Biography

A biography tells a life story.

It is more than just facts. It shows how a person lived. It can be a book or a movie.

Some people write their own stories. We call those autobiographies. Long ago, monks wrote about saints. Later, people wrote about kings and artists. These stories help us learn about others. They show us what life was like.

A biography is a detailed story of a person's life. It is more than just a list of facts. It shows how a person felt and lived.

Some books are written with a person's help. These are called authorized biographies. If the person does not help, they are unauthorized. An autobiography is a story a person writes about themselves.

Writing about lives is very old. Long ago, people wrote about royal leaders in Egypt. In the 13th century, Jain scholars in India wrote about famous people. In Europe, monks wrote about saints to inspire others.

Later, writers began to focus on kings and artists.

In 1791, James Boswell wrote a famous book. He wrote about Samuel Johnson. He used deep research to tell the whole story. This helped start the modern way of writing. Later, writers like Lytton Strachey changed things again. He wrote about famous people in a new, witty way.

Today, biographies use science to help us understand how people think.

A biography is a deep look into a person's life. It is much more than a simple list of facts. A biography does not just list a person's job or school. Instead, it tells the story of their actual experiences. It can even look closely at a person's unique personality.

Some stories are written with a person's help. These are called authorized biographies. If the person does not help, the book is unauthorized. An autobiography is different because the person writes it themselves. Sometimes, they might use a helper called a ghostwriter.

Writing about lives is one of the oldest ways people tell stories. In ancient Egypt, people wrote about royal officials on tombs.

By the 21st century BC, people in Mesopotamia wrote about Gilgamesh. Long ago, the Greek writer Xenophon wrote about Cyrus, who started the Persian Empire. In 44 BC, Cornelius Nepos wrote about great generals. Later, Plutarch wrote his famous "Parallel Lives" around 80 A.D. He paired famous Greeks with famous Romans. He even wrote about leaders like Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. Suetonius also wrote about the Caesars around A.D. 121.

During the Middle Ages, biography changed in many places. In Europe, monks and priests wrote about saints and popes. They wanted these stories to inspire people. In India, Jain scholars wrote stories called Prabandhas. They used a common form of Sanskrit to write about famous people. Starting in the 13th century, they wrote these narratives in a special way. In the Islamic world, writers began the Prophetic biography tradition. They wrote about Muhammad and other important figures. They even made large books called dictionaries to list many famous people.

As time went on, biographies became more about everyday people. During the Renaissance, writers focused on artists and poets. Giorgio Vasari wrote "Lives of the Artists" in 1550. This book became an early bestseller. Later, the printing press helped more people read these stories. In 1791, James Boswell changed everything with his book on Samuel Johnson.

He did not just use old records. He used interviews and eye-witness accounts to be very honest. This helped create the modern way we write biographies today.

In the 1900s, new ideas changed how writers looked at people. Scientists began studying how the mind and society work. This made biographers look more at a person's childhood.

In 1918, Lytton Strachey wrote "Eminent Victorians." He used a witty style to tell the truth about famous leaders. He did not want to just praise them like old books did. He wanted to show who they really were. Today, biography is a way to explore the human mind and our history.

A biography is a detailed account of a person's life. It goes far beyond a simple list of facts. It does not merely record education, work, or death. Instead, it portrays the actual experience of those life events. A biography seeks to present a subject's life story. It often highlights intimate details and analyzes a person's unique personality. While most biographical works are non-fiction, some use fiction to tell these stories.

There are several ways to categorize these writings. An authorized biography is written with the permission of the subject or their heirs. In these cases, the subject might even participate in the writing. An unauthorized biography is written without such permission or cooperation. An autobiography is a story written by the person themselves. Sometimes, an autobiographer uses a collaborator or a ghostwriter to help. Some deep forms of this writing are known as legacy writing. This genre exists in many media, including literature and film.

Biographical writing is the earliest literary genre in history. It began with funerary inscriptions in ancient Egyptian tombs. These texts recounted the careers of deceased high royal officials. The earliest known biographical texts date to the 26th century BC. In the 21st century BC, Mesopotamian writers composed a biography of Gilgamesh. One version of this story might be historical. Later, the Greek writer Xenophon wrote about Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire. In 44 BC, Cornelius Nepos published "Lives of outstanding generals."

Around 80 A.D., Plutarch wrote "Parallel Lives." He paired famous Greeks with famous Romans, such as Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. Suetonius wrote "On the Lives of the Caesars" around A.D. 121.

During the early Middle Ages, from A.D. 400 to 1450, biography changed in Europe. The Roman Catholic Church became the main keeper of historical records. Hermits, monks, and priests wrote biographies of church fathers, popes, and saints. These works, often called hagiography, were meant to inspire and convert people. A major secular example was Einhard's biography of Charlemagne. In Medieval Western India, Jain scholars created a genre called Prabandhas. These were semi-historical narratives written in colloquial Sanskrit. The earliest collection, Jinabhadra's "Prabandhavali," dates to 1234 CE.

In the Islamic world, the Prophetic biography tradition began with writings about Muhammad. By the 9th century, biographical dictionaries emerged as compendia of famous personalities. These books contained social data for many different people. In Europe, the Renaissance shifted focus toward secular subjects like artists. Giorgio Vasari published "Lives of the Artists" in 1550. This landmark work made celebrities of its subjects and became an early bestseller. The invention of the printing press and rising literacy helped biographies spread. In 1724, Charles Johnson published "A General History of the Pyrates," which shaped how people viewed pirates.

James Boswell changed the genre in 1791 with "The Life of Samuel Johnson." This is often considered the first modern biography. Boswell did not just rely on old records. He used archival study, interviews, and eye-witness accounts. He provided an honest depiction of every aspect of Johnson's character. This research-heavy formula remains the basis for biographical literature today.

In the 19th century, a distinction grew between mass biography and literary biography. The rise of education and cheap printing made autobiographies more popular. Famous figures like Charles Dickens and Anthony Trollope became well-known for their autobiographical writing.

At the turn of the 20th century, new sciences influenced the genre. Psychology and sociology changed how biographers viewed human behavior. Many writers moved away from the "great man" theory of history. Instead, they used Darwinian theories to explain actions. "Sociological" biographies looked at how the environment shaped a person. Psychoanalysis led biographers to focus more on childhood and adolescence.

Lytton Strachey revolutionized the field in 1918 with "Eminent Victorians." He rejected the slow, funeral-like style of previous Victorian biographies. He used a witty, irreverent style to debunk myths about national heroes. This new approach allowed for more artistic and accurate prose.