meaning of biography in genre

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Biography: A Literary Genre

The literary device of biography involves the meticulous construction of a narrative that captures the essence of an individual’s life through various literary techniques.

Etymology of Biography

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The term, biography, originates from the combination of two ancient Greek words: bios meaning “life” and graphein meaning “to write.” The word first appeared in the English language in the late 17th century, derived from the French word biographie. Its etymology reflects the essence of the genre , which involves the written account or narrative of an individual’s life.

Meanings of Biography

Biography has different meanings in different contexts. Here are some possible meanings.

• Written Account: Refers to a written account or narrative of a person’s life, detailing their experiences, achievements, and challenges.
• Comprehensive Exploration: Involves a comprehensive exploration of an individual’s personal and professional journey , offering insights into their character, motivations, and societal impact.
• Literary Genre: Describes the genre of literature or non-fiction writing that focuses on writing biographical accounts.
• Broader Scope: Can encompass any detailed study or examination of a person’s life, including audiovisual presentations, documentaries, or oral histories.
• Figurative Usage: Used metaphorically to describe the compilation or documentation of information about non-human entities, such as the biography of a company or an animal species, providing an understanding of their origins, development, and significance.

Definition of Literary Device of Biography

The literary device of biography involves the meticulous construction of a narrative that captures the essence of an individual’s life through various literary techniques. It uses characterization to portray the subject’s personality, motivations, and inner conflicts. It utilizes techniques such as direct and indirect characterization, dialogue, and anecdotal evidence.

Types of Biograph ies

Please note that these are general descriptions, and there may be some overlap or variations within each type of biography.

Literary Examples of Biographies

These biographies provide unique insights into the lives, experiences, and contributions of the individuals they feature, shedding light on historical events, social issues, and the complexities of human existence.

Suggested Readings about Biographies

• A xelrod, Alan, and Charles R. Cooper. The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing Biography . Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003.
• Le, Hermoine. Biography: A Very Short Introduction . Oxford University Press, 2009.
• Lejeune, Philippe. On Autobiography . University of Minnesota Press, 1989.
• Smith, Sidonie, and Julia Watson. Reading Autobiography: A Guide for Interpreting Life Narratives . University of Minnesota Press, 2001.
• Spengemann, William C. The Forms of Autobiography: Episodes in the History of a Literary Genre . Yale University Press, 1980.

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Literary Devices

Literary devices, terms, and elements, definition of biography, difference between biography and autobiography, common examples of biography, significance of biography in literature.

The genre of biography developed out of other forms of historical nonfiction, choosing to focus on one specific person’s experience rather than all important players. There are examples of biography all the way back to 44 B.C. when Roman biographer Cornelius Nepos wrote Excellentium Imperatorum Vitae (“Lives of those capable of commanding”). The Greek historian Plutarch was also famous for his biographies, creating a series of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans in his book Parallel Lives . After the printing press was created, one of the first “bestsellers” was the 1550 famous biography Lives of the Artists by Giorgio Vasari. Biography then got very popular in the 18th century with James Boswell’s 1791 publication of The Life of Samuel Johnson . Biography continues to be one of the best selling genres in literature, and has led to a number of literary prizes specifically for this form.

Examples of Biography in Literature

And I can imagine Farmer saying he doesn’t care if no one else is willing to follow their example. He’s still going to make these hikes, he’d insist, because if you say that seven hours is too long to walk for two families of patients, you’re saying that their lives matter less than some others’, and the idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that’s wrong with the world.

Tracy Kidder’s wonderful example of biography, Mountains Beyond Mountains , brought the work of Dr. Paul Farmer to a wider audience. Dr. Farmer cofounded the organization Partners in Health (PIH) in 1987 to provide free treatment to patients in Haiti; the organization later created similar projects in countries such as Russia, Peru, and Rwanda. Dr. Farmer was not necessarily a famous man before Tracy Kidder’s biography was published, though he was well-regarded in his own field. The biography describes Farmer’s work as well as some of his personal life.

On July 2, McCandless finished reading Tolstoy’s “Family Happiness”, having marked several passages that moved him: “He was right in saying that the only certain happiness in life is to live for others…” Then, on July 3, he shouldered his backpack and began the twenty-mile hike to the improved road. Two days later, halfway there, he arrived in heavy rain at the beaver ponds that blocked access to the west bank of the Teklanika River. In April they’d been frozen over and hadn’t presented an obstacle. Now he must have been alarmed to find a three-acre lake covering the trail.

A commanding woman versed in politics, diplomacy, and governance; fluent in nine languages; silver-tongued and charismatic, Cleopatra nonetheless seems the joint creation of Roman propagandists and Hollywood directors.

Stacy Schiff wrote a new biography of Cleopatra in 2010 in order to divide fact from fiction, and go back to the amazing and intriguing personality of the woman herself. The biography was very well received for being both scrupulously referenced as well as highly literary and imaginative.

Confident that he was clever, resourceful, and bold enough to escape any predicament, [Louie] was almost incapable of discouragement. When history carried him into war, this resilient optimism would define him.

( Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand)

I remember sitting in his backyard in his garden, one day, and he started talking about God. He [Jobs] said, “ Sometimes I believe in God, sometimes I don’t. I think it’s 50/50, maybe. But ever since I’ve had cancer, I’ve been thinking about it more, and I find myself believing a bit more, maybe it’s because I want to believe in an afterlife, that when you die, it doesn’t just all disappear. The wisdom you’ve accumulated, somehow it lives on.”

Test Your Knowledge of Biography

2. Which of the following scenarios qualifies as a biography? A. A famous person contracts a ghostwriter to create an autobiography. B. A famous author writes the true and incredible life story of a little known person. C. A writer creates a book detailing the most important moments in her own life. [spoiler title=”Answer to Question #2″] Answer: B is the correct answer.[/spoiler]

3. Which of the following statements is true? A. Biographies are one of the best selling genres in contemporary literature. B. Biographies are always written about famous people. C. Biographies were first written in the 18th century. [spoiler title=”Answer to Question #3″] Answer: A is the correct answer.[/spoiler]

Definition of Biography

A biography is simply an account or detailed description about the life of a person. It entails basic facts, such as childhood, education, career, relationships, family, and death. Biography is a literary genre that portrays the experiences of all these events occurring in the life of a person, mostly in a chronological order. Unlike a resume or profile, a biography provides a life story of a subject, highlighting different aspects of his of her life. A person who writes biographies, is called as a “biographer.”

Types of Biography

There are three types of biography:

Autobiography

An autobiography tells the story of a person’s own life. While that person writes his own account, he or she may take guidance from a ghostwriter or collaborator.

A biography narrates the life story of a person, as written by another person or writer. It is further divided into five categories:

• Popular biography
• Historical biography
• Literary biography
• Reference biography
• Fictional biography

This is a more focused writing than an autobiography or a biography. In a memoir , a writer narrates the details of a particular event or situation that occurred in his or her lifetime.

Examples of Biography in Literature

Example #1: shakespeare: a life (by park honan).

This biography is the most accurate, up-to-date, and complete narrative ever written about the life of William Shakespeare. Park Honan has used rich and fresh information about Shakespeare in order to change the perceptions of readers for the playwright, and his role as a poet and actor.

This book completely differs from other biographies that imagine different roles for him, commenting on his sexual relationships and colorful intrigues. Though detailed psychological theories and imaginative reforms about the famous playwright could be amusing, in fact, they damage the credibility of the sources. Therefore, many attempts have been made to know about Shakespeare, but this one is a unique example.

Example #2: Arthur Miller: Attention Must Be Paid (By James Campbell)

This biography is written in the form of a drama , presented in just two acts. In the first act, the author shows the famous dramatist, Arthur Miller, in his early success, having the love of the most beloved woman in the world, and resisting tyranny. However, in the second act of this biography, the author shows that the hero was badly assaulted and ridiculed by a rowdy mob called critics, who are expelled from the conventional theater. He ends his book with rhetorical details related to a revitalization in the fortunes of the playwright.

Example #3: The Life of Samuel Johnson (By James Boswell)

This biography is frequently hyped as a perfect example of modern biography, and all-time best example in the English language. This masterpiece of James Boswell has covered the whole life of the ubiquitous literary writer Samuel Johnson, with whom Boswell was well-acquainted. The unique quality of this book is that it shows Johnson as a walking intellectual amongst us.

Example #4: The Bronte Myth (By­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Lucasta Miller)

Emily, Anne, and Charlotte Bronte were very famous and eminent writers in the history of English literature. Many rumors and gossips were associated with them when they reached the peaks of their careers and received great approval for writing the most admired novels of the nineteenth century. In their biography, Lucasta Miller chunks the myths related to these young enigmatic women. This is a fine example of a biography.

Example #5: Why this World: A Biography of Clarice Lispector (By­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Benjamin Moser)

After perusing his own private manuscripts and writings, this modernist writer, Benjamin Moser, has explored the mystique surrounding Brazilian writer Clarice Lispector. This is one of Moser’s biographies, which comes a little closer to finding her true nuances. All those readers who are going to read her myriad of works for the first time would find this biography interesting, and her life as beautiful and tragic, yet riveting.

Function of Biography

The function of writing biographies is to provide details regarding the life of a person or a thing in an entertaining but informative manner. By the end of a biography, readers feel like they are well-acquainted with the subject. Biographies are often non-fictional, but many biographers also use novel-like format, because a story line would be more entertaining with the inclusion of strong exposition , rising conflict , and then climax . Besides, the most inspirational life stories could motivate and put confidence into the readers.

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Brian K. Goodman

Phd in american studies, harvard university.

What is Biography?

Semester: , offered: .

I was a teaching fellow for this history seminar led by Jill Lepore. Here is the course description: "Biographers write histories of lives. Their storytelling is often novelistic but their standards of evidence are those of the historian. They confront distinctive questions: What lives are worth writing? What is the relationship between the individual and society? What rules govern the relationship between biographers and their subjects? How has the art of biography changed over the centuries, and what forces have driven those changes? In this section, we’ll read both notable biographies and the critical literature on biography as a genre that is often seen to be at odds with the conventions of other kinds of historical writing." 

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What is a biography?

An account of someone's life written by another person., the story of someone's life: understanding biography in a creative sense.

Biography is a literary genre that focuses on the story of someone's life, written by another person. This type of writing often involves research, interviews, and a deep understanding of the subject's personality, experiences, and motivations.

In a creative writing context, biography can be a powerful tool for developing characters and understanding the arc of a story. By exploring the lives of others, we gain insight into the human experience and can use this knowledge to enrich our own work.

Furthermore, biography can be an excellent way to improve our grammar and language skills. As we research and write about historical figures, we are exposed to a rich vocabulary and must hone our ability to describe complex events and emotions. In this sense, biography can be both a literary and a linguistic exercise.

Biography is a genre that has been used widely throughout literary history, both in non-fiction and fictional works. Here are two examples of how biography is used in literature to add depth and nuance to the storytelling.

In her autobiography Becoming, Michelle Obama reflects on her life journey and how she came to be the woman that the world knows today. Through candid and personal anecdotes, she shares her experiences, struggles, and triumphs, providing a valuable insight into her character and the events that have shaped her.

Colm Tóibín's The Master is a fictionalized account of the life of Henry James - a renowned American-British writer. In it, Tóibín explores James's quirky personality, his social anxieties, and his literary ambitions, providing a fascinating glimpse into the mind of this literary giant.

What Is a Biography?

Learning from the experiences of others is what makes us human.

At the core of every biography is the story of someone’s humanity. While biographies come in many sub-genres, the one thing they all have in common is loyalty to the facts, as they’re available at the time. Here’s how we define biography, a look at its origins, and some popular types.

“Biography” Definition

A biography is simply the story of a real person’s life. It could be about a person who is still alive, someone who lived centuries ago, someone who is globally famous, an unsung hero forgotten by history, or even a unique group of people. The facts of their life, from birth to death (or the present day of the author), are included with life-changing moments often taking center stage. The author usually points to the subject’s childhood, coming-of-age events, relationships, failures, and successes in order to create a well-rounded description of her subject.

Biographies require a great deal of research. Sources of information could be as direct as an interview with the subject providing their own interpretation of their life’s events. When writing about people who are no longer with us, biographers look for primary sources left behind by the subject and, if possible, interviews with friends or family. Historical biographers may also include accounts from other experts who have studied their subject.

The biographer’s ultimate goal is to recreate the world their subject lived in and describe how they functioned within it. Did they change their world? Did their world change them? Did they transcend the time in which they lived? Why or why not? And how? These universal life lessons are what make biographies such a meaningful read.

Origins of the Biography

Greco-Roman literature honored the gods as well as notable mortals. Whether winning or losing, their behaviors were to be copied or seen as cautionary tales. One of the earliest examples written exclusively about humans is Plutarch’s Parallel Lives (probably early 2 nd century AD). It’s a collection of biographies in which a pair of men, one Greek and one Roman, are compared and held up as either a good or bad example to follow.

In the Middle Ages, Einhard’s The Life of Charlemagne (around 817 AD) stands out as one of the most famous biographies of its day. Einhard clearly fawns over Charlemagne’s accomplishments throughout, yet it doesn’t diminish the value this biography has brought to centuries of historians since its writing.

Considered the earliest modern biography, The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791) by James Boswell looks like the biographies we know today. Boswell conducted interviews, performed years of research, and created a compelling narrative of his subject.

The genre evolves as the 20th century arrives, and with it the first World War. The 1920s saw a boom in autobiographies in response. Robert Graves’ Good-Bye to All That (1929) is a coming-of age story set amid the absurdity of war and its aftermath. That same year, Mahatma Gandhi wrote The Story of My Experiments with Truth , recalling how the events of his life led him to develop his theories of nonviolent rebellion. In this time, celebrity tell-alls also emerged as a popular form of entertainment. With the horrors of World War II and the explosion of the civil rights movement, American biographers of the late 20 th century had much to archive. Instantly hailed as some of the best writing about the war, John Hersey’s Hiroshima (1946) tells the stories of six people who lived through those world-altering days. Alex Haley wrote the as-told-to The Autobiography of Malcom X (1965). Yet with biographies, the more things change, the more they stay the same. One theme that persists is a biographer’s desire to cast its subject in an updated light, as in Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair that Shaped a First Lady by Susan Quinn (2016).

Types of Biographies

Contemporary Biography: Authorized or Unauthorized

The typical modern biography tells the life of someone still alive, or who has recently passed. Sometimes these are authorized — written with permission or input from the subject or their family — like Dave Itzkoff’s intimate look at the life and career of Robin Williams, Robin . Unauthorized biographies of living people run the risk of being controversial. Kitty Kelley’s infamous His Way: The Unauthorized Biography of Frank Sinatra so angered Sinatra, he tried to prevent its publication.

Historical Biography

The wild success of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton is proof that our interest in historical biography is as strong as ever. Miranda was inspired to write the musical after reading Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton , an epic 800+ page biography intended to cement Hamilton’s status as a great American. Paula Gunn Allen also sets the record straight on another misunderstood historical figure with Pocahontas: Medicine Woman, Spy, Entrepreneur, Diplomat , revealing details about her tribe, her family, and her relationship with John Smith that are usually missing from other accounts. Historical biographies also give the spotlight to people who died without ever getting the recognition they deserved, such as The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks .

Biography of a Group

When a group of people share unique characteristics, they can be the topic of a collective biography. The earliest example of this is Captain Charles Johnson’s A General History of the Pirates (1724), which catalogs the lives of notorious pirates and establishes the popular culture images we still associate with them. Smaller groups are also deserving of a biography, as seen in David Hajdu’s Positively 4th Street , a mesmerizing behind-the-scenes look at the early years of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Mimi Baez Fariña, and Richard Fariña as they establish the folk scene in New York City. Likewise, British royal family fashion is a vehicle for telling the life stories of four iconic royals – Queen Elizabeth II, Diana, Kate, and Meghan – in HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style by style journalist Elizabeth Holmes.

Autobiography

This type of biography is written about one’s self, spanning an entire life up to the point of its writing. One of the earliest autobiographies is Saint Augustine’s The Confessions (400), in which his own experiences from childhood through his religious conversion are told in order to create a sweeping guide to life. Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the first of six autobiographies that share all the pain of her childhood and the long road that led to her work in the civil rights movement, and a beloved, prize-winning writer.

Memoirs are a type of autobiography, written about a specific but vital aspect of one’s life. In Toil & Trouble , Augusten Burroughs explains how he has lived his life as a witch. Mikel Jollett’s Hollywood Park recounts his early years spent in a cult, his family’s escape, and his rise to success with his band, The Airborne Toxic Event. Barack Obama’s first presidential memoir, A Promised Land , charts his path into politics and takes a deep dive into his first four years in office.

Fictional Biography

Fictional biographies are no substitute for a painstakingly researched scholarly biography, but they’re definitely meant to be more entertaining. Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler constructs Zelda and F. Scott’s wild, Jazz-Age life, told from Zelda’s point of view. The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict brings readers into the secret life of Hollywood actress and wartime scientist, Hedy Lamarr. These imagined biographies, while often whimsical, still respect the form in that they depend heavily on facts when creating setting, plot, and characters.

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Biographies: The Stories of Humanity

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• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

A biography is a story of a person's life, written by another author. The writer of a biography is called a biographer while the person written about is known as the subject or biographee.

Biographies usually take the form of a narrative , proceeding chronologically through the stages of a person's life. American author Cynthia Ozick notes in her essay "Justice (Again) to Edith Wharton" that a good biography is like a novel, wherein it believes in the idea of a life as "a triumphal or tragic story with a shape, a story that begins at birth, moves on to a middle part, and ends with the death of the protagonist."

A biographical essay is a comparatively short work of nonfiction  about certain aspects of a person's life. By necessity, this sort of essay  is much more selective than a full-length biography, usually focusing only on key experiences and events in the subject's life.

Between History and Fiction

Perhaps because of this novel-like form, biographies fit squarely between written history and fiction, wherein the author often uses personal flairs and must invent details "filling in the gaps" of the story of a person's life that can't be gleaned from first-hand or available documentation like home movies, photographs, and written accounts.

Some critics of the form argue it does a disservice to both history and fiction, going so far as to call them "unwanted offspring, which has brought a great embarrassment to them both," as Michael Holroyd puts it in his book "Works on Paper: The Craft of Biography and Autobiography." Nabokov even called biographers "psycho-plagiarists," meaning that they steal the psychology of a person and transcribe it to the written form.

Biographies are distinct from creative non-fiction such as memoir in that biographies are specifically about one person's full life story -- from birth to death -- while creative non-fiction is allowed to focus on a variety of subjects, or in the case of memoirs certain aspects of an individual's life.

Writing a Biography

For writers who want to pen another person's life story, there are a few ways to spot potential weaknesses, starting with making sure proper and ample research has been conducted -- pulling resources such as newspaper clippings, other academic publications, and recovered documents and found footage.  

First and foremost, it is the duty of biographers to avoid misrepresenting the subject as well as acknowledging the research sources they used. Writers should, therefore, avoid presenting a personal bias for or against the subject as being objective is key to conveying the person's life story in full detail.

Perhaps because of this, John F. Parker observes in his essay "Writing: Process to Product" that some people find writing a biographical essay "easier than writing an  autobiographical  essay. Often it takes less effort to write about others than to reveal ourselves." In other words, in order to tell the full story, even the bad decisions and scandals have to make the page in order to truly be authentic.

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Imagine what it would be like to experience someone else's life. To relive the life of someone who has accomplished things or has experiences that stand out as unique and exciting. To know the secrets behind someone else's success, their motivations, feelings, struggles and failures. Well, that is exactly what a biography allows its readers to do. By reading a biography, readers get to experience someone else's life from birth to death. This article looks at the meaning of biography, its different formats and features, and a few notable examples to add to your reading list. 

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Biography meaning

The word 'biography' is a combination of the Greek words 'bios', which means 'life', and ' graphia', which refers to 'writing'. Simply stated, this means that a biography is a written account of someone else's life.

Biography: a detailed written account of a real person's life authored by a different person.

The subject of the biography, that is, the person whose life the biography is describing could be a historical figure, a celebrity, a politician, an athlete or even an ordinary person with a life full of stories worth telling.

A biography is a factual recording of a person's life from their birth to death (or the time that the biography is being written). It contains detailed descriptions of the person's childhood, education, relationships, career and any other key touchstone moments that defined that person's life. Hence, a biography is a non-fictiona l form of writing.

Non-fiction : Literature that is based on real-life events and facts, rather than imagination.

The first-ever biographies can be traced back to Ancient Greece and Rome, where people celebrated gods as well as notable men by writing about their personalities and life's accomplishments. Plutarch's Parallel Lives , published about 80 A.D, is the earliest ever recorded biographic work written solely about humans. In this work, Greeks are paired with Romans and are held up against each other and compared, with one being a good example to follow whilst the other's life serves as a cautionary tale

Difference between biography and autobiography

A biography is a written account of a person's life written by someone else. In this case, the subject, that is, the person the biography is written about is NOT the author or the narrator of the biography. Usually, the author and narrator of a biography, also known as the biographer, is someone who takes a great deal of interest in the subject's life.

A biography is usually written in a third-person narrative voice. This distance from the subject and their experiences allow the biographer to view the subject's experiences in the larger context of their life by comparing them to other experiences or analysing the impact of certain experiences on the subject's personality and life.

Now that we know what a biography is, what is an autobiography? The hint lies in the word 'auto', which is a Greek word meaning 'self'. That's right! An autobiography is a self-written biography.

Autobiography: a written account of a person's life, written by the person themselves.

In an autobiography, the subject of the biography and the author are the same person. Hence, an autobiography is usually when the author is narrating their own life story, in the way they experienced it themselves. They are written in first-person perspective.

Here is a table summarising the difference between a biography and an autobiography:

Features of a biography

Although every biography is different in the sense that its content is unique to the life of its subject, all biographies have several building blocks.

The success of a biography is largely dependent on its subject.

While choosing a subject, biographers must consider why this person's story would be of interest to the reader. Perhaps this person was extremely successful, or perhaps they discovered something new? Maybe they've had experiences that are unique or faced struggles and conquered them in a way that is inspiring and motivational. Biographies are all about making the mundane and everyday sound interesting and new.

While reading a biography, readers should get the sense that they are reliving the life of their subject. This requires a great deal of detail and accuracy from the biographer, who must gather enough information on their subject to paint a complete picture of their life.

Biographers most often use primary sources such as interviews with the subject and their family and friends to provide first-hand accounts of the subject's life. However, in cases where the subject is dead, the biographer may use their diary, memoirs, or even secondary sources such as news stories and articles about them.

• Key background information

The most essential part of research for a biographer is gathering all the key background information about their subject. This includes the following factual details about their subject:

• The date and place of their birth
• Their family history
• Their language, culture and traditions
• Key stages in their education and career
• Knowledge and history about the various settings in the biography- the subject's birthplace, home, school, office etc.
• Relationships with other people (and relevant details about these people)

Most biographies begin with a description of the subject's early life, which includes their childhood and early education, their upbringing, stories about their parents and siblings and their familial traditions and values. This is because the early developmental stages of a subject's life usually play a significant role in shaping later events in their life, their personality and worldview.

• Professional life

Just as important as it is to share the subject's early life, biographers place special emphasis on their subject's career. This is because this is the part where the subject's contribution to the world is discussed. This could serve as a major inspiration for people who are building a career in the same field, as readers could gain insight into the subject's motivations, secrets, successes and losses throughout their professional journey.

Typically, biographies follow a chronological order where they begin with the subject's birth and end with either their death or the present time. However, flashbacks are often used to show connectivity between the subject's early experiences and adulthood.

A biographer is not only responsible for presenting a factual recording of events in their subject's life but is also responsible for adding life to these moments by elaborating on the person's experiences and intimate thoughts and feelings during these moments. The best biographers are able to recreate their subject's life in the way that that person lived it.

Oftentimes, the biographer even provides their own opinions on the events they are detailing in the biography, perhaps to explain how these moments were significant to the subject and should be of significance to the reader.

Usually, a biography carries with it an important life lesson that it imparts to its reader. Biographies, where the subject has encountered several hardships, may advise the reader on how to overcome adversity and deal with failure. Biographies of successes can teach the reader how to achieve their goals and may become a source of inspiration and motivation for them.

Biography format

While all biographies work to present the life of real people, biographers can follow different formats while writing them. A few important ones have been discussed below.

• Modern biography

A modern or ' standard' biography details the life span of someone who is still alive or who passed away very recently. Usually, it is done with the permission of the subject or their family.

Journalist Kitty Kelley published His Way (1983), a highly detailed biography on the American singer and actor Frank Sinatra. However, this biography was unauthorised by Sinatra, who tried to stop its publication but failed. The biography consists of government documents, wiretaps, and interviews with Sinatra's colleagues, family and friends and was considered extremely revealing and controversial.

• Historical biography

Historical biographies are written on historical figures who have passed away and seek to highlight their life and contributions during the time in which they were alive. Sometimes they provide a look into the personal lives of famous historical figures or even shine the spotlight on people who were not recognised for their contributions.

Alexander Hamilton (2004) by Ron Chernow is a famous example of a historical biography written about Alexander Hamilton, one of the revolutionary founding fathers of the United States. The biography details Hamilton's contribution to America's birth by painting him as a patriot who made countless sacrifices to lay the foundations of a prosperous and powerful country.

In fact, no immigrant in American history has ever made a larger contribution than Alexander Hamilton.

- Ron Chernow

• Critical biography

Critical biographies usually tend not to focus as much on the personality or personal life of their subjects but are centred around their professional work, which is evaluated and discussed in the biography. In case matters where the subject's personal life has intervened in their work, these are then addressed as inspirations or motivations behind their work. These biographies usually contain less description and storytelling from the biographer. Instead, the biographer's skill is required in selecting, labelling, and arranging all the work created by their subject.

In 1948, Doughlas Southall Freeman won his second Pulitzer Prize for publishing the most comprehensive biography of George Washington (1948-57). The entire biographic series consists of seven well-researched volumes, each containing objective facts on George Washington's entire life span.

As discussed before, this is a self-written biography where the author narrates stories from their own life. The autobiographer is the subject and the author of the biography.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) is the first edition of a seven-volume autobiographical series written by Maya Angelou . It details her early life in Arkansas and her traumatic childhood, where she was subjected to sexual assault and racism. The autobiography then takes us through each of her multiple careers as a poet, teacher, actress, director, dancer, and activist and the injustices and prejudices she faces along the way as a black woman in America.

Fig. 2 - Maya Angelou, the author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969)

• Fictional biography

Yes, you heard that right! There are some instances where writers incorporate fictional devices in biographies to create biographies that are more entertaining rather than informative. W riters of this style may weave in imagined conversations, characters and events in their biographies. Sometimes, writers may even base an entire biography on a fictional character!

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (2013) is a fictionalised biography where writer Theresa Anne Fowler imagines the life of Zelda Fitzgerald and F. Scott Fitzgerald from the perspective of Zelda herself and details the glamourous yet turbulent married life of the couple that defined the Jazz Age (1920s) .

Biography examples

Biographies can seem extremely tedious and uninteresting to those who enjoy fictional writing. However, here are a few notable examples of biographies that employ creative storytelling techniques to both inspire and entertain their readers.

• Steve Jobs (2011) by Walter Isaacson

This is one of the most classic examples of a well-researched and written biography. This biography by renowned biographer Walter Isaacson is based on more than 40 interviews over two years with Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, alongside other first-hand accounts provided by Jobs' family, friends, colleagues and even competitors. The biography takes readers through Jobs' creative journey and passion for technology and provides inspiring lessons on entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership and success.

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2010) by Rebecca Skloot

This biography is the story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor black woman whose cells were taken for medical research in 1951 without her consent. Lacks' cervical cancer cells were later discovered to be an immortal cell line that could be used to study the effects of poisons, drugs, hormones and viruses on cancer cells without human trials.

This biography honours Henrietta's contribution to science and serves as an example of how literary works can start a discussion on ethical issues regarding race and class in medical research.

Christopher Johnson McCandless disappeared in 1922 while hitchhiking in Alaska. Later, his dead body was found in an abandoned bus on the same hiking trail with no obvious cause of death. So a year later, biographer Jon Krakauer retraced McCandless' steps by going through anecdotes from his journal and pictures in his camera to hypothesise what led McCandless to undertake such a dangerous journey that ultimately resulted in death. Through the course of the biography, Krakauer realises the many parallels between McCandless' personality and childhood experiences and his own. The biography discusses the struggles of finding oneself whilst being accepted into society.

Biography - Key takeaways

A biography is a detailed written account of a real person's life authored by a different person.

A biography is a written account of someone's life by someone else, whereas an autobiography is a self-written account of one's own life story.

• Into the Wild (1996) by Jon Krakauer
• Alexander Hamilton (2004) by Ron Cherno
• Fig. 1 - Public domain: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plutarch%27s_Lives.jpg
• Fig. 2 - Public Domain: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Angelou_at_Clinton_inauguration_(cropped_2).jpg
• Fig. 3 - Public domain: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Steve_Jobs_and_Macintosh_computer,_January_1984,_by_Bernard_Gotfryd-_border_cropped.jpg

Flashcards in Biography 10

What is a biography?

What is the difference between an autobiography and a biography?

Is a biography fictional or non-fictional writing?

Non-fictional 

The subject of the biography is also the author of the biography. True or False?

What is the typical structure of a biography?

Typically, biographies follow a chronological order where they begin with the subject's birth and end with either their death or the present time

What is a historical biography?

Historical biographies are written on historical figures who have passed away and seek to highlight their life and contributions during the time in which they were alive.  

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Frequently Asked Questions about Biography

A biography is a detailed written account of a real person's life authored by a different person.

What is in a biography?

A biography usually contains factual recordings of a person's life from their birth to death (or the time that the biography is being written). It contains detailed descriptions of the person's childhood, education, relationships, career and any other key touchstone moments that defined that person's life. 

What are the features of a biography?

These are the features that make a biography: 

Examples of biographies?

A few notable examples of biographies are: 

• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks  (2010) by Rebecca Skloot
• Alexander Hamilton  (2004) by Ron Chernow

A biography is a written account of someone's life by someone else, whereas an autobiography is a self-written account of one's own life story.

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Which type of biography is centred around the subject's professional work?

Which type of biography includes fictional elements?

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What is a Biography?

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A biography is a record of a person’s life. Written in third person, biographies generally span a subject’s lifetime, from birth to death, and include major events in his or her public and private life. Biographies may delve into a person’s psychology and explore their emotional, intellectual, and spiritual lives.

The biography is one of the oldest forms of literature. Since ancient times, writers have recorded the lives of great leaders and warriors. Some early biographies were viewed as a form of historical record, others took on fantastical elements and grew into cultural epics. Notable ancient biographies include Plato’s Apology , which records a portion of the life of Socrates, and the Gospels of the Christian bible, which present four biographies of Jesus Christ. As the centuries progressed, the biography as a style of literary importance waxed and waned. In 1791, James Boswell reshaped the image of the biography with his Life of Samuel Johnson , a two-volume tome that recounted his own interactions with Johnson in exhaustive detail. As the influence of Romanticism and later psychoanalysis intersected with the world of literature, biographies continued to become more detailed in their explorations of the subject’s emotional and psychological experiences.

Although biographies and autobiographies are categorized as nonfiction, they are not necessarily devoid of bias. Biographers may portray their subjects in various lights depending on their relationship to and opinion regarding the subject. Shakespeare’s historical plays, for example, purport to be historical accounts of British kings (Richards, and Henrys), but the portrayal of each king is clearly influenced by Shakespeare’s own opinion, literary artistry, and awareness of his audience.

Today biographies make up a stable portion of yearly publications. Some take the form of plays, such as The Miracle Worker depicting the life of Helen Keller; others have been successfully adapted into films, like the 2014 film adaptation of Louis Zamperini’s biography Unbroken . Whether they are read or watched, biographies continue to fascinate and inform their modern audience.

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Literature in the biography genre.

• The Miracle Worker by William Gibson
• Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell
• The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson
• Apology by Plato
• The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell
• Churchill: A Life by Martin Gilbert
• Naked at the Feast: A Biography of Josephine Baker by Lynn Haney
• John Adams by David McCullough
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
• Cyrus the Great by Xenophon
• Hurricane: The Life of Rubin Carter, Fighter by James S. Hirsch
• Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson

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Biography in Theory

Key texts with commentaries.

• Edited by: Wilhelm Hemecker and Edward Saunders
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Please login or register with De Gruyter to order this product.

• Language: English
• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Copyright year: 2017
• Audience: Students and teachers of Literary Studies and History
• Front matter: 8
• Main content: 288
• Keywords: Biography ; literary theory ; historiography ; life writing
• Published: August 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9783110516678
• ISBN: 9783110501612

Biography Genre Definition – Complete List of Book Genres

by Mark Malatesta | Jun 26, 2018 | Book Genres Nonfiction

Home » Book Genres Nonfiction » Biography Genre Definition – Complete List of Book Genres

Biography Genre Definition –  What’s the best definition for the biography genre? A biography is an account of a person’s life written by someone else. Biographies are true stories about real people. They are set within a real historical framework with the unique social and political conditions that existed during the subject’s life. Biographies can be about people who are alive or dead. Most often they’re about someone who was significant (popular (or unpopular) politicians and/or celebrities).

Scroll below now to see 25 biography nonfiction genre examples, or click here to see all nonfiction genres .

Biography Genre Definition – Examples

Review this list of popular examples to help you get a better understanding of the biography nonfiction genre.

1. 1776 by David McCullough

2. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

3. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas

4. Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie

5. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard

6. Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson

7. Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera

8. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

9. John Adams by David McCullough

10. Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder

11. Nicholas and Alexandra by Robert K. Massie

12. No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt by Doris Kearns Goodwin

13. Peter the Great: His Life and World by Robert K. Massie

14. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

15. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

16. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester

17. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris

18. The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candice Millard

19. The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir

20. The Wives of Henry VIII by Antonia Fraser

21. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power by Jon Meacham

22. Truman by David McCullough

23. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

24. Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen E. Ambrose

25. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang

Biography Genre Definition – Related Book Genres

* Autobiography Definition

* Celebrity Nonfiction Book Genre

* Entertainment Book Genre

* Memoir Definition

* Narrative Nonfiction Genre

* General Nonfiction Book Genre

Click here now to see all nonfiction genres .

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11 The Newness of the ‘New Biography’: Biographical Theory and Practice in the Early Twentieth Century

• Published: September 2004
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The dominance of modernist and avant-garde literature in the early decades of the twentieth century directed attention away from certain texts and genres. Biography was one of the genres that underwent transformation. In the 1920s and 1930s, it took new forms, which gave rise to an unprecedented popularity of life-writing. This rise in the popularity of biographies was linked to the perception that they had been reinvented, requiring a new level of critical self-awareness. This chapter discusses biographical theory and practice in the early twentieth century. This biographical dimension crossed national boundaries wherein common biographical tenets were developed. In this period, the concept of ‘new biography’ proliferated. This new concept of biographies was grounded on the relationship between the literary and the scientific, and the importance of the study of the character. In the chapter, the tenets and characteristics of the ‘new biography’ and the ‘new biographers’ are considered. It examines the new equality between the biographer and the subject; the brevity, selection, and attention to the form and unity associated with fiction; the development of central motifs in a life and of a key to personality; and the focus on the character rather than the events.

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Definition of biography

Did you know.

So You've Been Asked to Submit a Biography

In a library, the word biography refers both to a kind of book and to a section where books of that kind are found. Each biography tells the story of a real person's life. A biography may be about someone who lived long ago, recently, or even someone who is still living, though in the last case it must necessarily be incomplete. The term autobiography refers to a biography written by the person it's about. Autobiographies are of course also necessarily incomplete.

Sometimes biographies are significantly shorter than a book—something anyone who's been asked to submit a biography for, say, a conference or a community newsletter will be glad to know. Often the word in these contexts is shortened to bio , a term that can be both a synonym of biography and a term for what is actually a biographical sketch: a brief description of a person's life. These kinds of biographies—bios—vary, but many times they are only a few sentences long. Looking at bios that have been used in the same context can be a useful guide in determining what to put in your own.

Examples of biography in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'biography.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Late Greek biographia , from Greek bi- + -graphia -graphy

1665, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Dictionary Entries Near biography

biographize

Cite this Entry

“Biography.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biography. Accessed 21 Jun. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of biography, more from merriam-webster on biography.

Nglish: Translation of biography for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of biography for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about biography

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Definition of Genre

When I fall in love, it will be forever.

Difference Between Style and Genre

Common examples of genre, common examples of fiction genre.

Here are some common examples of genre fiction and their characteristics:

Examples of Writers Associated with Specific Genre Fiction

Famous examples of genre in other art forms, examples of genre in literature.

As a literary device, the genre is like an implied social contract between writers and their readers. This does not mean that writers must abide by all conventions associated with a specific genre. However, there are organizational patterns within a genre that readers tend to expect. Genre expectations allow readers to feel familiar with the literary work and help them to organize the information presented by the writer. In addition, keeping with genre conventions can establish a writer’s relationship with their readers and a framework for their literature.

Example 1: Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow , Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out , brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

The formal genre of this well-known literary work is Shakespearean drama or play. Macbeth can be sub-categorized as a literary tragedy in that the play features the elements of a classical tragic work. For example, Macbeth’s character aligns with the traits and path of a tragic hero –a protagonist whose tragic flaw brings about his downfall from power to ruin. This tragic arc of the protagonist often results in catharsis (emotional release) and potential empathy among readers and members of the audience .

Example 2: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

All my life I had to fight. I had to fight my daddy . I had to fight my brothers. I had to fight my cousins and my uncles. A girl child ain’t safe in a family of men. But I never thought I’d have to fight in my own house. She let out her breath. I loves Harpo, she say. God knows I do. But I’ll kill him dead before I let him beat me.

Example 3: A Word to Husbands by Ogden Nash

To keep your marriage brimming With love in the loving cup, Whenever you’re wrong, admit it; Whenever you’re right, shut up.

Synonyms of Genre

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Meaning of biography in English

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• This biography offers a few glimpses of his life before he became famous .
• Her biography revealed that she was not as rich as everyone thought .
• The biography was a bit of a rush job .
• The biography is an attempt to uncover the inner man.
• The biography is woven from the many accounts which exist of things she did.
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biography | Intermediate English

• biographical

Examples of biography

Translations of biography.

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Word of the Day

to become dry, smaller, and covered with lines as if by crushing or folding, or to make something do this

Fakes and forgeries (Things that are not what they seem to be)

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The Spiritual Meaning Of June 21’s Full Strawberry Moon

Think of it as the full moon of the entire astronomical year.

The summer solstice is approaching here in the northern hemisphere, and this astronomical event rings in a fresh season with the longest day of the year. This special celestial moment is made even more meaningful by the June 2024 full moon , which peaks the next day on June 21. This lunation is traditionally known as the Strawberry Moon, and its spiritual meaning asks all zodiac signs to tap into a bit of practical magic to bring some of their 2024 goals to fruition.

Full moons occur approximately once a month and mark the midpoint of the lunar cycle. They’re also the most illuminating, as spiritually, the climactic energy of this moon phase is known for bringing matters into the light and preparing people to let go of what’s no longer serving them. The Strawberry Moon’s ultra-close proximity to the summer solstice gives even more depth to its spiritual meaning. In fact, you can think of the vibe of the summer solstice as sort of like the full moon of the astronomical year — as it symbolizes the point in the sun’s annual journey where it sits highest in the sky and gives off the lengthiest amount of sunlight, bringing illumination and abundance.

This year’s Strawberry Moon is taking place in the productive and practical earth sign Capricorn , so it’s a powerful time to check in on your long-term goals and put some plans in place to make them a reality. It’s the first big lunation of the summer season, and knowing the spiritual meaning of June’s full moon will make it extra special.

What’s The Spiritual Meaning Of June’s Strawberry Moon?

According to Farmer’s Almanac, Strawberry Moon is a traditional indigenous nickname given to the full moon that falls during June. This succulent moniker originates from the ruby red fruit’s ripening period in North America, which occurs around this time of year. Other traditional Native American nicknames for June’s full moon include Berries Ripen Moon, Blooming Moon, and Honey Moon, all of which allude to the lush and delectable sweetness of the summer season.

Just as this is an ideal time to enjoy an abundance of ripe and juicy berries, it’s also a great time to check in on the growth of your tangible goals. With this lunation rising in Capricorn — the cardinal earth sign associated with career matters, financial security, and foolproof planning — the cosmic energy is ripe for paving your path to material success.

The moon will also be facing off with value-oriented Venus , pushing you to find a way to connect your worldly ambitions with your heart’s most meaningful desires. What’s really worth investing time and effort into at this moment? The spiritual meaning of June’s full moon asks you to consider what in your life is ready to be harvested and what might need a little more time on the vine.

Additionally, the Strawberry Moon will appear especially large and golden-hued thanks to a phenomenon known as the “moon illusion” — a result of its close alignment with the date of the summer solstice. During every full moon phase, the sun and moon sit directly opposite from each other in the zodiac.

So because the summer solstice marks the time of year when the sun is at its highest point in the sky, the full moon will be peaking unusually low in the sky, making it appear much bigger than usual due to its proximity to the horizon. This aligns beautifully with the astrology of this lunation, as the full moon will be squaring off with the numinous and illusory planet Neptune , which can lead to some internal illusions. Remember that objects in your rearview mirror may be closer (or further, or larger, or smaller) than they appear, so channel Capricorn’s grounding and no-nonsense energy and err on the side of caution when you make moves.

How To Work With The Full Strawberry Moon Energy

Because June’s full moon is hitting nearly the exact midpoint of the year, it’s a fabulous time to think back to six months ago and revisit any intentions you set for yourself in 2024 . If you’ve already hit some milestones, use the succulent energy of the Strawberry Moon as an excuse to celebrate your accomplishments and relish in the fruits of your labor.

If you’ve gotten off track with some things, this is a powerful time to realign your plans and ensure they’re fully in tune with your values. It’s important that you can get behind your goals wholeheartedly and take pride in your ambitions under this lunation.

This is also the first of two back-to-back full moons in Capricorn, so you’ll have another chance to work with similar themes during July’s full moon. To fully capitalize on this rare astrological blue moon next month, June’s Strawberry Moon is well-suited to freeing yourself from unrealistic goals and focusing on tending to the endeavors that have the potential to bear more fruit. Clear away the obstacles to success in career, money, and material matters now so that you have space to manifest something big under next month’s follow-up lunation.

Nina Kahn is Bustle’s resident astrologer and tarot reader.

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Fictionalized biography

Fiction presented as biography.

• “Special-purpose” biography
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• Formal autobiography
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The books in this fifth category belong to biographical literature only by courtesy. Materials are freely invented, scenes and conversations are imagined; unlike the previous category, this class often depends almost entirely upon secondary sources and cursory research. Its authors, well represented on the paperback shelves, have created a hybrid form designed to mate the appeal of the novel with a vague claim to authenticity. This form is exemplified by writers such as Irving Stone , in his Lust for Life (on Vincent van Gogh ) and The Agony and the Ecstasy (on Michelangelo ). Whereas the compiler of biographical information (the first category) risks no involvement, the fictionalizer admits no limit to it.

The sixth and final category is outright fiction, the novel written as biography or autobiography. It has enjoyed brilliant successes. Such works do not masquerade as lives; rather, they imaginatively take the place of biography where perhaps there can be no genuine life writing for lack of materials. Among the most highly regarded examples of this genre are, in the guise of autobiography, Robert Graves ’s books on the Roman emperor Claudius , I, Claudius and Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina ; Mary Renault ’s The King Must Die on the legendary hero Theseus ; and Marguerite Yourcenar’s Memoirs of Hadrian . The diary form of autobiography was amusingly used by George and Weedon Grossmith to tell the trials and tribulations of their fictional character Charles Pooter in The Diary of a Nobody (1892). In the form of biography this category includes Graves’s Count Belisarius and Hope Muntz’s Golden Warrior (on Harold II , vanquished at the Battle of Hastings , 1066). Some novels-as-biography, using fictional names, are designed to evoke rather than re-create an actual life, such as W. Somerset Maugham ’s Moon and Sixpence ( Paul Gauguin ) and Cakes and Ale ( Thomas Hardy ) and Robert Penn Warren ’s All the King’s Men ( Huey Long ).

“ Special-purpose” biography

In addition to these six main categories, there exists a large class of works that might be denominated “special-purpose” biography. In these works the art of biography has become the servant of other interests. They include potboilers (written as propaganda or as a scandalous exposé) and “as-told-to” narratives (often popular in newspapers) designed to publicize a celebrity. This category includes also “campaign biographies” aimed at forwarding the cause of a political candidate ( Nathaniel Hawthorne ’s Life of Franklin Pierce [1852] being an early example); the weighty commemorative volume, not infrequently commissioned by the widow (which, particularly in Victorian times, has usually enshrouded the subject in monotonous eulogy); and pious works that are properly called hagiography , or lives of holy men, written to edify the reader.

Informal autobiography

Autobiography, like biography, manifests a wide variety of forms, beginning with the intimate writings made during a life that were not intended (or apparently not intended) for publication. Whatever its form or time, however, autobiography has helped define a nation’s citizens and political ambitions. The form is crucial to not only how an individual meets the challenge of stating “I am” but how a nation and a historical period do so.

Letters, diaries , and journals

Broadly speaking, the order of this category represents a scale of increasingly self-conscious revelation. Collected letters, especially in carefully edited modern editions such as W.S. Lewis’s of the correspondences of the 18th-century man of letters Horace Walpole (34 vol., 1937–65), can offer a rewarding though not always predictable experience: some eminent people commit little of themselves to paper, while other lesser figures pungently re-create themselves and their world. The 15th-century Paston Letters constitute an invaluable chronicle of the web of daily life woven by a tough and vigorous English family among the East Anglian gentry during the Wars of the Roses; the composer Mozart and the poet Byron, in quite different ways, are among the most revealing of letter writers. Diarists have made great names for themselves out of what seems a humble branch of literature. To mention only two, in the 20th century the young Jewish girl Anne Frank created such an impact by her recording of narrow but intense experience that her words were translated to stage and screen; while a comparatively minor figure of 17th-century England, Samuel Pepys —he was secretary to the navy—has immortalized himself in a diary that exemplifies the chief qualifications for this kind of writing—candour, zest, and an unselfconscious enjoyment of self. The somewhat more formal journal is likewise represented by a variety of masterpieces, from the notebooks, which reveal the teeming, ardent brain of Leonardo da Vinci , and William Wordsworth’s sister Dorothy ’s sensitive recording of experience in her Journals (1897), to French foreign minister Armand de Caulaincourt ’s recounting of his flight from Russia with Napoleon (translated as With Napoleon in Russia , 1935) and the Journals of the brothers Goncourt , which present a confidential history of the literary life of mid-19th-century Paris.

Rainbow flag meaning: A brief history lesson on how the Pride flag came to be

Since its creation in 1978, the pride flag has become a universal symbol for the LGBTQ+ community. It represents visibility and hope and reflects the diversity within the LGBTQ+ community.

While the flag is easily recognized, its history may not be as well-known to everyone. Did you know the current rainbow flag is an updated design of the original?

Here is a history lesson on how the pride rainbow flag came to be and the meaning behind its colors.

What do the colors of the Pride flag mean? 

Each of the pride flag's six rainbow colors has a unique meaning:

• Orange: Healing
• Yellow: Sunlight
• Green: Nature
• Blue: Serenity
• Purple: Spirit

When is Pride Month 2024? How the celebration of LGBTQ+ identities came to be.

The history of the Gilbert Baker pride flag 

In the 1970s,  Harvey Milk – the first openly gay elected official in California – tasked activist  Gilbert Baker  to design a symbol of hope for the gay community.

"Harvey Milk was a friend of mine, an important gay leader in San Francisco in the ’70s, and he carried a really important message about how important it was to be visible," Baker said in  an interview with the Museum of Modern Art in 2015 . "A flag really fit that mission, because that’s a way of proclaiming your visibility, or saying, 'This is who I am!'"

The original Pride flag had  eight stripes , each symbolizing: 

• Hot pink: Sex
• Turquoise: Magic
• Indigo: Serenity 

Prior to the rainbow flag, the pink triangle was used as a symbol for the LGBTQ+ community, according to Baker. In Nazi Germany, people were forced to wear pink triangles. While the symbol was reclaimed, the community wanted a new symbol.

"We needed something beautiful, something from us," Baker said in the  MoMA interview . "The rainbow is so perfect because it really fits our diversity in terms of race, gender, ages, all of those things." 

The original pride flag was flown for the first time at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade celebration  on June 25, 1978 , the History Channel reports.

Pride 2024: Latest news and events honoring LGBTQ rights.

How did the Pride flag come to be? 

The original flag was made by hand, but as they started to be mass-produced, the hot pink stripe was removed due to manufacturing difficulties, the New York Times reports .

Parade organizers also wanted the rainbow to have an even number of stripes so to split and line the street along parade routes. Baker then removed the turquoise stripe, replacing it for blue , the History Channel reports. 

More Pride Flags explained

Progress Pride Flag  |  Lesbian Pride Flag  |  Transgender Pride Flag  |  Bisexual Pride Flag  |  Pansexual Pride Flag  |  Asexual Pride Flag  |  Intersex Pride Flag  |  Gender Identity Flags

Just Curious for more? We've got you covered

USA TODAY is exploring the questions you and others ask every day. From " What are the colors of the Intersex Pride flag? " to " When was gay marriage legalized in the U.S.? " to " What does deadnaming mean? " − we're striving to find answers to the most common questions you ask every day. Head to our  Just Curious section  to see what else we can answer.

How 97-Year-Old Activist Opal Lee Became the “Grandmother of Juneteenth”

Lee earned a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2022 for her part in creating the Juneteenth holiday.

In 2021, she got her wish when President Joe Biden signed a bill declaring June 19 a federal holiday to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States. It happened in no small part due to Lee’s efforts, earning her the nickname “The Grandmother of Juneteenth,” as well as a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, which she ultimately didn’t win.

Now 97, Lee captured the world’s attention during a series of symbolic walks from her home in Fort Worth, Texas, to the U.S. capital, beginning in late 2016, to advocate for the national holiday. She also spearheaded an online petition that she hoped would draw 100,000 signatures. It ended up with 1.6 million.

“I just remember thinking, ‘Gee, I’m 89 years old, and I think that there’s lots more that needs to be done,’” Lee said of her famous walks, which generated national news coverage and support from celebrities such as Usher , Pharrell Williams , and Lupita Nyong’o .

Lee’s passion for Juneteenth is rooted in her appreciation for its history and her own personal experiences, both of which have left a lasting impact that’s fueled her activism.

A Personal Connection to Juneteenth

Lee was born in Marshall, Texas, in 1926, the eldest of three children. Her family moved to Fort Worth when she was 10, and two years later, she watched as 500 white rioters burned down her home , angry at the family for moving into a predominantly white neighborhood.

“The people didn’t want us,” Lee said . “They started gathering. The paper said the police couldn’t control the mob. My father came with a gun, and police told them if he busted a cap, they’d let the mob have us. They started throwing things at the house, and when they left, they took out the furniture and burned it and burned the house.”

The fire took place on Juneteenth—June 19, 1939—and the significance of the date wasn’t lost on Lee. “The fact that it happened on the 19 th day of June has spurred me to make people understand that Juneteenth is not just a festival,” she said .

After a career as an educator and home school counselor, Lee retired in 1976 and became active in community causes in the Fort Worth area, organizing the city’s annual Juneteenth celebration and co-founding the Tarrant County Black Historical and Genealogical Society.

Making Juneteenth a national holiday was never far from Lee’s mind, and she started an annual tradition of walking 2.5 miles, representing the two-and-a-half years it took for the Emancipation Proclamation to reach the state of Texas. “I was thinking that surely, somebody would see a little old lady in tennis shoes trying to get to Congress and notice,” Lee told NPR.

Recounting her first walk, Lee said : “I gathered some people at my church—my pastor, the church musicians, a county commissioner, a school board member; not acres of people but a few—and we had a little ceremony. I walked from the church, 2.5 miles, went home, and the next day I started where I left off.”

A National Movement Blossoms

From September 2016 to January 2017, Lee traveled the country from Fort Worth to Washington, stopping in dozens of cities along the way for symbolic 2.5 mile walks to draw attention to her cause. She clarified to Variety that she didn’t walk every single mile from Texas to the nation’s capital: “I did some hundreds of them but not 1,400.”

Her efforts inspired celebrities to amplify her activism. In a series of tweets , actor Lupita Nyong’o wrote in 2020: “Recognizing Juneteenth nationally would be one more way to acknowledge the intrinsic value of Black people and their history to the wealth and prosperity of the USA.” She then encouraged her followers to sign Lee’s petition.

Lee believes protests against systemic racism in response to the police killings of unarmed Black men like George Floyd in May 2020 helped bring more attention and garner support for the effort to make Juneteenth a national holiday.

“I think it was, ‘Enough is enough,’” Lee said . “I think losing that man’s life just pushed us over the edge. We’ve put up with so much. When I think about what our ancestors had to put up with before the Emancipation—before that General Order No. 3 was declared down in Galveston—the situations aren’t that far different.”

Lee was present on June 17, 2021, when President Biden signed the bill into law that made Juneteenth a national holiday. Afterward, he gave her one of the pens used during the ceremony and got down on one knee to thank her and whisper to her as the gathered crowd applauded.

“We’re blessed to mark the day in the presence of Ms. Opal Lee. As my mother would say, ‘God love her,’” Biden said during the ceremony. “Ms. Opal, you’re incredible. A daughter of Texas, grandmother of the movement to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.”

Colin McEvoy joined the Biography.com staff in 2023, and before that had spent 16 years as a journalist, writer, and communications professional. He is the author of two true crime books: Love Me or Else and Fatal Jealousy . He is also an avid film buff, reader, and lover of great stories.

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‘Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution’ documents the flamboyance and fortitude of a genre

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Disco! The very word hustles you back to the 1970s, the decade in which it was gloriously born in the loft parties and basement clubs of New York, where it blossomed into a national obsession and entered its decadent phase, when Ethel Merman went disco . And if you don’t remember the ’70s, you may recall parties when you dressed up in your parents’ old clothes and danced to their records.

It defined a time, and the three-part documentary “Disco: The Soundtrack of a Revolution,” beginning Tuesday on PBS at 9 p.m. Pacific (and already streaming from PBS.org ) ties the music not just to its place in the evolution of pop but to the liberation movements of the time, as an expression, originally, of Black, brown and queer subcultures — but also as a genre that gave female singers a different, more assertive, self-confident voice. “I will survive,” went the song , and if all this series does is get you to listen to Gloria Gaynor again or for the first time, it’ll have been worth it.

Though mass success is exciting, obviously, and empowering to the artist, stories of music history are never more exhilarating than when detailing the creation of a new style, before money is an issue or even a possibility, when it’s the expression of a community rather than the bet of a corporation. “Soundtrack of a Revolution” captures that moment thrillingly, though, as is often the case with such histories, the rise is followed by a fall — the lows are here, along with the highs — and often a rebirth. There’s hardly any creative form that hasn’t been declared dead only to come sneaking or roaring back in some retooled but spiritually similar form. You can’t keep something as joyful and jubilant, as flashy and flamboyant and fundamentally democratic as disco down.

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Ironically, in 1977, the year that Studio 54 opened its doors to a chosen few, 5,000 discos opened across the country. “Saturday Night Fever” was released; its soundtrack at one point was selling 200,000 copies a day. In a sense it was the beginning of the end for disco — walled off by exclusion on the one end and melted into the mainstream on the other. The “disco demolitions” that were briefly in the news — public destruction of disco records, most famously causing a riot at Chicago’s Comiskey Park — were as much as anything a matter of straight white rock fans reacting to the straight white embrace of disco, as hundreds of radio stations converted to the music full-time.

And so, chasing excitement, cutting-edge dance music went underground again, as “Soundtrack of a Revolution” duly notes. Hip-hop as a local New York City phenomenon was well underway when the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” broke through in 1979. House music, born in Chicago, brought an electronic foundation to post-disco disco music that has continued, through myriad new subgenres and international offshoots, to inform dance culture to this day.

Not every artist is covered or great song heard. But “Soundtrack” hits all the important points over its three hours, cogently presented and mostly a lot of fun — a mutually illuminating mix of anecdotal reminiscence, musical analysis, historical accounting and political theory. Along with archival interviews and clips, there are new interviews with singers Candi Staton, Thelma Houston, Anita Ward, Nona Hendryx and Victor Willis, the “cop” from the Village People (the gay ’70s Spice Girls, formed from an ad seeking “Macho Types ... Must Dance and Have a Moustache”); influential DJs Nicky Siano and François Kevorkian, who helped create a new career path; Philadelphia drummer Earl Young , credited with creating the four-on-the-floor disco beat; critics and clubbers; Robert Williams , whose off-hours nightclub Warehouse gave disco successor house music its name; and a host of activists and scholars to sell the thesis of the title.

It’s probably too much to say, in a cause-and-effect sense, that disco changed politics, or that politics created disco. But every movement has its signature sounds, whether it’s the folk and gospel that accompanied the civil rights movement or the psychedelic music that underscored antiwar protests later in the decade. But the music and the movement(s) advanced hand in hand, even as the wider culture followed at a distance.

And dancing and dance music are almost by definition liberating, going back forever in every place and culture, and as such have been labeled dangerous by agents of the status quo. The sounds and the steps change, and one generation’s inventions may be regarded as quaint by the next — which might be regarded as a kind of progress — but in their time they can shake, and shake up, the world.

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for children older than 16 years

Coming soon

About this game, key features.

• Experience the heart-pounding adventure of a beloved entry in the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise, Into the Pit.
• Solve satisfying puzzles intertwined with an adrenaline-fueled story.
• Immerse yourself in a narrative experience.
• Try to save your friends, your family, and your own life.
• Uncover secrets that span decades.
• Discover different endings.
• Escape the clutches of the animatronic creatures wreaking havoc across time.

System Requirements

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10/11
• Processor: Intel i5 750 or equivalent
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 or equivalent
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 3 GB available space

© 2024 Scott Cawthon. Five Nights at Freddy's; Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach and related logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Scott Cawthon in the United States and/or other countries. All Rights Reserved.

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