5 Minute Biographies

“I never had a chance to play with dolls like other kids. I started working when I was six years old.” – Billie Holiday Billie Holiday Biography Billie Holiday was a well-known American jazz singer who was born on 7 April 1915 as Eleanora Fagan in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her prolific singing career spanned almost thirty …

“I’m not concerned with your liking or disliking me… All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” – Jackie Robinson Jackie Robinson Biography Jack Roosevelt Robinson, known as Jackie, was born on 31 January 1919 in Cairo, Georgia, USA. He was the last of five children born into a family of …

Virginia Katherine McMath, who became known as Ginger Rogers, was born in Independence, Missouri on July 16, 1911. She was an American singer, actress, and well-known dancer. Her mother Lela Emogene was a scriptwriter, newspaper reporter, and film producer. When Ginger Rogers was born, Lela left her husband William and went away to have her …

“Truth is the daughter of time, and I feel no shame in being her midwife.” – Johannes Kepler. Johannes Kepler Biography Johannes Kepler was born on 27 December 1571 in Well der Stadt, a small town in what is now the Stuttgart region of Germany. He was the fourth child of Heinrich Kepler, a mercenary …

Elvis Aaron Presley was born on 8 January 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi in a shotgun house built by his father Vernon. He had a twin brother called Jesse who was 35 minutes older than he but unfortunately was stillborn.Elvis’s mother, Gladys, who was of Scots-Irish descent, had eloped with Vernon when she was 21. She …

“Remember the sufferings of Christ, the storms that were weathered… the crown that came from those sufferings which gave new radiance to the faith… All saints give testimony to the truth that without real effort, no one ever wins the crown.” – Thomas Becket Thomas Becket Biography Thomas Becket was born on 21 December 1119 …

“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.” – Albert Einstein Albert Einstein Biography Albert Einstein was born into a non-observant Ashkenazi Jewish family on 14 March 1879 in Ulm a city on the River Danube in what was then the Kingdom of Württemberg, in the German Empire. It is now …

“I feel confident imposing change on myself. It’s a lot more fun progressing than looking back. That’s why I need to throw curve balls.” – David Bowie. David Bowie Biography David Bowie was an actor, songwriter, singer, and master of the stage, but more than any of these things, the thing that set his musical …

“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.” – Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn was born in Belgium on 4 May 1929. Her father, Joseph Ruston had served as a consul to the Dutch East Indies and so she lived all over Europethroughout her childhood as his work moved him and his family …

“So long, and thanks for all the fish.” – Douglas Adams Douglas Adams Biography Douglas Noel Adams was born on 11 March 1952 in Cambridge, England, but was brought up in East London as he and his parents, Janet and Christopher moved there when Douglas was only a few months old. Three years after Douglas …

“Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching” – Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson Biography Born on 13 April 1743 in Shadwell, Virginia in what would later become the United States of America, few people could imagine all that would be accomplished by Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson had no true ties …

“I only make movies to finance my fishing.” – Lee Marvin Lee Marvin was born on 19 February 1924 in New York City, USA to parents Lamont Waltman Marvin who was an advertising executive and Courtenay Washington who was a beauty consultant and fashion writer. One of his earliest ancestors was Matthew Marvin Sr who …

“A woman’s guess is much more accurate than a man’s certainty.” – Rudyard Kipling. Rudyard Kipling Biography Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on 30 December 1865 in Mumbai, then called Bombay, in India. John Lockwood Kipling, his father, was a sculptor and pottery designer whereas his mother, Alice, was the daughter of a Wesleyan Methodist …

“Each person must live their life as a model for others” – Rosa Parks Rosa Parks Biography Although the Civil War had officially ended over 60 years before she was born, Rosa Parks was an American civil rights activist, at a very tense time in US history when equality had not been fully achieved. She …

A desperate disease requires a dangerous remedy.” – Guy Fawkes Guy Fawkes Biography Guy Fawkes was born on 13 April 1570 in Stonegate, which is in York, in the North of England. His parents were a proctor called Edward Fawkes and Edith, a recusant Catholic. His great-grandfather on his father’s side of the family was …

“I have never advocated war except as a means of peace.” – Ulysses S Grant Ulysses S. Grant Biography Born on 27 April 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio, Hiram Ulysses Grant was a United States general and commander during the American Civil War for the Union armies and later became the 18th president of the …

“We are a fact-gathering organization only. We don’t clear anybody. We don’t condemn anybody.” – J. Edgar Hoover J. Edgar Hoover Biography John Edgar Hoover was born on 1 January 1895, in Washington D.C. in the United States. His mother, Anna Marie was from a Swiss-German background. There was also German, mixed with English ancestry …

“Newman’s first law: It is useless to put on your brakes when you’re upside-down.” – Paul Newman. Paul Newman Biography Paul Leonard Newman was born on 26 January 1925 in Shaker Heights, which is on the outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio. He was the second son of Arthur Sigmund Newman who was a Jewish descendant of …

“Flying a good airplane doesn’t require near as much attention as a motor car” – Charles Lindbergh Charles Lindbergh Biography Charles Lindbergh was born on 4 February 1902 in Detroit, Michigan, USA but grew up in the Little Falls area of Minnesota and in Washington D.C. His father was Charles August Lindbergh, a Swedish immigrant …

“I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves” – Mary Shelley Mary Shelley Biography Mary Shelley was an English author who is primarily remembered for only a single work. Although Frankenstein would become her most popular work, she was a dedicated novelist and wrote many books and stories. Despite personal …