autobiography esl

Biography ESL Lesson Plan [Free PDF]

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Biography ESL Lesson Plan is designed to introduce students to the concept of biographies and help them develop their language skills through the exploration of real-life stories. This lesson plan aims to engage students in learning about different people’s lives, while also expanding their vocabulary, reading, and writing abilities. By delving into the lives of various individuals, students can gain cultural insights and improve their language proficiency. This topic provides a rich opportunity for language practice and cultural understanding, making it an essential part of an ESL curriculum.

Vocabulary Building

Contextual Usage

Esl warm-up activity.

To kick off the Biography ESL Lesson Plan, start with an engaging activity called “Guess the Biography.” Prepare a set of flashcards, each featuring a famous person or historical figure. Without revealing the names, describe each person using adjectives and key events from their lives. Encourage students to guess the identity of each individual based on the clues provided. This activity not only captures students’ attention but also introduces them to the concept of biographies and the vocabulary associated with notable figures.

Main ESL Lesson Activities

Vocabulary activity: who am i, listening exercise: biography podcast.

Provide students with a short podcast episode featuring a biography of a well-known individual. After listening, facilitate a group discussion where students share what they learned and express their opinions about the person’s life. This exercise enhances listening skills and promotes collaborative learning.

Roleplay: Interview with a Historical Figure

Esl homework assignment.

For homework, students will choose a historical figure or a person of interest and write a short biography about them. They should include key events, achievements, and the impact the individual had on society. Encourage students to use the vocabulary and concepts learned in class. Additionally, they can prepare a brief presentation to share their biographies with the class in the next session. This assignment reinforces writing skills, research abilities, and public speaking.

Why this topic is great for ESL learning

Enhanced language skills.

Studying biographies provides a rich opportunity for ESL learners to expand their vocabulary, improve reading and writing abilities, and enhance their overall language proficiency.

Cultural Understanding

Real-life relevance, post navigation.

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How to Write an Autobiography (with Tips & Examples)

Congratulations! You've decided to embark on the daunting task of telling your own story, through your own lens — maybe with the aim of being published, or perhaps just for the future generations of your family.

Deciding to write an autobiography is the easy part. Even though you won't need to think up an entire plot, because your life has already done that for you, putting pen to paper is likely going to be one of the hardest things you have ever done. Here's how to get started.

Autobiography Basics

An autobiography is, simply said, a book the author writes about their own life. Autobiographies are written for many different reasons — to leave a legacy, to inspire, to confess, to warn others away from making the same mistakes, as a historical record, or even simply to prevent others from writing a biography about you.

Although many people think this genre of books is reserved for famous people, that is not true at all. Every person has something interesting and worthwhile to share, and everyday people can absolutely write an autobiography.

The distinguishing features of an autobiography lie in the fact that these books are:

• Almost always written in the first person.
• To the best of the author's knowledge, factual.
• An insight into the author's identity, history, and the lessons they've learned during their life.

Readers all around the world consistently love autobiographies, because they love getting up close and personal and reading about events like they were part of them. As for authors, they can enjoy a lot of creative freedom while writing an autobiography because — no matter what you may have learned in school — you are not confined to a specific format or structure. It's your story, so you make the rules.

Autobiography vs. Biography vs. Memoir

There's some confusion as to what differentiates these three closely-related terms, so let's have a quick look. The difference between an autobiography and a biography is easy to pinpoint — a biography is a book someone else writes about your life, while an autobiography is one you write. "Auto" means "self", after all.

The differences between a memoir and an autobiography are much harder to define. Most people would say that autobiographies deal with the person's "whole life" (typically in chronological order), while memoirs highlight just one portion of it. That is not exactly true, because it is impossible to cover your entire life. You have to make artistic and editorial choices.

For now, don't worry about what to call your book, and just write. You can decide whether to call your book an autobiography or a memoir later.

How to Write an Autobiography: Step-by-Step Process

Your process will be unique, and you should always feel free to change things up. Let's have a look at a step-by-step process that will work for many people who write an autobiography, though.

1. Brainstorming

You already know what your life has been like, but writing your story in a coherent and entertaining way can be hard. Start by brainstorming, using either brainstorming software or a physical space such as a cork board. To get you started, you can contemplate some of the following questions:

• If you had to pin down an overarching theme to your life, what would it be?
• Which people in your life inspired you the most? Who do you genuinely hate?
• What was the hardest thing you've ever done, which you nonetheless feel grateful for?
• What are your top regrets?
• What about your parents and wider family do you keep seeing in yourself?
• What parts of your life are shrouded in mystery? (Did your parents always used to argue with your grandparents, but you have no idea what about, for instance?)

Now that you have some questions to start off with, make more of your own — and jot down any answers that inspire you.

2. Research

Even though your autobiography is the story of your life, you will definitely have research to do. Interview the people who were with you during important times of your life to assess whether your view of the past matches theirs. Fact-check anything you write, whether about your family history or your childhood address. Research the social and political climate of the time you're writing about to inspire you. Even looking up songs that were popular in a particular year can refresh your memory.

If you're quite sure of something, but cannot confirm it through research, always clarify that in your book in the spirit of honesty.

3. Create an Outline

Outline the possible chapters of your autobiography. You can do this in different ways — separate each part of your life by age, location, life stage, new job, or any other defining characteristic that makes sense. You can use outlining software like Plot Factory or Scrivener to make it easier. Once you have your chapters roughly defined, you can jot down what you think they should contain.

4. Choose a Theme

Consciously or not, every autobiography has a theme. Some of the most common ones are:

• Overcoming adversity

The possibilities are endless. What is your theme?

5. Think of Your Readers

Many people write an autobiography for themselves — often in the hope of processing the past. If you are even considering publishing your autobiography, however, it is crucial to look at yourself from a fresh perspective. Things you take for granted could be riveting to others, and things that were important to you could be boring to your readers.

Never mind your eventual audience — if your autobiography isn't interesting enough to keep reading it, you won't get it published. You won't even land a literary agent. Therefore, constantly keep the fact that you're ultimately writing for your readers in mind.

6. Create Your First Draft

This is the grindy stage of your endeavor. There will be days during which the words practically flow onto the page, and ones on which it's hard to even write a single sentence. Don't wait to be inspired. Set up some sort of routine. Work for a certain amount of time each day or week, or commit to writing a set number of words. Don't worry about the quality at this point; you'll edit and fact-check later.

7. Revise and Proofread

There's a lot to consider during this stage of writing your autobiography. As you revise, edit, and proofread your first draft, you will want to consider two separate factors. One relates to the writing, and the other to the story.

In technical terms, consider:

• The flow of your chapters.
• Whether everything that should be in your autobiography is present, and whether there are things that don't need to be there.
• Each chapter, paragraph, sentence, and even word individually.
• Is the tone consistent throughout? If it isn't, does the change make logical sense?

Other things to think about include:

• Will you offend people in your life by publishing this autobiography? Do you need to consult or at least warn them?
• Have you checked with others, or public records, that the places and events you recall in your memory are accurate?
• Are you comfortable with sharing everything you have written with (potentially) the entire world?

8. Ask for Insights

Once you have completed your first draft and edited and fact-checked it to the best of your ability, you should ask for insights from other people. You could first ask a close friend to read your autobiography, followed by more people in your inner circle. After this round of feedback is complete, you could think about working with beta readers. Online groups exist for this purpose.

9. Editing Your Autobiography

If you are planning to become a traditionally-published author, you will absolutely need to work with a professional editor. You cannot effectively edit your own autobiography from start to finish (although you should give it your best go), so don't even think about skipping this process. Today, numerous websites that connect aspiring authors with different types of editors make it easy to find the right editor for you.

10. Publishing Your Autobiography

If you want to be traditionally-published, you should begin looking for literary agents once you complete the editing stage. Research which literary agents work with autobiographies, and begin querying them. Once you land a literary agent, your agent will try to place your book with the right publisher.

Self-publishing is another option to consider, and Kindle Direct is the most popular platform for this.

What Should You Include in An Autobiography

It is ultimately entirely up to you to decide what you include in your autobiography, and what you leave out. However, your autobiography will be more engaging if you ensure that you cover all of these aspects of your life story:

• Your childhood.
• Your family history, including events that happened before you were born but that nonetheless shaped you immensely.
• Your coming of age story.
• Adversity and failures — and how you overcame them. Everyone loves rooting for their protagonist!
• Stories of the role models and mentors that helped you become who you are today.
• The people who drove you to despair.
• Confessions and secrets.

Above all, your autobiography should be deeply personal — written in your own voice, bravely and boldly. Speak your truth.

Examples of Famous Autobiographies

Writing a strong autobiography becomes less daunting once you have read some compelling autobiographies written by others. Try these:

• The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin — Benjamin Franklin. Not just because it offers historical insights, but because Franklin shows a wonderful example of optimism and hope, even against the odds.
• Agatha Christie: An Autobiography — Agatha Christie. This powerful autobiography shows how to intertwine the personal with the professional in a beautiful way.
• Dreams from my Father — Barack Obama. If you want to know how to look inward in a way that causes others to look outward, this is the book to read.

A Child Called It – Dave Pelzer. This autobiography offers insights into ways to tackle extremely difficult and painful subjects in a way that may change the way readers go about their lives.

How to Write an Autobiography Essay

Autobiographical essays are not only shorter that autobiographies, but they also generally serve an entirely different purpose. Students are often asked to write these essays for school, or even to gain entrance to the college of their choice.

You may not want to lay your entire self bare for an autobiographical essay, but such essays should unquestionably show enough about yourself to make your readers understand what makes you unique. That means self-reflection should be included — an autobiographical essay should not simply show you in your best light.

If you like, you can use these tips as you brainstorm:

• What was really hard for you? How did you overcome that challenge?
• How have the people in your community changed your life?
• Which injustices have you felt called to fight against?
• What are your hopes to the future, and where did they originate?
• What would you change about your life, if you had the power?

Your essay will ideally have a balance of hope and optimism, and self-reflection. It is important to show how you have grown as a person, and why you are ready for the next chapter in your life.

Tips for Writing a Great Autobiography

No matter what else it is, your autobiography should always be:

• Honest, open, and authentically you.
• As factually accurate as possible. You offer your take on the past, yes, but an autobiography is creative non-fiction and not a novel. Don't make things up. You may leave things out, but it's best not to purposely spin your autobiography to make yourself look good.
• Filled with lessons you've learned.
• Interesting to read. Otherwise you'll lose your audience quickly.

So, how should you start your autobiography? That's up to you — your opening paragraph should feel like a beginning, but within those confines, you have many different choices.

• Nelson Mandela started his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom , with an anecdote about how he got his name. He sows the seeds for the turbulence he would experience throughout his life.
• Ronald Reagan started his autobiography, An American Life , at a later point in his life, by recounting how he didn't get a job he had wanted. He shows how random events can shape a person's life, as the fact that he didn't get the job put him on the path to the highest office.
• Malcolm X chose to begin his autobiography with a retelling of his mother's struggles with a group of Klansmen while she was pregnant.
• Michelle Obama starts her memoirs by sharing her simple childhood dreams.

All these beginnings have three things in common — they make an impact, they make you want to keep reading, and they set the tone for the rest of the book.

What mistakes should you avoid while you write? For starters:

• Clogging your autobiography with details that don't contribute to the overall arc. A few here and there add flavor, but too many will cause readers to lose interest.
• Writing mainly about other people's actions, rather than describing your thoughts and feelings.
• Not planning a theme in advance, which can make your autobiography look incoherent.

How can you write an autobiography about someone else?

An autobiography is by definition a book written about one's own life. Ghostwriters can help aspiring authors write their autobiographies in close cooperation with the person in question.

Should an autobiography be written in the first person?

Yes. It's your story. If you incorporate elements of fiction based on your life, you can write in the third person and market the book as a novel with autobiographical elements.

What do you need to write an autobiography?

Self-knowledge, research, perseverance, and bravery are needed to write an autobiography. A good computer and some excellent book writing software also help.

How long should an autobiography be?

In general, an autobiography is likely to be anywhere from 50,000 to 10,000 words long.

How much does it cost to write an autobiography?

This is very hard to calculate and will depend on your circumstances. If you reduce your workload to take the time to write your autobiography, the process can be costly. Self-publishing can also be expensive, depending on how you do it, and working with an editor is not cheap either. If you go the traditional publishing route and your story is captivating enough, however, you can ultimately make a profit.

How to write an autobiography for kids?

If you are writing an autobiography to pass on to your kids or other children in your family, or any autobiography that is meant specifically to be read by children, you can still tackle complex and difficult subjects. You should, however, make sure that the subject matter is age-appropriate. Your vocabulary will be simpler, as well.

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Autobiography Writing Guide

Autobiography Examples

Last updated on: Nov 20, 2023

Autobiography Examples – Detailed Outline and Samples

By: Barbara P.

Reviewed By: Melisa C.

Published on: Mar 22, 2023

We all have stories to tell. And, for some of us, the only way we feel like we can get our story out there is by writing it down. Some people may believe that an autobiography is something only famous people write about themselves but that is not true. 

In fact, anyone who has a story worth telling can write an autobiography. 

If you are assigned to write an autobiography in your high school or college and you are confused about where to start, don’t panic. 

You are at the right place.

Explore this detailed guide to understand the concept of writing an autobiography. It will also provide you with some great autobiography examples for a better understanding.

On this Page

What is an Autobiography?

An autobiography is a kind of the self-written story of a person's life. This type of narration has various aims and objectives that depend on the kind of writing that you decide to go with.

Moreover, it has different types. A writer can choose any of them on the basis of what he wants to include in his story.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OUTLINE (PDF)

AUTOBIOGRAPHY TEMPLATE (PDF)

Struggling to understand the basics of autobiography? Check out this how to write an autobiography to understand the key prerequisite of autobiographies. 

Autobiography Types

Below-mentioned is the four main types of autobiography. These include:

1. Traditional Autobiography –  It is a complete story that covers all life experiences including birth, childhood, and adulthood. You can write it for personal use. However, if you feel that your life can be inspiring for others, you can also write it for the wider public.

2. Memoir –  It focuses on describing a specific event, relationship, time period, or place that has an effect on your personality and life. For example, it may include your hometown or an important relationship.

3. Personal Essay –  It is the idea of sharing your life story with the audience in a way that they feel as if they were a part of it. Similarly, it also describes two aspects including the event and how it affected the beliefs.

4. Confessional –  Some people find comfort in writing about their mistakes and sins. Thus, they write this type of autobiography so that people will learn from their mistakes and avoid them.

Paper Due? Why Suffer? That's our Job!

Examples are an essential way to learn something in less time. Therefore, we have stated some examples for you to write your autobiographies. These will also help to learn about a proper autobiography template and structure.

Have a look at these autobiography examples to get a better understanding.

Cultural Autobiography Examples

CULTURAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY (PDF)

Educational Autobiography Examples for Students 

EDUCATIONAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY (PDF)

Autobiography Examples For Class 6

Autobiography Examples For Grade 7

Autobiography Examples For College Students

Autobiography Examples About Yourself

Autobiography Examples Ks2

Famous Personality Autobiography

The autobiography of benjamin franklin is one example of a famous personality autobiography. Similarly, these famous autobiography examples will provide you with everything to get started with your famous personality autobiography.

FAMOUS PERSONALITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY (PDF)

Funny Autobiography

FUNNY AUTOBIOGRAPHY (PDF)

High School Autobiography

HIGH SCHOOL AUTOBIOGRAPHY (PDF)

Literary Autobiography Example

Literary Autobiography

Personal Autobiography

PERSONAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY (PDF)

Professional Autobiography

PROFESSIONAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY (PDF)

Struggling to understand the difference between memoir and autobiography? Check this guide with memoir vs autobiography examples to differentiate between the two terms.

Scientific Autobiography

SCIENTIFIC AUTOBIOGRAPHY (PDF)

Short Autobiography Examples for Students

SHORT AUTOBIOGRAPHY (PDF)

Autobiography Examples Books

Autobiography example books provide a detailed insight into the life of an individual. Through these real-life stories, readers get to know more about a person's experiences and how they overcame challenges. 

Book Autobiography Sample

Spiritual Autobiography Examples

Spiritual autobiographies are a great way to reflect on one's spiritual journey and the lessons learned along the way. Here is an example to help you out.

Spiritual Autobiography Sample

The Dos and Don'ts of an Autobiography

A successful autobiography indicates the author’s ability to present a worthwhile story. There are a wide variety of things that you can talk about while writing your personal narratives.

However, the following are some dos and don'ts of writing an autobiography that will help in refining your writing skills.

Some dos of writing an autobiography are:

• Understanding the Intended Audience

There is a huge difference when you are writing an autobiography for your friends or a group of strangers. Because it requires extensive details about life events and experiences. Thus, make sure to include facts that you consider significant.

• Developing A Core Concept

It is essential to identify the central theme of your autobiography. Moreover, a well-structured outline is also a proper way of associating one event with another. It will also set the interest of the readers by keeping the story consistent from the beginning to the end.

• Do Tell the Truth

Do not portray yourself as the hero or villain of the story. Instead, tell the truth and acknowledge your mistakes by exposing your strengths and weaknesses.

• Revising and Editing

Read aloud what you have written and do some editing. Check if your ideas flow logically and look out for interrupting thoughts.

• Do Seek Feedback

Ask your friends and family to read your work and provide you with feedback. Understand the difference between fair criticism and forced judgment.

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Don’ts of Writing an Autobiography

Below mentioned are some don'ts of writing an autobiography.

• Do Not Mention Unnecessary Details

Include relevant details and struggles when narrating your life story. Avoid adding unnecessary details. Instead, share the information that is directly related to your story.

• Stop Worrying About Others

Your story may contain some details that can have a negative effect on others. Do not worry about them and rearrange all the details.

Moreover, remember that you are not here to please everyone. Thus, avoid writing for a broader audience and make your story too generic and specific for the readers.

• Discuss Why Your Story Is Inspiring

If your main goal is to inspire people with your story, show them how you felt instead of telling them directly. Allow the audience to come to the conclusion through your writing style.

• Avoid Copying Someone's Story

It is a big mistake to copy someone's work to make your story compelling. Find the hook and unique points that are marketable. Also, think of all these details before you begin writing.

Autobiographies aim to educate and inform others in some ways. This blog has provided all the essential details to write an autobiography. You can generate even more samples of autobiography through our FREE AI-based paper writer . 

If you are still looking up “ who can write my essay? ”, relying on a professional expert is a good option. Make sure you select a reliable and top-ranked writing service, 5StarEssays.com . We guarantee you high-quality write essay services with zero percent plagiarism.

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Literature, Marketing

Dr. Barbara is a highly experienced writer and author who holds a Ph.D. degree in public health from an Ivy League school. She has worked in the medical field for many years, conducting extensive research on various health topics. Her writing has been featured in several top-tier publications.

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Keep reading.

• How to Write an Autobiography - A Complete Guide

• Know the Different Types of Autobiography Here

• Autobiography Format for Students - A Detailed Guide

• Autobiography vs. Memoir: Definitions & Writing Tips

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Stories About People (Biographies) Text & MP3 Files

Activists & people important to social reform.

• Betty Friedan - Women's Rights
• Cesar Chavez - Labor Activist
• Frederick Douglass - African-Americans's Rights
• Jane Jacobs - Activist, Writer, Moral Thinker And Economist
• Labor Leaders: Samuel Gompers, John L. Lewis, Walter Reuther, A. Philip Randolph, and Cesar Chavez
• Margaret Sanger - Led the Fight for Birth Control for Women
• Martin Luther King, Jr. - Part 1 - African-Americans's Rights
• Martin Luther King, Jr. - Part 2
• Molly Brown
• Rosa Parks - - African-Americans's Rights
• Samuel Gompers - 'The Grand Old Man of Labor'
• Susan B. Anthony - Women's Rights
• W.E.B. Du Bois - African-Americans's Rights
• Note: Many people listed in other categories were also activists.
• Andy Warhol - The Father of Pop Art
• Diane Arbus - Photographer
• Edward Hopper - Painter
• Edward Weston - Photographer
• George Catlin - Part 1 - Painter
• George Catlin - Part-2 - Painter
• Georgia O'Keefe - Painter
• Isabella Stewart Gardner - Art Collector and Cultural Supporter
• Jackson Pollock - Painter
• Mary Cassatt - Painter
• Nam June Paik - Video Artist
• Robert Rauschenberg
• Winslow Homer - Painter

Athletes (People Who Do Sports)

• Arthur Ashe - Tennis
• Babe Ruth - Baseball
• Bob Feller - Baseball
• Jackie Robinson - Baseball
• Jesse Owens - Runner
• John Wooden - Basketball
• Kay Yow and Betty Jameson - Founders Of Women's Sports Organizations
• Lou Gehrig - Baseball
• Roberto Clemente - Baseball
• Wilma Rudolph - The First American Woman to Win Three Gold Medals in One Olympics

Business & Industry

• Henry Ford - Part 1 - Automobiles / Cars
• Henry Ford - Part 2
• Katharine Graham - Owner and Publisher of The Washington Post
• Madam C.J. Walker - Hair-Care Products
• Mary Kay Ash - Cosmetics
• Milton Hershey - Candy Company
• Ray Kroc - McDonald's.
• William Randolph Hearst - Newspaper Business

Entertainers

• Annie Oakley - Sharp Shooter
• Billy Wilder - Movie Director
• Bob Hope - Comedian
• Charlton Heston - Actor
• Cliff Robertson - Actor, Writer, Producer and Director
• Eartha Kitt - Singer and Actress
• Edward R. Murrow - Radio and TV Broadcaster
• Elizabeth Taylor - Actress
• Fred Astaire - Dancer and Actor
• Gene Kelly - Dancer and Actor
• George Abbott - "Mr. Broadway"
• Harry Houdini - Magician
• Hollywood: Cecil B. DeMille, Samuel Goldwyn and Louis Mayer
• Jack Benny - Comedian
• James Stewart - Actor
• Jessica Tandy - Actress
• Katharine Hepburn - Actress
• Lucille Ball - Actress and Comedian
• Mae West - Actress
• Marilyn Monroe - Actress
• Marlon Brando - Actor
• Martha Graham - The Mother of Modern Dance
• The Marx Brothers - Actors and Comedians
• Milton Berle - Actor
• Patricia Neal - Actress
• Paul Newman - Actor
• Sydney Pollack - Movie Director And Producer
• Walt Disney
• Willis Conover - VOA Radio Program on Jazz
• Kennedy Center Honors of 2009 - Grace Bumbry, Robert De Niro, Mel Brooks, Dave Brubeck, and Bruce Springsteen
• Kennedy Center Honors of 2008 - Barbra Streisand, Morgan Freeman, George Jones, Twyla Tharp, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey
• Kennedy Center Honors of 2007 - Brian Wilson, Steve Martin, Leon Fleisher, Martin Scorsese, and Diana Ross
• Clara Barton - Started the American Red Cross
• Doctor Spock - Baby and Child Care
• Elizabeth Blackwell - Doctor
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver - Creator of the Special Olympics
• Six Medical Research Heroes - Jesse William Lazear, Clara Maass, Joseph Goldberger, Matthew Lukwiya, Carlo Urbani and Anita Roberts

Inventors, Designers, Developers, Explorers, ...

• Buckminster Fuller
• Frank Lloyd Wright
• George Ballas - Inventor of the Weed Eater
• James Rouse - A Developer of Shopping Malls and a Planned City
• Louis Kahn - Building Designer
• Philo Farnsworth - The Father of Television (4:00)
• Radio Pioneers - Guglielmo Marconi, Lee De Forest, Edwin Armstrong, David Sarnoff, William S. Paley, Edward R. Murrow & William Shirer
• Steve Fossett - Adventurer
• Thomas Edison
• The Wright Brothers
• Six Building Desingers - Frank Gehry, Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Norman Foster and Eduardo Souta de Moura.

Journalists

• Margaret Bourke-White-1 - Photojournalist
• Margaret Bourke-White-2
• Carl Rowan - Reporter
• Henry Loomis - VOA Special English
• Ida Tarbell - Reporter
• Jacob Riis - Reporter
• Nellie Bly - Reporter
• Walter Cronkite - Reporter
• Aaron Copland - Composer
• Bess Lomax Hawes - Folk Musician (4:00)
• Billie Holiday
• Beverly Sills
• Burl Ives - Actor, Singer Recorded Hundreds of Songs
• Irving Berlin
• The Carter Family
• Celia Cruz - Salsa
• Charlie Parker - Jazz
• Cole Porter- Part 1
• Cole Porter- Part 2
• Duke Ellington- Part 1
• Duke Ellington- Part 2
• Ella Fitzgerald
• Elvis Presley
• George Gershwin - Part 1 - Composer
• George Gershwin - Part 2 - Composer
• Hank Williams - Country
• Isaac Stern - Violinist
• Itzhak Perlman - Violinist
• James Brown - Soul Music
• Janis Joplin
• Jerome Kern - The Father of American Musical Theater
• John Coltrane - Jazz Saxophonist
• John Lewis - Jazz Pianist / MJQ
• Johnny Cash - Country
• Julia Ward Howe - Wrote the "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
• Lena Horne - Singer and Actress
• Leonard Bernstein
• Les Paul - Guitarist
• Louis Armstrong - Jazz
• Maria Callas - Opera Singer
• Marian Anderson - Part 1 - Singer
• Marian Anderson - Part 2
• Michael Jackson
• Nina Simone
• Patsy Cline - Country Singer
• Paul Robeson - Singer And International Political Activist
• Ray Charles - Part 1
• Ray Charles - Part 2
• Richard Rodgers - Composer
• Roger Miller - Singer-Songwriter
• Sam Cooke - Singer-Songwriter
• Scott Joplin - Ragtime Composer
• Shirley Horn - Jazz
• Stephen Foster - Songwriter
• Todd Duncan - Broke a Major Color Barrier for Black Singers of Classical Music
• Woody Guthrie - Part 1 - Singer-Songwriter
• Woody Guthrie - Part 2

Native Americans / American Indians

• Crazy Horse - A leader of the Lakota Indians
• Pocahontas - The First Native-American to Marry a White Person
• It is highly likely that there are other native Americans listed in other categories.
• Doc Holliday - A Famous Gunfighter
• Frank and Jesse James - Famous Outlaw Brothers
• Gunfighters - Part 1 Luke Short, Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and William Matthew Tilghman
• Gunfighters - Part 2 James Miller and John Slaughter
• Alan Shepard - The First American to Travel into Space
• Amelia Earhart - The First Woman to Fly Alone Across the Atlantic
• Anne Morrow Lindbergh - Pilot & Writer
• Bessie Coleman
• Charles Lindbergh - The First Person to Fly Alone Across the Atlantic
• Jackie Cochran - Set Many Speed, Distance and Altitude Records
• Jimmy Doolittle
• Wiley Post - The First Pilot to Circle the World Alone
• Aviation Hall of Fame Members Harriet Quimby, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Charles Lindbergh, Neil Armstrong, Edwin Link, John Montgomery, Giuseppe Bellanca, Charles E. Taylor, Calbraith Rodgers and Jacqueline Cochran

Politicians

• Barbara Jordan
• Bella Abzug
• Davy Crockett - Hunter, Fighter, Storyteller and Elected Official
• Edward Kennedy
• Eleanor Roosevelt - Wife of a President
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• Introduction

The emergence of autobiography

Types of autobiography.

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autobiography

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autobiography , the biography of oneself narrated by oneself. Autobiographical works can take many forms, from the intimate writings made during life that were not necessarily intended for publication (including letters, diaries , journals , memoirs , and reminiscences) to a formal book-length autobiography.

Formal autobiographies offer a special kind of biographical truth: a life, reshaped by recollection, with all of recollection’s conscious and unconscious omissions and distortions. The novelist Graham Greene said that, for this reason, an autobiography is only “a sort of life” and used the phrase as the title for his own autobiography (1971).

There are but few and scattered examples of autobiographical literature in antiquity and the Middle Ages. In the 2nd century bce the Chinese classical historian Sima Qian included a brief account of himself in the Shiji (“Historical Records”). It may be stretching a point to include, from the 1st century bce , the letters of Cicero (or, in the early Christian era, the letters of Saint Paul ), and Julius Caesar ’s Commentaries tell little about Caesar, though they present a masterly picture of the conquest of Gaul and the operations of the Roman military machine at its most efficient. But Saint Augustine ’s Confessions , written about 400 ce , stands out as unique: though Augustine put Christianity at the centre of his narrative and considered his description of his own life to be merely incidental, he produced a powerful personal account, stretching from youth to adulthood, of his religious conversion.

Confessions has much in common with what came to be known as autobiography in its modern, Western sense, which can be considered to have emerged in Europe during the Renaissance , in the 15th century. One of the first examples was produced in England by Margery Kempe , a religious mystic of Norfolk. In her old age Kempe dictated an account of her bustling, far-faring life, which, however concerned with religious experience, reveals her personality. One of the first full-scale formal autobiographies was written a generation later by a celebrated humanist publicist of the age, Enea Silvio Piccolomini, after he was elevated to the papacy, in 1458, as Pius II . In the first book of his autobiography—misleadingly named Commentarii , in evident imitation of Caesar—Pius II traces his career up to becoming pope; the succeeding 11 books (and a fragment of a 12th, which breaks off a few months before his death in 1464) present a panorama of the age.

The autobiography of the Italian physician and astrologer Gironimo Cardano and the adventures of the goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini in Italy of the 16th century; the uninhibited autobiography of the English historian and diplomat Lord Herbert of Cherbury, in the early 17th; and Colley Cibber ’s Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber, Comedian in the early 18th—these are representative examples of biographical literature from the Renaissance to the Age of Enlightenment. The latter period itself produced three works that are especially notable for their very different reflections of the spirit of the times as well as of the personalities of their authors: the urbane autobiography of Edward Gibbon , the great historian; the plainspoken, vigorous success story of an American who possessed all talents, Benjamin Franklin ; and the introspection of a revolutionary Swiss-born political and social theorist, the Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau —the latter leading to two autobiographical explorations in poetry during the Romantic period in England, William Wordsworth ’s Prelude and Lord Byron ’s Childe Harold , cantos III and IV.

An autobiography may be placed into one of four very broad types: thematic, religious, intellectual , and fictionalized. The first grouping includes books with such diverse purposes as The Americanization of Edward Bok (1920) and Adolf Hitler ’s Mein Kampf (1925, 1927). Religious autobiography claims a number of great works, ranging from Augustine and Kempe to the autobiographical chapters of Thomas Carlyle ’s Sartor Resartus and John Henry Cardinal Newman ’s Apologia in the 19th century. That century and the early 20th saw the creation of several intellectual autobiographies, including the severely analytical Autobiography of the philosopher John Stuart Mill and The Education of Henry Adams . Finally, somewhat analogous to the novel as biography is the autobiography thinly disguised as, or transformed into, the novel. This group includes such works as Samuel Butler ’s The Way of All Flesh (1903), James Joyce ’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), George Santayana ’s The Last Puritan (1935), and the novels of Thomas Wolfe . Yet in all of these works can be detected elements of all four types; the most outstanding autobiographies often ride roughshod over these distinctions.

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