example, the significant difference between a standard essay and a biography essay is that the latter tends to be much longer than the former. Basically, the basis of this difference is that the content of a biography essay includes all of the essential and fascinating details of a person’s life. Also, these details include life events that impacted not only individuals but also those who interacted with them. Traditionally, biography essays begin with more information about the subject’s childhood and then recount the significant moments that left a mark on life and society in general.

On grading, a standard essay is graded on how well it follows essay writing standards, particularly the introduction-body-conclusion structure. Firstly, the first part should introduce the thesis statement, and the body paragraphs should be thesis-driven. Basically, body sections should open with topic sentences and include evidence to back up claims that writers make concerning the thesis statement. In contrast, a biography essay is graded on how well it tells the life story of the subject. As such, students must make inferences about the individual throughout biographical papers. Although a biographical essay is not subject to the introduction-body-conclusion standard, writers must provide a logical flow of their writing. Moreover, this aspect means that the essay must start by focusing on the early life of the subject to the latter life, indicating how every phase of life was significant.

💠 Expectations

When writing a standard essay, students must show that they understand their topic by using credible sources to support their claims and arguments. In this sense, they must use in-text and reference citations to demonstrate thorough research of the matter. In a biography essay, writers must show an in-depth understanding of the life, personality, and achievements of their subject. Basically, these details should give readers a preview of the individual’s entire life, from birth to last days, including what led to their demise. To make the essay engaging, students should focus on one or several events that significantly impacted the subject’s life, such as a disease, a divorce, or an achievement.

Step-by-Step Guide on How to Write a Good Biography Essay

Although a biography essay does not follow the introduction-body-conclusion structure like a standard essay, writers must ensure a logical flow of information. In essence, the essay should read like a narrative, with the thesis statement serving as the guiding idea. When writing this type of essay, students should focus on historical facts concerning defined subjects, using objective tone and language to describe individuals and their experiences. In this case, the most important thing for writers to note is that the story must be accurate and not fiction, and they must use reliable sources to validate their claims. Upon reading the essay, an individual should feel confident in writing a persuasive biography essay or finding the right guidance when writing such a piece.

1️⃣ Preparation

The first step in writing a biography essay is planning or preparation. In academic writing , one of the demands is that students should write articles that are educative, meaning that they should advance ideas that readers find enriching in terms of knowledge acquisition. Therefore, finding relevant topics is critical. When writing a biography essay, a student should ensure that a subject is a person of great fame, and there is an audience that is likely to show interest in this person. Basically, these two items provide direction on how a writer should write a professional biography essay.

Choose the subject. Here, writers should choose their subject – the individual whose life, personality, and life experiences that they will address in their writing. In this case, the standard requirement is that the individual must be a famous person who once lived. For research purposes, students need to select a subject for whom scholars have written articles and books. Also, another part of the preparation is to identify a significant event or events that shaped the subject’s life.

Choose the audience. Another issue that a writer should address during preparation is the target audience – the population most likely to show interest in understanding the life, personality, and life experiences of the subject. As already indicated, biographical essays are common in literal arts disciplines, like history and cultural studies. As such, a writer should target scholars in these disciplines and those in the general public who are interested in understanding history. Ideally, the subject provides writers with an idea of the audience’s target needs in terms of knowledge acquisition.

Prepare ideas. Lastly, students should be prepared by generating ideas about their essays, such as what to cover and what to ignore. For example, writing about a famous individual’s life is demanding and requires a writer to determine what stories are relevant and which ones are not. In this case, while it is essential to talk about childhood, dwelling on it at the expense of adult life is counterproductive. Therefore, deciding what details to capture, such as significant life events, helps writers to generate ideas about the biography essay.

2️⃣ Set-Up Stage

After preparation, the next phase in writing a biography essay is setting up the stage. Here, writers should focus on academic sources that they will use to back up their claims about the subject and the essay outline that the essay should adopt. Basically, creating an outline helps students to make notes on different topics that they intend to address in the essay, such as the subject’s childhood, education, and work experience. In turn, writers should also make an annotated bibliography to get an idea of what to capture in the essay.

Researching . The process of finding sources for use in a biographical essay denotes research – the identification of documented information (articles, books, and newspaper articles) about the subject. By reading these sources, writers gain a clearer picture of famous individuals, what inspired them, and how their experiences shaped their personalities. Ultimately, these sources help students argue about contributions that the subject made, whether positive or negative. Moreover, using different sources helps writers to note different opinions that scholars have about the subject, which is vital to make the writing objective rather than subjective.

Note-making. When researching a topic, students make notes of what they learn. Basically, this aspect supports or strengthens their opinion about the issue. Moreover, when writing a biography essay, writers should make notes as they read different sources that they intend to use to support their thesis statement. In this case, students must identify themes related to the thesis statement and use them to guide the note-making process. To avoid subjectivity, writers must note facts only and not their opinions when narrating specific events in the subject’s life. Besides, mentioning significant events, interests, and persons in the subject’s life helps students to make a biography essay both educative and engaging to read.

Creation of an outline. Before embarking on writing a biography essay, a writer must create an outline to guide their story. Although biographical essays do not necessarily follow the standard structure of traditional essays (introduction, body, and conclusion), they follow a structure that provides a logical flow of information. In this case, the information, based on research, should provide insight into the life of the subject from childhood to adulthood or their demise. As such, ideas in each body paragraph must give a progressive narrative about the individual’s life and times. In this sense, writers need to create an outline that adopts the introduction-body-conclusion structure.

Creation of an annotated bibliography. To ensure sources that writers select are relevant to the biography essay, they must create an annotated bibliography. Basically, this feature means that each source should have a brief descriptive paragraph that informs readers of the relevance and accuracy of picked sources. In this case, students must demonstrate a variety of intellectual skills in writing the annotated bibliography, including concise exposition, succinct analysis, and informed and in-depth research. In short, the process involves identifying sources (books, articles, and other documents) that contain useful information and ideas about the subject and a brief examination and review of sources.

3️⃣ Writing Activity

After preparing and setting up the stage, authors of a biography essay should start writing the paper. Here, students should use the outline that they have created to guide their writing with notes taken during the reading of sources. Basically, it plays a pivotal role in shaping the narrative. Like the traditional essay, a biography essay should use the thesis statement as the central opinion that writers rely on to construct arguments throughout the paper.

Preparation of the draft. To ensure a quality product, it is essential for the writer of a biography essay to start with a draft essay. Ideally, this essay acts as a reflection of the finished product, meaning that it helps students to note mistakes and correct them before presenting the final product. Moreover, the opening chapter of the draft, like an introduction, should engage readers and make them excited about reading the essay. In this case, the thesis statement should ‘hook’ readers and make them interested in the writing. In turn, the more substantial part of the paper, which is the body, should dwell on interesting facts about discussed subjects – their childhood, significant life events, achievements, and contributions to the world. Also, the closing chapter should remind readers about the writer’s original intention and provide details about how the essay has accomplished it.

The thesis statement. Like a traditional essay, a biography essay should have a thesis statement to provide writers with their direction. Basically, this direction involves how writers choose to present their ideas about the subject, such as whether to focus on their mistakes, life achievements, life challenges, or missed opportunities. In essence, the thesis statement gives readers an idea of what authors of a biographical essay focus on when telling the story of the subject’s life and times. Hence, all aspects that writers talk about in the essay should revolve around the thesis statement.

4️⃣ Wrapping It Up

After completing the biography draft, writers should read it through to identify mistakes and correct them. Basically, the writing activity is mentally involving, which means that writers are prone to make several mistakes, such as inconsistencies in arguments, grammatical errors, and irrelevant content. Hence, this is why students need to read through their writing at least twice to make sure that such mistakes are corrected. Moreover, the processes of correction involve conducting revisions and editions. As such, subjecting the essay to vigorous assessment is necessary to ensure every mistake is identified and corrected.

Revisions. To avoid overlooking mistakes, it is essential for writers of a biography essay to give their works to other persons, such as peers, friends, teachers, and mentors, to read it through. Basically, doing so provides them with an opportunity of getting honest feedback about their writing. Moreover, such feedback involves whether the paper is easy to read, makes logical sense, or is interesting to read. Then, some of the input will pinpoint mistakes and errors, making it easy for students to revise the draft appropriately. In turn, authors should understand that a biography essay should make sense to the target audience, meaning that they must remain objective and not subjective when making revisions.

Editions. In academic writing, students learn the importance of proofreading their work. For instance, it helps make them professional. When writing a biography essay, proofreading the draft helps writers identify grammatical errors, including spellings and punctuations, and correct them. Also, an essay with these kinds of errors is likely to turn off readers’ interest, which would mean that the writing would not command respect among scholars. Hence, such an outcome would mean a biography essay is a wasted scholarly work.

Topic sentences . The standard structure of a paragraph in a traditional essay is to have a topic sentence that makes a claim that is relevant to the thesis statement. Then, the rest of the paragraph involves information that backs up this claim, which is mostly researched from external sources. Basically, a good biography essay follows the same structure, where paragraphs open with topic sentences. Moreover, these sentences make a claim about the subject, which writers go ahead to prove through evidence from selected sources. Ideally, topic sentences serve to provide readers with the issue that writers focus on in that particular paragraph.

Concluding sentences. In every essay, a writer must provide a conclusion, which can be in the form of a paragraph or sentence. For example, a concluding sentence is what an author writes when bringing a paragraph to a closure. In this case, standards of academic writing dictate that the concluding sentence must refer back to the topic sentence and show its relevance to the thesis statement. Then, the concluding sentence captures the thoughts of writers about the issue raised in the topic sentence and is backed up by evidence from different sources. Also, the concluding sentence does not only refer back to topic sentences but also transitions to the next paragraph.

Transitions. When writing an essay, it is very critical for students to ensure that information flows logically throughout the biography paper. For instance, transitions mean the words and phrases that help readers to sense this logical flow of ideas. Therefore, one can argue that writers of all forms of essays use transitions to arrange their writing expertly. In this case, readers sense this effectiveness when they notice words that connect the main idea with supporting ideas, or when they notice the use of a compare and contrast method. In other words, transitions are words that writers use within and between paragraphs to create a logical flow of information and ideas. Besides providing students with a clearer picture of what they want to write about, an outline also helps them to get ideas about the kind of transitions that they can use.

Formatting. It is the standard protocol that writers of essays should follow a particular format – APA, MLA, Harvard, or Chicago/Turabian. As such, authors of a biography essay must always confirm that they have used the right format, while every detail follows that format. Basically, these details include the outline, the use of headings and subheadings, and citations of sources. When citing sources, writers should take note of their kind – books, journal articles, e-books, newspaper articles, periodicals, and so on.

Peer review. Peer-reviewed articles denote scholarly works that writers have been subjected to scrutiny by peers in specific disciplines. In this case, peer review is the process of assessing the validity, quality, and originality of articles for publication. In turn, concerning biography essays, peer review would indicate subjecting the essay to scrutiny by peers and even instructors to ensure that it meets the highest standards of academic writing. Moreover, the advantage of subjecting a biography essay to a peer review is that writers need to know if what they have written is true or false. Therefore, it is common for famous individuals to have several writers interested in telling their stories, meaning that it is easier to note inconsistencies in these stories.

5️⃣ Final Draft

After writers of a biography essay have subjected the first draft to vigorous scrutiny through revisions, editions, and peer review, they should embark on writing the final draft. Basically, this draft denotes a polished essay, free of punctuation, grammatical, and spelling mistakes. Also, it lacks inconsistencies in arguments, irrelevant sentences, and poor transitions. Then, final drafts should show an improved paper from first drafts because writers have incorporated feedback from peers, friends, and teachers. Moreover, writers need to read through the final draft, at least once, to ensure that the paper is perfect before submission or publication. In turn, any indication of several mistakes should mean another revision. Hence, authors should focus on the content, organization of ideas, style of writing, and format.

Techniques for Writing a Good Biography Essay

When writing any type of essay, writers should use some techniques that are likely to make their writing top-notch. When writing a biography essay, a writer should use a technique that prioritizes the following details:

• the childhood of the subject;
• family history;
• significant life events;
• significant personal and professional accomplishments;
• and historical significance- significant contributions to society and the world at large.

How to “Show, Not Tell”

Unlike traditional essays, authors of biographical essays should focus on writing vivid details about the life, personality, and life experiences of the subject. Basically, this aspect means that they should not focus not only on telling readers about the subject but also on “showing” them the life of the subject through sensory details. In other words, a biography essay should not be an exposition but a real-life story with dramatic events. Ultimately, the writer’s mission is to make readers immersed in the text. In turn, after reading it, they can narrate the story to another person without referring to the writing.

Major Mistakes When Writing a Biography Essay

When writing a biography essay, students tend to make several specific mistakes. Firstly, they tend to cover too much about the subject’s life, which makes their writing lose focus. In this case, the solution to this mistake is to identify what is exciting and eventful about the subject’s life and create a thesis statement around it. Secondly, writers tend to miss the big story by getting caught up in details. In most cases, the life of a famous individual is characterized by dramatic events, and it is easy to get caught up in some at the expense of others. Hence, the solution to this mistake is to recognize what other authors have written about the subject, as it indicates what history remembers.

Example Template on How to Write a Short Biography Essay

❖ introduction.

As one of America’s Founding Fathers, George Washington stands out as a leader who never shied from giving his best in every endeavor. Growing up as a boy, he made up sayings that shaped his attitude about life. One of these sayings reads: “Lean not on anyone” (Lengel, 2007). As he grew older, he developed a great sense of self-reliance and responsibility, which made him committed to family, military service, and country. In turn, these character traits were fundamental in shaping his achievements and contributions to America.

❖ Childhood

Although he grew up on his family’s Virginia plantation, Washington made up his mind as a young boy to become a land surveyor. At the age of 16, he had his first surveying expedition, where he slept outdoors and hunted for food (Lengel, 2007). Basically, these experiences made him a more mature teenager, and this aspect was evident in his sense of responsibility. Then, one can argue that these early experiences positioned Washington for military service. For example, the year 1775 was eventful in Washington’s life as it marked his entry into military leadership (Lengel, 2007). After the Second Continental Congress named him commander in chief of the army, he made significant contributions before retiring from the position in 1783. Although he helped his soldiers to overcome significant obstacles, many deserted after supplies ran out. Also, Washington served two terms as the first President of the US from 1789 to 1797.

❖ National Hero

However, his service during the American Revolution affords Washington the tag of an American hero. For example, historians suggest that he was a good general than a military strategist, as his strength lay in his ability to keep the struggling army together despite battlefield hardships (Lengel, 2007). Although he commanded a troop made up of poorly trained soldiers, serving with diminishing food, ammunition, and other essential supplies, Washington was effective in providing direction and motivation. Then, records showed that he was inspiring to his troops during the winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge, where the above hardships, combined with severe weather, made the troops weak and vulnerable (Lengel, 2007). Throughout the grueling eight-year war, Washington helped to lead the colonial forces in conquering the British. In October 1781, the Continental forces, with the French’s help, captured British troops in the Battle of Yorktown. Hence, this action brought to an end the Revolutionary War, with Washington being declared a national hero.

❖ Historical Significance

Washington’s rise to the presidency began in 1783 after the US and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris. Believing he had served his country well, Washington left the army so that he could return to Mount Vernon to become a farmer and family man. However, in 1787, he received an invitation to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia (Franklin, 1998). During the event, he was requested to head the committee to draft the new constitution. On account of his outstanding leadership, the delegates became convinced that he was, by far, the most qualified to become the first president of the fledgling nation.

❖ Conclusion

Despite the challenges that came his way during military service and politics, Washington remained an American patriot to the end. After his death, countless people of great repute paid tribute to this great American. In turn, his fellow Founding Father Thomas Jefferson eulogized him as a person of pure integrity and inflexible justice. Hence, history will always remember Washington as among the individuals that laid the foundation for America to become the greatest nation on Earth.

Franklin, J. H. (1998). George Washington Williams: A biography . Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Lengel, E. G. (2007). General George Washington: A military life . New York, NY: Random House.

Summing Up on How to Write a Good Biography Essay

A biography essay differs from a traditional essay in that it focuses on the life, personality, and life experiences of a specific famous individual. Although the essay does not necessarily follow the introduction-body-conclusion structure of a standard essay, it follows a structure that introduces a logical flow of details. In most cases, writers of these essays adopt the structure of the standard essay. Also, a typical biographical essay is longer than a standard essay. Hence, when writing a biography essay, writers should master the following tips:

• Narrow the focus by concentrating on significant events in the subject’s life.
• Use facts but write the essay like fiction for purposes of arousing the readers’ interest.
• Make the essay an emotional journey by capturing details about the subject that are surprising, exciting, revealing, and even unbelievable.
• Ensure the subject is a famous individual that once lived.
• Talk about the subject’s childhood briefly.
• Include family history.
• Mention one or several significant life events.
• Cover significant personal and professional accomplishments.
• Address the subject’s historical significance – the significant contributions that a famous person made to society and the world at large.

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How to Write an Essay About a Famous Person in History

Last Updated: December 13, 2022 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Emily Listmann, MA . Emily Listmann is a private tutor in San Carlos, California. She has worked as a Social Studies Teacher, Curriculum Coordinator, and an SAT Prep Teacher. She received her MA in Education from the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2014. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 90,586 times.

There are lots of things to think about when writing a paper about a famous person from history. Your teacher may have given you this assignment with exact instructions on who to write about and what information to include, or they may have just asked you to write about someone from history that you admire without telling you exactly what information to include. When writing the essay, take your time and rely on good information that you have collected from books and respected internet resources. Don’t underestimate the time you will need to edit your essay in order to have a final product that you can feel proud of.

Preparing to Write Your Essay

• Should you choose your person or has one been assigned?
• Does your teacher want you to use a citation style? For example, they may want you to use the MLA format or maybe they want you to use Chicago Style. [1] X Research source If your teacher says they don't care, then there's nothing to worry about, but make sure that you include a “References” page at the end of your essay. On this page, you should include all of the different websites, books, and/or magazines that you used to write the essay.
• Is there a word limit? Does your teacher require a specific font or font size? Should you double-space the essay? If you're not sure, ask you teacher.

• Try to think about the things you know the person has done. Did they live a pretty normal life, but did one really cool thing? A person who was more or less “normal” could be harder to write about if your teacher wants a ten page essay. For example, although Adolf Hitler was not in any way an admirable human being, writing a historical essay about his life would be pretty easy because he did a lot of different things.
• On the other hand, if there is a historical figure you are really interested in, you will have a good time researching and writing about your person whether they led very busy lives or not. The most important thing is to choose someone you find fascinating. Try making a list of your hobbies and interests and then run a Google search to find famous people who also had one of these hobbies or interests.
• 3 Brainstorm a list of questions. Write down all of the questions you want to answer about your person. If your teacher told you what questions to answer, then use those. If your teacher did not, then this is up to you. Make sure you talk about when and where they were born, whether they had a good childhood or not, what makes them special and interesting, what they accomplished (whether good or bad), and why you find them interesting. [2] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source

• Write down anything you find interesting and want to include. At the same time that you do this, write down the source of that information. For example, the name and author of the book or the address of the website.
• If you are having a hard time finding information about your person in the library, ask the librarian to help you search. They’re there to help you, and may have ways of finding information that you hadn’t thought of. Plus, if you find the information through the library, there is a better chance that you will find high quality information.
• Make sure that you understand what is considered an acceptable source of information by your teacher. For example, some teachers may consider it OK to use websites such as Wikipedia, while other teachers may not. If you’re not sure, just ask them.
• Try to include at least one primary source that was written by the person you are researching, such as a letter, journal entry, or speech. This will help you get to know the person better than you would by only using secondary sources, such as articles and textbooks.

• Write your outline so that the information is in the same order that it will be in in the paper. For example, don't put questions about how the person died before the questions about where they were born and who their parents were.

• Don’t plagiarize though! If you copy someone else's work without giving them credit for their work, this is called plagiarism. If you do find something interesting that you want to include, be sure to give credit to that person. Plagiarism is a big deal, so it’s best to learn early that it isn’t worth the risk.

Writing the Essay

• In the body, you will write about all of the information that you found when you were researching. It is the part of the paper where you answer any and all questions you have come up with.
• Your essay will be more clear if you separate different parts of this person’s life into paragraphs. For example, the first paragraph might start out by explaining when, where, and to whom this person was born. In this paragraph you might talk about what kind of childhood this person had, and whether they had any big experiences that made them into the person they were.
• In later paragraphs, you can talk about what the person did that made them famous. You might also want to include interesting things that you found about this person’s personal life. For example, whether or not they got married or whether or not they suffered from any mental disorders.

• Don't write more than one or two paragraphs for your conclusion. It should simply go over what you have written in the body about who this person was and why they were interesting and important.
• For example, you might write, “In summary, Martin Luther King Jr. was a driven man who, although his life was tragically cut short, accomplished amazing things in his life. Though his upbringing presented many challenges, he went on to become a great man who wasn’t afraid to stand up for what he believed in.”
• In the next paragraph, you can summarize what you wrote about why you find him so interesting. For example, “This great man inspires me every time I read about him. I hope that I too can stand up for the right thing if I am ever in a position to do so, even if it is difficult or scary to do so.”

• For example, you can say, “In this essay, I will be discussing a man that nearly everyone has heard of. He was a minister who became famous during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s for standing up for the rights of not only African Americans, but for all human beings.”
• After you introduce your person, you will state what you will be telling your reader about this person. For example, “In this essay, Martin Luther King Jr.’s life will be discussed beginning with his birth in Georgia, to his travels to Germany where he officially began to be known as ‘Martin,’ to his untimely death in 1968.”
• Don’t give everything away in the introduction. Think of the introduction like a movie preview. You want to give enough information to get the reader interested, but not so much information that they will already know everything else written in the essay before they read it.

• Don’t expect the second draft to come out perfectly either. The purpose of the second draft is to fix up any major spelling mistakes or grammar errors, and to see how you feel about the information you’ve written now that it’s all out there.
• A second draft is what you will give to anyone who has offered to proof read your essay, so make sure that it is easy to read. It is best to have this version typed and double-spaced so it will be easy for whoever is helping you to make notes on things you can improve in your final draft.

Editing Your Essay

• For example, a good proofreader might point out to you that your paragraph about the death of your person might be better if you put it before your paragraph which talks about the legacy this person left behind.
• Try asking a classmate to read your essay. It's a win-win for both of you because you can offer to read their essay in return. Meet up a few days after reading to talk about errors and ways to make each of your papers better.
• If the person has done a good job, they may have a lot of things to say about your paper. Try not to take anything bad they say about your paper personally. They're not trying to make you feel bad, they just want to help you get a good grade.
• Give them a physical copy of the paper that is double-spaced. This will make it easy for them to make corrections and write notes on your paper.

• Make notes as you read in a bright colored pen on a physical copy of your paper.
• Read your paper twice. The first time, focus on what you've written, and don't look for spelling mistakes or other grammar errors. While you're reading think about whether it is easy to follow and whether or not it makes sense. This will be the time to consider rearranging any information, adding anything extra, or removing anything that doesn't seem important.
• Read through the article a second time to check for grammar and spelling issues. Mark any misspelled words or typos, and make a note of any awkward sentences that you want to go back and change.

• You should also read the essay out loud. Reading the essay out loud will help you find sentences that sound strange.

• Make sure to follow any instructions your teacher has given you about how to format the document. For example, with regard to font, font size, and line spacing.
• By now, you should feel confident that you have a well-written paper. If you still feel unsure, you can ask a different person to read your essay to reassure yourself that you have caught any mistakes.
• If your teacher said they don’t care about the formatting, then stick to the defaults of your word processing program. Generally, it is a good idea to stick to font size 12 and a standard font such as Times New Roman. To make your paper easier to read, consider changing the line spacing to 1.5 or 2, unless your teacher has said not to do this.
• Your teacher probably expects you to turn in a typed copy of your essay. Unless your teacher has specifically asked for handwritten papers make sure you turn in a neat, typed copy.

Community Q&A

• Don’t put off writing your essay. As soon as you receive the assignment you can start thinking about who you want to write about and begin writing your essay outline. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• Keep in mind the due date. Write down the due date in your calendar, and make sure that you hand your paper in on time. Your teacher may not accept it if is late, which means you’ve wasted a lot of time and energy for nothing. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• For some people, it can be helpful to hand write the first draft. If you are having a hard time getting started at the computer, then try switching to paper and pen to get past your initial writer’s block. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Never ever plagiarize or copy someone else’s work without giving them credit for what they have written. Plagiarizing someone else’s work can get you into big trouble at school. If you do find something that someone else wrote and want to include it in your essay, then you can do this, but be sure to cite your sources in the format required by your teacher. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
• Don't pay someone to write your paper for you. There are many websites online where you can supposedly pay someone to write your essay for money. Don’t try it. There is a good chance you will get caught and the website may or may not be a scam. If it is a scam you will have wasted your money and still have to write the essay yourself. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 1

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://libguides.brown.edu/citations/styles
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/brainstorming/
• ↑ http://history.rutgers.edu/component/content/article?id=106:writing-historical-essays-a-guide-for-undergraduates
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/essay-outline/
• ↑ http://www.slideshare.net/alinaemma/writing-an-effective-essay-or-speech-about-an-outstandng-or-a-famous-person-a-guide-for-speaking-and-writing-exercises-on-speaking-and-writing
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/introductions/
• ↑ https://ualr.edu/writingcenter/tips-for-effective-proofreading/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/
• ↑ http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/Proofreading.html

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Biography Online

List of Top 100 Famous People

A list of famous people, chosen mainly from the nineteenth, twentieth or twenty-first centuries. This list includes famous actors, politicians, entrepreneurs, writers, artists and humanitarians.

• Marilyn Monroe (1926 – 1962) American actress, singer, model
• Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865) US President during American civil war
• Nelson Mandela (1918 – 2013)  South African President anti-apartheid campaigner
• Queen Elizabeth II (1926 – 2022) British monarch since 1954
• John F. Kennedy (1917 – 1963) US President 1961 – 1963
• Martin Luther King (1929 – 1968)  American civil rights campaigner
• Winston Churchill (1874 –  1965 ) British Prime Minister during WWII
• Donald Trump (1946 – ) Businessman, US President.
• Bill Gates (1955 – ) American businessman, founder of Microsoft
• Muhammad Ali (1942 – 2016) American Boxer and civil rights campaigner
• Mahatma Gandhi (1869 – 1948) Leader of Indian independence movement
• Mother Teresa (1910 – 1997) Macedonian Catholic missionary nun
• Christopher Columbus (1451 – 1506) Italian explorer
• Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) British scientist, theory of evolution
• Elvis Presley (1935 – 1977) American musician
• Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) German scientist, theory of relativity
• Paul McCartney (1942 – ) British musician, member of Beatles
• Queen Victoria ( 1819 – 1901) British monarch 1837 – 1901
• Pope Francis (1936 – ) First pope from the Americas
• Jawaharlal Nehru (1889 – 1964) Indian Prime Minister 1947 – 1964
• Leonardo da Vinci ( 1452 – 1519) Italian, painter, scientist, polymath
• Vincent Van Gogh (1853 – 1890) Dutch artist
• Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 – 1945) US President 1932 – 1945
• Pope John Paul II (1920 – 2005) Polish Pope
• Thomas Edison ( 1847 – 1931) American inventor
• Rosa Parks (1913 – 2005)  American civil rights activist
• Lyndon Johnson (1908 – 1973) US President 1963 – 1969
• Ludwig Beethoven (1770 – 1827) German composer
• Oprah Winfrey (1954 – ) American TV presenter, actress, entrepreneur
• Indira Gandhi (1917 – 1984) Prime Minister of India 1966 – 1977
• Eva Peron (1919 – 1952) First Lady of Argentina 1946 – 1952
• Benazir Bhutto (1953 – 2007) Prime Minister of Pakistan 1993 – 1996
• George Orwell (1903 – 1950) British author
• Vladimir Putin (1952 – ) Russian leader
• Dalai Lama (1938 – ) Spiritual and political leader of Tibetans
• Walt Disney (1901 – 1966) American film producer
• Neil Armstrong (1930 – 2012) US astronaut
• Peter Sellers (1925 – 1980) British actor and comedian
• Barack Obama (1961 – ) US President 2008 – 2016
• Malcolm X (1925 – 1965) American Black nationalist leader
• J.K.Rowling (1965 – ) British author
• Richard Branson (1950 – ) British entrepreneur
• Pele (1940 – ) Brazilian footballer, considered greatest of 20th century.
• Angelina Jolie (1975 – ) Actress, director, humanitarian
• Jesse Owens (1913 – 1980) US track athlete, 1936 Olympics
• John Lennon (1940 – 1980) British musician, member of the Beatles
• Henry Ford (1863 – 1947) US Industrialist
• Haile Selassie (1892 – 1975) Emperor of Ethiopia 1930 – 1974
• Joseph Stalin (1879 – 1953) Leader of Soviet Union 1924 – 1953
• Lord Baden Powell (1857 – 1941) British Founder of scout movement
• Michael Jordan (1963 – ) US Basketball star
• Vladimir Lenin (1870 – 1924) Leader of Russian Revolution 1917
• Ingrid Bergman (1915 – 1982) Swedish actress
• Fidel Castro (1926 – ) President of Cuba 1976 – 2008
• Leo Tolstoy (1828 – 1910) Russian author and philosopher
• Greta Thunberg (2003 – ) Environmentalist activist)
• Pablo Picasso (1881 – 1973) Spanish modern artist
• Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900) Irish author, poet, playwright
• Coco Chanel (1883 – 1971) French fashion designer
• Charles de Gaulle (1890 – 1970) French resistance leader and President 1959 – 1969
• Amelia Earhart ( 1897 – 1937) Aviator
• John M Keynes (1883 – 1946) British economist
• Louis Pasteur (1822 – 1895) French chemist and microbiologist
• Mikhail Gorbachev (1931 – ) Leader of Soviet Union 1985 – 1991
• Plato (423 BC – 348 BC) Greek philosopher
• Adolf Hitler (1889 – 1945) leader of Nazi Germany 1933 – 1945
• Sting (1951 – ) British musician
• Elon Musk (1971 – ) Business magnate, and entrepreneur.
• Mary Magdalene (4 BCE – 40CE) devotee of Jesus Christ
• Alfred Hitchcock (1899 – 1980) English / American film producer, director
• Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009) American musician
• Madonna (1958 – ) American musician, actress, author
• Mata Hari (1876 – 1917) Dutch exotic dancer, executed as spy
• Cleopatra (69 – 30 BCE) Queen of Egypt
• Grace Kelly (1929 – 1982) American actress, Princess of Monaco\
• Malala Yousafzai  (1997 – ) Pakistani human rights activist
• Steve Jobs (1955 – 2012) co-founder of Apple computers
• Ronald Reagan (1911 – 2004) US President 1981-1989
• Lionel Messi (1987 – ) Argentinian footballer
• Babe Ruth (1895 – 1948) American baseball player
• Bob Geldof (1951 – ) Irish musician, charity worker
• Roger Federer (1981 – ) Swiss Tennis player
• Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) Austrian psychoanalyst
• Woodrow Wilson (1856 – 1924) US president 1913 – 1921
• Mao Zedong (1893 – 1976) Leader of Chinese Communist revolution
• Katherine Hepburn (1907 – 2003) American actress
• Audrey Hepburn (1929 – 1993) British actress and humanitarian
• David Beckham (1975 – )  English footballer
• Tiger Woods (1975 – ) American golfer
• Usain Bolt (1986 – ) Jamaican athlete and Olympian
• Carl Lewis (1961 – ) US athlete and Olympian
• Prince Charles (1948 – )  Heir to British throne
• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929 – 1994) American wife of JF Kennedy
• Joe Biden (1942 – ) US President
• Kim Kardashian (1980 – ) American socialiate
• C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963) British author
• Billie Holiday (1915 – 1959) American jazz singer
• J.R.R. Tolkien (1892 – 1973) British author
• Billie Jean King (1943 – ) American tennis player and human rights activist
• Margaret Thatcher (1925 – 2013) British Prime Minister 1979 – 1990

More famous people

• Anne Frank (1929 – 1945) Dutch Jewish author who died in Holocaust
• Simon Bolivar (1783 – 1830) Venezuelan independence activist in South America.
• Marie Antoinette (1755 – 1793) French Queen, executed during the French revolution
• Cristiano Ronaldo  (1985 – ) Portuguese footballer.
• Emmeline Pankhurst  (1858 – 1928) English suffragette.
• Emile Zatopek  (1922 – 2000) Czech athlete
• Desmond Tutu (1931 – 2021) South African Bishop and opponent of apartheid
• Lech Walesa  (1943 – ) Polish leader of Solidarity movement
• Julie Andrews  (1935 – ) British singer, actress
• Florence Nightingale  (1820 – 1910) British nurse
• Marie Curie  (1867 – 1934) Polish / French scientist
• Stephen Hawking (1942 – ) British scientist
• Tim Berners Lee (1955 – ) English creator of World Wide Web
• Aung San Suu Kyi (1945 – ) Burmese opposition leader
• Lance Armstrong (1971 – ) American cyclist
• Shakira  (1977 – ) Colombian singer
• Jon Stewart (1962 – ) American comedian
• Wright Brothers   Orville (1871 – 1948) and Wilbur (1867 – 1912) American inventors, aviation pioneers
• Ernest Hemingway (1899 – 1961) American author
• Roman Abramovich (1966 – ) Russian oligarch
• Tom Cruise (1962 – ) American actor
• Rupert Murdoch (1931 – ) Media owner of News Corporation
• Al Gore (1948 – ) US presidential candidate and environmental campaigner
• Sacha Baron Cohen (1971 – ) English comedian
• George Clooney (1961 – ) American actor and political activist
• Paul Krugman  (1953 – ) American Nobel Prize winning economist
• Jimmy Wales (1966 – ) American creator of Wikipedia
• Brad Pitt (1963 – ) Actor
• Kylie Minogue (1968 – ) Australian singer and actress
• Stephen King (1947 – ) American author

More Famous people

Famous historical figures : A list of famous people throughout the ages, which includes people from ancient civilisations to the present.

Famous People Through History

• Famous people of the Renaissance (14th – 15th Century)
• Famous people of the Enlightenment (late 17th Century)
• Famous Victorians (1832 – 1901)
• Famous people of the Nineteenth Century
• Famous people of Edwardian period (1901 – 1914)
• Famous people of Inter-war period (1918 – 1939)
• Twenty-first Century

Famous by Nationality

• Bangladesh i

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan . “Top 100 Famous People”, Oxford, UK. www.biographyonline.net , 31/01/2016. Last updated 28 Sep 2019.

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Famous People by Category

• Charity workers
• Entrepreneurs
• Great thinkers
• Famous leaders
• Military leaders
• People who built America
• People who changed the world
• People who fought for human rights
• Philanthropists
• Revolutionaries
• Richest people of all time
• Sporting personalities

Famous by religion

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Lesson of The Day

Writing a Short Biography With Obituaries

In this lesson, we invite students to learn about obituary writing in The New York Times, and then write about someone who led an interesting life, using the format of an obituary.

By Erica Ackerberg

Lesson Overview

Featured Section: Obituaries

When the reporter Margalit Fox retired, she reflected on her career as an obituary writer at The New York Times: “Writing daily obits only reinforced what I had long suspected: It is the best beat in journalism. The reason is simple: In following their subjects from cradle to grave, obits are the most narrative genre in any daily paper. For a writer, there is little better than being paid to tell stories.”

Since 1851, hundreds of thousands of obituaries have appeared in The Times. In the most basic sense, an obituary is an announcement of someone’s death. But each one is also a life story: It highlights the impact a person had on the world and what made him or her special. Those you’ll see in the pages of The Times are usually of famous people, such as Hank Aaron or Betty White , but you’ll also find obituaries of lesser known, but otherwise newsworthy, people, like Betty King, who worked backstage at Carnegie Hall, and André Cassagnes , the inventor of the Etch A Sketch.

In this lesson, you will read some of the obituaries published in The New York Times to find out what they’re like, what kinds of information they typically include and how they are written. Then, you’ll research and write an obituary for someone who led an interesting life.

Curriculum Connections

Teachers, writing an obituary can help your students practice essential research, writing and storytelling skills. You can have them write obituaries for people they knew, notable figures or anyone else whose life story is worth knowing. Here are a few ideas for different subject areas:

An English teacher might have students write an obituary for a character from a shared class text to better understand who that person was, what was important to him or her and what effect he or she had on others in the book. Students could also write obituaries for authors or other important people from your curriculum.

A social studies teacher could do the same with a historical figure. A math or science teacher might pick an influential person from a field of study students are learning about.

Health or advisory teachers could use this lesson to talk about ways to remember and memorialize those who have died. They might engage students in discussion on how different cultures honor the dead.

Watch this trailer for a documentary about the Obituaries desk of The New York Times, and think about the following questions:

What does it mean that obituaries are a way “to make the dead live again”?

Does writing or reading about someone who has died feel depressing to you, or even creepy? Or, as with these obituary writers, do you find it intriguing?

Is there anyone whose life story you would like to tell? What made that person’s life special or meaningful?

Pick one of these obituaries to read. Or search through the Obituaries section to find one that interests you.

Questions for Writing and Discussion

Read the obituary you chose, and then answer the following questions:

1. What, if anything, did you know about this person before you read his or her obituary?

2. List some basic facts about the person: Where and when was he or she born? Who was in his or her family? What did this person accomplish in life? When and how did he or she die?

3. Why do you think The New York Times wrote an obituary about this person? What made this person newsworthy? How was his or her life special?

4. Was there anything about the person’s life that surprised you? What detail did you find most interesting? Why?

5. What, if anything, do you find inspirational about the person’s story?

6. Now, read the obituary as a writer. What do you admire about the way this piece was written? What is your favorite line, and why?

Course Plans

Biographies.

Type of English

Lesson time

I want to learn

RESOURCES FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

Provide a comprehensive course with our ESL worksheets. Each of our evolving course plans and worksheet series can be followed systematically or you can select lessons to use as supplementary material.

General English

Pre-intermediate (A2-B1)

Level: Pre-intermediate (A2-B1)

This collection of lessons offers A2/B1 students an opportunity to practise listening and speaking skills, add to their vocabulary, briefly explore language points and increase their general knowledge. The lessons cover a range of historical figures including famous (and infamous) scientists, explorers and political leaders.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Egypt. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and summarising. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on the key word control .

by Stephanie Hirschman

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Julius Caesar, the famous Roman leader. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and regular and irregular past simple forms. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on the prefix re- .

In this audio-based worksheet, students will learn about the life of fossil collector Mary Anning and how she contributed to our understanding of prehistory. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking, and students are introduced to the difference in meaning between a little/a few and little/few . There is also an optional extension pronunciation activity featuring a famous tongue twister.

This audio-aided lesson covers the work of South African freedom fighter and president Nelson Mandela. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking, and includes a quick look at how infinitives are used to explain purpose. There is also an optional extension activity about adjectives with the - ful suffix.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Marilyn Monroe, a movie star with an iconic image. The lesson focuses on vocabulary including noun + noun combinations , listening comprehension and speaking. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on jobs in the film industry.

This video-aided lesson covers the works of the legendary engineer and inventor Nikola Tesla. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking.

By Stephanie Hirschman

In this audio-based lesson, students will learn about the life and many achievements of Leonardo da Vinci. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, word families and speaking. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on art equipment and materials.

This audio-aided lesson covers the works of the pioneering Victorian nurse, Florence Nightingale. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking. There is an optional extension word search activity to consolidate vocabulary.

Students listen to a brief biography of scientist Marie Curie. Activities focus on listening comprehension, vocabulary and speaking.

Students listen to a brief biography of scientist, engineer and inventor, Alexander Graham Bell. Activities focus on listening comprehension, vocabulary and speaking.

This audio-aided lesson covers the work of the scientific pioneer Rosalind Franklin, who played a key role in the discovery of the structure of DNA. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking, and there is a quick look at how past perfect is used in biographical narratives. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on which verbs some of the vocabulary items can be used with. This lesson is suitable for strong A2 and B1 levels.

In this video and dialogue-aided lesson, students listen to a mini profile about the American civil rights activist, Rosa Parks. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking.

Students listen to a mini profile about the American civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Harriet Tubman who made a major contribution to the ending of slavery in the United States in the 19th century.  The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, word reordering and speaking. There is also an optional extension activity which focuses on the key word fight . 

This audio-aided lesson covers the life and work of African-American scientist George Washington Carver.  The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking. The lesson also includes a vocabulary puzzle which can be used for review as an optional extension or homework activity.

This audio-aided worksheet tells the life story of Pocahontas and how she lived between two worlds in 17th century Virginia. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and the use of would + verb to describe past habits. There is also an optional extension activity which gives extra speaking practice about past habits.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Sacagawea, and how she guided the Lewis and Clark expedition as they explored North America. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and pronunciation and compares the use of articles a/an and the . There is also an optional extension activity relating to a surprising aim of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

This video-aided lesson covers the life and legacy of explorer Christopher Columbus. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking. There is an optional extension or homework activity at the end, which uses a wordsearch to review vocabulary from the lesson.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of Queen Victoria, the famous 19th century British ruler. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking and introduces six useful phrasal verbs. There is also an optional extension activity about important inventions from Victoria’s reign.  

This dialogue and video-aided lesson looks at the life and works of William Shakespeare. The worksheet focuses on listening comprehension, discussion and vocabulary development.

This lesson is about the life and achievements of Louis Pasteur. Students practice listening, comprehension, and speaking skills.

Students listen to (or watch) a mini profile about Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking.

Students listen to a mini profile about the American astronaut and first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, speaking and noun/verb word families. There is also an optional extension activity about space vocabulary.

This audio-aided lesson covers the life of the physicist Stephen Hawking whose work on the beginning and ending of the universe was completed while living with a degenerative neuromuscular disease. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking, and there is a quick look at the pronunciation of tricky - th- sounds.  There is also an optional extension reading and vocabulary exercise about the Royal Society. 

Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)

This collection of lessons offers B1/B2 students an opportunity to practise listening and speaking skills, add to their vocabulary, briefly explore language points and increase their general knowledge. The lessons cover a range of famous (and infamous) figures including scientists, political leaders and artists and writers.

Intermediate (B1-B2)

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the legendary physicist Albert Einstein. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking and includes a short look at linking words that show contrast. The optional extension task is a mini marketing activity about how the name Einstein can be used to sell products.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the first computer programmer, Ada Lovelace. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking, and includes a short look at " so ... that " cause-and-effect structures. There is also an optional extension activity about the genre steampunk.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the famous 19th-century writer Charles Dickens, who had a huge influence on how we think about Christmas. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, a short review of the passive and speaking. There is also an optional extension activity about vocabulary related to Scrooges, misers, penny-pinchers, etc.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the British statesman Winston Churchill. The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension and speaking, and includes a short look at the infinitive of purpose. The optional extension task focuses on two of Churchill’s homes, now tourist destinations.

This audio-aided lesson tells the life story of the pioneering African American mathematician and space scientist Katherine Johnson (1918-2020). The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking, and includes a short look at past perfect forms. There is also an optional extension activity about a range of toys that honours women’s achievements.

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Famous person essay sample 14 models

Famous person essay sample , contains many information about one of the counseling personalities who made a big leap in the technology world ,he is Steve Jobs. We will learn all his achievements here in a famous person essay sample.

Famous person essay sample

There are many people who have greatly influenced the world of technology, most notably is Steve Jobs ,and we will learn more about this person and his achievements in the world of technology in a famous person essay sample.

Steve Paul Jobs, one of the inventors and businessmen of the United States of America, was known for his great achievements and served humanity and left a great impact on life.

Steve has held many positions in his life. He was a founder, partner and former CEO of Apple, Steve also served as the former CEO of Pixar and was a member of Walt Disney’s board of directors.

Steve grew up at his parents’ home in an area known as the Silicon Valley, an area known as the US Technology Center.

Steve joined the school in the winter and used his summer vacation at work, he  was passionate about electronics, and in the way the machines worked, he invented an electronic chip in the secondary stage.

The most important inventions Steve Jobs

The Apple II device in 1977: This computer has become a major turning point in the world of computers, which formed the first point of the transfer of computers from the scope of companies to homes, was characterized by a plastic cover.

Macintosh (1984): Add additions to the use of computers It was based on the principle (computers are not exclusive to one),introduce the mouse , as well as custom graphic interface.

(Pixar) 1986: A company specializing in the animation industry, founded by Steve after being expelled from his company founded, and had a capital of $ 5 million.

(Mac OS) in 2001: the operating system on which Apple depends on its various products.

(IPhone) in 2007: It is the latest mobile handset in the world of communications.

IPAD in 2010.

Essay about famous person

I would like to talk about a person famous to many in recent years, he is the author of the book (Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus). The author is John Gray.

Many people know that he is from the United States. And a few personal details about him. I would very much like to talk about his personal vision and how much the differences between men and women are simplified in this book.

Many writers, scholars, and artists have spoken that it is difficult for women to understand their requirements, and no one has previously been able to discuss this issue in a simple and informative way like this writer.

This is the third time I read this book and I didn’t feel boring of it. I always find myself smiling as I read how he describes a woman and how each time he really could know her way of thinking. I find the description of the man is very wonderful as well.

I liked this book because in the end I came out with a lot of useful information and it was not just a book to waste time.

I advise many others to read this book. I would like to discuss it with them and how the writer analyzes the character. I hope to own this talent and present it in the future to readers and to those who like reading as me.

Famous person essay

There is a famous person who I see as a good role model for me and he is a football player named Zine AL-dine Zidane. He may not be popular with many.

This player has very high morals and a great skill level, he is very humble, friendly with everyone. He has a wonderful smile and is not arrogant to any of the players or workers around him,

He also possesses many other qualities such as fair play and reliance on real skill and does not tend to exaggerate to get the penalty for deception.

I followed some of his famous matches on YouTube and watched him play for France. I also followed up when he participated in the training of Real Madrid, my favorite team.

What a wonderful addition to the team. I found it nice to implement his vision on the ground with such a great team. I really enjoyed watching him build those great moments and tight plans that helped the team so much to win.

I would very much like to be of such performance and skill not only in football but in life as well.

Paragraph about famous person

There are a large number of famous people around us, but not all celebrities benefit society or provide it with what allows it to progress and advance, and this is the biggest flaw in celebrities, that if they are bad personalities, they drag society to the bottom and ruin the lives of entire generations, because young people are the most group She imitates celebrities and considers them role models for her looks and style. There is a bad example in our society of celebrities such as those who sing festival songs and actors of bullying and nudity roles.

A famous person essay

Fame is not an easy thing because it has consequences and problems that a person must know how to deal with, as we see celebrities around us such as a football player or a famous singer, they suffer from spreading rumors or false allegations all the time.

When you are famous you cannot live like a normal human being, because every word and every step is watched by those around you. If you talk to a friend, they will say that he is a lover, and if you go anywhere you will find pictures on all communication sites.

One of the celebrities who were chased by news and rumors, the Egyptian singer distinguished for his beautiful singing and who is still loved until now, is Abdel Halim Hafez. Rumors pursued him because he was not married, and they said that he married the artist, Soad Hosni, but in secret.

Essay about a famous person

I like people who have suffered in their lives and gone through some failed experiences, and despite their failure, they continued to rise again and try to succeed.

I also like people with strange difficulties. When I read about their experiences, I feel that I am more energetic and ready to work hard and move forward no matter what the circumstances are.

I love Albert Einstein very much, he is famous for his strong intellect and his influence on the world. He became famous in various sciences, however, upon returning to his upbringing, we find that he faced problems in education at a young age. But he was able to succeed in that to become the smartest person on earth in the world to excel in physics, and get the Nobel Prize.

We can see his story as one of the stories that give a strong impetus to work on ourselves and strive and not let any obstacles stand in our way.

Write about a famous person essay

One of the influential people in my life and I liked him very much is Gustave Eiffel, the engineer who designed the Eiffel Tower, and built the structure that supports the Statue of Liberty, and many of the luxurious structures and bridges that have a modern character.

I can only describe him a genius person who preceded his era in many stages to create several mythical historical landmarks characterized by tradition and modernity.

And no matter how time evolves and the passage of its establishment, it remains in line with life and society and a strong tourist attraction that is not affected or less important over the ages.

I can only say that I am very impressed with his achievements and would very much like to do something similar in the future.

Description of a famous person essay

I would very much like to talk about the famous Alexander Graham Bell. I see that Alexander is one of the great and influential figures of recent centuries, where he took mankind to a continuous and permanent development through his invention of the telephone.

There is no doubt that the work done by Alexander Graham Bell in transmitting the tone of the human voice on the phonograph, and converting it into a signal for the wireless device, contributed greatly to the development of means of communication to eliminate all the old means of communication that required a very long time to deliver.

And it became the cornerstone that changed the world so that we can now communicate through phones easily and conveniently at the same time.

I cannot deny my astonishment with this character and I see that he is one of the most influential people in my life. I would very much like to achieve something similar that will benefit humanity.

Describe a famous person essay example

There is no doubt that I am very impressed by a famous person who helped change the world. He is Yuri Gagarin, the first human to fly into outer space and orbit the Earth.

I can’t imagine how much responsibility, pressure and fear this person felt. Many scientists in different fields can invent something that does not need experiment, but when I am part of the experiment I find it interesting.

Did he feel afraid and lost?, did he just enjoy watching the sights that no one else had seen?, many questions arise in my mind about this amazing and wonderful experience that Yuri was able to experience.

Of course, I hope to get a similar opportunity, with experience and adventure, as well as a benefit to the world. It would be wonderful if my name was written in history like him and continued to be studied in schools and universities.

There is no doubt that there are a lot of celebrities around us, whether artists or famous players, there are scientists and inventors.

But I always tend to search and admire influential figures in history, people with useful inventions that have developed into necessary and important in human life, or people who participated in the success of a useful experience.

So I would very much like to talk about the Wright brothers, who are the owners of the first and longest flight, who clocked 75 minutes.

Which makes them highly influential figures in the 21st century. Air transportation has developed since 1903. Flying is now more smooth and safe.

It becomes one of the most important means of rapid transportation, whether for individuals or goods, and reduces the days and hours of difficult land and sea travel.

Famous person paragraph

Undoubtedly, there are many influential people who played a major role in changing history, the progress of mankind, and helping it to develop and prosper.

Among these great personalities, I would like to talk about Ibn Sina, where he achieved the most famous and longest scientific work and research in the field of medicine. Where he was known as the prince of doctors and the father of medicine. Ibn Sina is the first person to write a book on medicine, becoming the most important medical reference for seven centuries. He has authored 200 books on several different topics. All are based on  an important and correct details, which makes it the first beacon for many doctors, and the spiritual father of this specialty, to which we admits progress and modernity.

He was the owner of the greatest progress in the world, and a great credit for treating many diseases because of the books he published, making him one of the most influential people around the world. Where he worked to spread medical awareness and benefit mankind from the experiences he collected throughout his life. Such personalities I find amazing, great and priceless.

Describe a famous person essay

Undoubtedly, the innovative and developed personalities are the most influential, whether on the contemporaries of their eras, or on those who benefit from the tools they invented.

So I would like very much to appreciate Dr. Rene Linick, who invented the stethoscope that was able to listen to the heartbeat.

A great invention like this came to light as a result of chance, as the doctor encountered a sick case of a girl suffering from heart problems, and when he tried to put his head on her chest, as was usual at that time to listen to her heart, the girl refused to do so, to find newspaper papers next to him and he wrapped them in a cylindrical shape and placed them on her chest. He actually listened well to the heartbeat, to come out of this experience with a new idea through which he can listen to the heartbeat.

Later it developed from the cylindrical shape wrapped in papers, to the modern stethoscope that is placed in the ear and has a rubber wire and a base for increasing the heart rate and other organs. To become the most widespread invention for ages and the most useful and accurate.

Therefore, I find Renee Linick an influential and wonderful person for his ability to develop and find quick solutions that help his patient, as well as the extent of his vision for such a useful invention.

Short essay about famous person

It is amazing to see a young man like Mohamed Salah, a small player with great abilities and high skill. I am very happy to watch him run and dribble the players with ease, it makes me very happy, especially if he scores a goal after dribbling, I like very much his modest celebration.

I also like what he does for his people and his country. I hear a lot of wonderful news that he is doing from donations and medical aid. He is a very good example, an honorable person. I hope to become like him and achieve victories like him.

I also like to own the human side that I have and to become a role model in helping others, and to be of good character and reputation. These things I like a lot about him and I hope to see many other players like him.

Write a paragraph about a famous person

When I think of a famous and influential person of our time, I think about the great inventor Johannes Gutenberg, who invented the printer, which is contemporary to our time, no matter how advanced the technology around us.

He is of German descent, born in 1395, in Mainz, Germany. He faced many obstacles, debts, lawsuits, and entered into many disputes, whether during his life or death, because of money and the greed of others from his projects.

Everyone around him aspired to get money quickly, and he had another vision, which is accuracy and deliberation to make something great that will live for generations, and this is what resulted after that.

But after many difficulties, many debts, and huge financing, he went through everything in order to fulfill his dream. That is why I see him as a great and influential figure, and no matter what difficulties and problems he faced, he never gave up on the dream that he once dreamed.

In this way we have given you a famous person essay sample  in English , and you can read more topics through the following link:

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