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Free biography books – free autobiography books, biography pdf – autobiography pdf – century past, collective biography books, modern guides -free biography books – free autobiography books, vintage reading guides – free biographies pdf, related pages on century past, biography & autobiography – collections.

Adventurers

Aeronautics

African Americans

Agriculture

Asian American

Automobile racing

Entertainment

Environmentalists

Heads of State

Journalists

Law Enforcement

Middle Eastern

Motion pictures

Native Americans

Naturalists

People with Disabilities

Performing Arts

Philosophers

Photographers

Psychologists

Social Activists

Social Scientists

World War, 1939-1945

16th century

17th century

18th century

19th century

20th century

21st century

Individual biographies and autobiographies are divided up among a number of webpages, per the list below.

Click page headings to go there.

Biography PDF – A & B

Aaron, “Hank” Adams, Charles Francis Adams, Henry Adams, John, U.S. President Adams, Abigail Smith Adams, John Quincy, U.S. President Adams, Samuel Addams, Jane Agassiz, Louis Ailes, Roger Alcott, Louisa May Alexander the Great Alfred the Great, King of England Ambrose, Stephen Andersen, Hans Christian Angelou, Maya Anthony, Susan B. Antin, Mary Appleseed, Johnny Audubon, John James Austen, Jane Barnum, Phineas Taylor “P.T.” Barr, Amelia Edith Huddleston Barton, Clara Harlowe Beethoven, Ludwig van Belafonte, Harry Benny, Jack Benton, Thomas Hart Bernhardt, Sarah Berra, Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Bird, Larry Bismarck, Otto von Black Elk Black Hawk Blake, William Bloch, Robert Bly, Nellie (Seaman, Elizabeth) Bochkareva, Maria Leontievna (Frolkova) Bolton, Sarah Knowles Bombeck, Erma Bonaparte, Napoleon (Napoleon I) Boone, Daniel Booth, Catherine Mumford Borgia, Lucrezia Bourdain, Anthony Brahms, Johannes Bronte, Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, Anne Brooke, James, Rajah of Sarawak Browning, Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett Bryan, William Jennings Buffalo Bill (Cody, William Frederick) Bush, Barbara Pierce Bush, George Herbert Walker, U.S. President Bush, Laura Lane

Free Biography Books – Free Autobiography Books – C

Caesar, Gaius Julius Calhoun, John Caldwell Calvin, John Cantacuzène, Julia Dent Grant (Princess Cantacuzène) Carlyle, Thomas Carmichael, Hoagy Carnegie, Andrew Carroll, Lewis Carson, Christopher Cartier, Jacques Cary, Alice Cary, Phoebe Cass, Lewis Caterina da Siena, Saint Cavour, Camillo Benso, Conte di Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de Champlain, Samuel de Chapman, John (Johnny Appleseed) Charlemagne Chase, Salmon Portland Chaucer, Geoffrey Chopin, Fryderyk Clark, George Rogers Clarke, Mrs. Caroline Cowles Clay, Henry Clemenceau, Georges Clemens, Samuel Langhorne (Mark Twain) Clinton, Hilary Rodham Cobb, Ty Cobden, Richard Cody, William Frederick (Buffalo Bill) Coffin, Levi Cohen, Rose Gollup Columbus, Christopher Cook, James Cooper, James Fenimore Coughlin, Father Charles Crane Gartz, Kate Cromwell, Oliver Cumming, Kate Curie, Marie Sklodowska Curie, Pierre Custer, George Armstrong

See our post on Pioneer Life on the Michigan Frontier in Diaries & Memoirs

Free Biography Books – Biography PDF – D, E & F

Daly, Augustin Dante (Alighieri, Dante) Darwin, Charles Robert Davies, William Henry Davis, Jefferson Davis, Miles Dean, James Debs, Eugene Deutsch, Leo Dewey, George Dewey, Thomas E. Dickens, Charles Diderot, Denis Disraeli, Benjamin Dostoevsky, Fedor Douglas, Stephen A. Douglass, Frederick Du Bois, W.E.B.

Edison, Thomas Alva Edwards, Jonathan Eggleston, Edward Elizabeth, Queen of England Emerson, Ralph Waldo Isabella d’Este, Consort of Giovanni Francesco II Evans, Robley Dunglison

Farragut, David Glasgow Ferber, Edna Fink, Mike Ford, Betty Ford, Gerald R., U.S. President Ford, Henry Francis of Assisi, Saint Franklin, Aretha Franklin, Benjamin Franklin, John Fraser, Mary Crawford Frederick the Great, King of Prussia Friedan, Betty Fulton, Robert

Biographies PDF – Autobiographies PDF – G & H

Gale, Zona Galileo Gallatin, Albert Gambetta, Leon Michel Garfield, James A., U.S. President Garrison, William Lloyd Garvey, Marcus Gauguin, Paul George, Henry Geronimo, Apache Chief Gladstone, William Ewart Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von Goldsmith, Oliver Goodman, Benny Gordon, Charles George Grant, Ulysses Simpson, U. S. President Grey, Zane Grissom, Virgil “Gus” Guevara, Ernesto “Che”

Hale, Edward Everett Hamilton, Alexander Hannibal Hardie, James Keir Harding, Warren G., U.S. President Hardy, Thomas Harris, Townsend Harrison, Benjamin, U.S. President Harrison, William Henry, U.S. President Harte, Bret Haviland, Laura Hawthorne, Nathaniel Hayes, Rutherford B., U.S. President Hefner, Hugh Hegermann-Lindencrone, Lillie de Hemingway, Ernest Henry the Navigator Henry, Patrick Herman, Woody Hickok, “Wild Bill” Hill, Lucy Ann Hoffa, James Holmes, Oliver Wendell Homer, Winslow Houdini, Harry House, Edward Mandell Houston, Samuel Howe, Julia (Ward) Hugo, Victor Hurston, Zora Neale Hyndman, Henry Mayers

Free Biography Books – Free Autobiography Books – I, J, K & L

Iacocca, Lee Ibsen, Henrik Irving, Washington Isabella d’Este Iswolsky, Alexander Petrovich

Jackson, Andrew, U.S. President Jackson, Thomas Jonathan James, William Jaures, Jean Jay, John Jeanne d’Arc, Saint (Joan of Arc) Jefferson, Thomas, U. S. President Johnson, James Weldon Johnson, William Jones, John Paul

Kartini, Raden Adjeng Keats, John Keller, Helen Adams Kellogg, Clara Louise Kennan, George Kenton, Simon Kevorkian, Jack King, Martin Luther Kropotkin, Pyotr, Prince

Lafayette, Marie Joseph Paul, Marquise de Lardner, Ring Laurier, Wilfrid Lee, Robert Edward LeMay, Curtis Leopold, Aldo Letterman, David Liberace Lincoln, Abraham, U. S. President Lincoln, Mary Ann Todd Liszt, Franz Livermore, Mary Ashton Livingstone, David Lloyd George, David Lombardi, Vince London, Jack Louis, Joe Loyola, Ignacio de, St Luther, Martin

Biographies PDF – Autobiographies PDF – M, N & O

MacDonald, John Alexander Machiavelli, Niccolo Madison, Dolley Payne Madison, James Jr., U.S. President Madonna Magellan, Ferdinand Mann, Horace Marquette, Jacques Marshall, John Martin, Dean Marx, Karl Mather, Cotton McCarthy, Joseph McKinley, William, U. S. President McQueen, Steve Catherine de Medicis, Queen of Henry II, King of France Meir, Golda Melville, Herman Milton, John Monroe, James, U. S. President Moody, Anne Morgan, James Morris Morris, Gouverneur Morris, William Morrison, Toni Morse, Samuel Finley Breese Mozart, Johann Wolfgang Amadeus Muir, John

Napoleon I, Emperor of the French Napoleon III, Emperor of the French Nehru, Jawaharlal Nelson, Horatio Nelson, Viscount Ness, Eliot Newman, John Henry, Cardinal Nicklaus, Jack Nightingale, Florence Nixon, Richard Milhous, U.S. President

Oakley, Annie O’Connell, Daniel O’Keeffe, Georgia Owen, Robert Owens, Jesse

Free Biography Books – Biographies PDF – P, Q & R

Page, Larry Paine, Ralph Delahaye Paine, Thomas Parkman, Francis Pasteur, Louis Patrick, Saint St. Vincent de Paul Pauley, Jane Penn, William Pennell, Elizabeth Robins Pepys, Samuel Perry, Oliver Hazard Peter I, the Great, Emperor of Russia Petrarca, Francesco Pitt, William, Pizarro, Francisco Poe, Edgar Allan Pontiac, Odawa Indian Chief Porter, Cole Post, Marjorie Merriweather Prince, Erik Pryor, Sara Agnes (Rice) Pumpelly, Raphael Pyle, Ernest “Ernie”

Raleigh, Sir Walter Randolph, John Ravage, Marcus Eli Reagan, Ronald, U.S. President Redmond, John Edward Reed, Anna Stevens Rehnquist, William H. Reid, Whitelaw Resnik, Judith Reuther, Walter Rhodes, Cecil John Richards, Caroline Cowles Richelieu, Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Rickenbacker, Eddie Riel, Louis Riis, Jacob August Ringling Brothers Robespierre, Maximilien Marie Isidore de Rogers, Roy Romney, George Roosevelt, Theodore, U.S. President Ross, Diana Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Christina Georgina Rousseau, Jean Jacques Ruskin, John

Free Biography Books – Biography PDF – Letter S

Samuels, Captain Samuel Savonarola, Girolamo Schubert, Franz Peter Schurz, Carl Schuyler, Catherine (Van Rensselaer) Sedgwick, Catharine M. Sevigne, Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de Seward, William H. Shackleton, Sir Ernest Henry Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper Shaw, Anna Howard Shaw, George Bernard Sherman, William Tecumseh Skinner, Burrhus Frederic Slessor, Mary Mitchell Smith, Adam Smith, John Smith, Joseph Jr. Spencer, Herbert Stanley, Henry Morton Steinbrenner, George Steinem, Gloria Steiner, Edward Alfred Stevens, Thaddeus Stillman, William James Stowe, Harriet Beecher Straus, Oscar Solomon Strindberg, August Mary Stuart, Queen of the Scots Sullivan, Louis Henry Sumner, Charles Swedenborg, Emanuel

Biographies PDF – Free Biographies to Read Online – T, U & V

Taft, William Howard, U.S. President Talon, Jean Taylor, Marshall “Major” Tecumseh Thomas, Augustus Thoreau, Henry David Thurston, Lucy G. Titian, Vecelli Tolstoy, Leo Torquemada, Tomas de Tracy, Spencer Trudeau, Edward Livingston Truth, Sojourner Tubman, Harriet Twain, Mark (Clemens, Samuel Langhorne) Vaka, Demetra (Mrs. Kenneth Brown) Van Buren, Martin, U.S. President Venizelos, Eleftherios Verlaine, Paul Marie Victoria, Queen of Great Britain Villiers, Frederic St. Vincent de Paul Voltaire, Francois Marie Arouet de Vonnegut, Kurt

Free Biography Books – Biographies PDF – W, X, Y & Z

Waddington, Mary Alsop King Wagner, Richard Walker, Madam C. J. Wallace, Lew Ward, Mary Augusta Warner, Jack Warwick, Richard Neville, Earl of Washington, Booker T. Washington, George, U.S. President Washington, Martha Dandridge Waterbury, Maria Watson, Jeannette Grace Webster, Daniel Wellesley, Arthur, 1st Duke of Wellington Wells, Ida B. Wesley, John Westinghouse, George Whitman, Walt Willard, Frances William, the Conqueror, King of England Williams, Roger Wilson, Woodrow, U.S. President Winslow, Anna Green Winthrop, John Wister, Sarah Wolsey, Thomas, Cardinal Woolf, Virginia Wright Brothers Wright, Frank Lloyd Wycliffe, John X, Malcolm Yeats, William Butler Younghusband, Sir George John

Collective Biographies are listed by authors’ names, rather than by subjects’ names.

Collective Biographies PDF – Authors A-F – Free Biography Books

Adams, Elmer Cleveland and Foster, Warren Dunham; Heroines of modern progress Adams, Oscar Fay; Dictionary of American authors Alden, Carroll Storrs and Earle, Ralph; Makers of naval tradition Beebe, Mabel Borton; Four American naval heroes: Paul Jones, Oliver H. Perry, Admiral Farragut, Admiral Dewey Bolton, Sarah Knowles; Famous American statesmen Bolton, Sarah Knowles; Famous leaders among women Bolton, Sarah Knowles; Famous voyagers and explorers Bolton, Sarah Knowles; Lives of girls who became famous Bradford, Gamaliel; American portraits, 1875-1900 Bradford, Gamaliel; Confederate portraits Bradford, Gamaliel; Portraits of American women Bradford, Gamaliel; Union portraits Brower, Harriette Moore; Story lives of master musicians Bruce, Henry Addington Bayley; Woman in the making of America Bryan, Michael; Dictionary of painters and engravers Burton, Alma Holman; Four American patriots: Patrick Henry, Andrew Jackson, Alexander Hamilton, Ulysses S. Grant Caffin, Charles Henry; American masters of painting Clement, Clara Erskine and Hutton, Laurence; Artists of the nineteenth century and their works Clement, Clara Erskine and Hutton, Laurence; Painters, sculptors, architects, engravers, and their works Dole, Nathan Haskell; Famous composers Ellis, Ellet, Elizabeth Fries Lummis; Women of the American Revolution Erskine, John; Leading American Novelists Farrar, Frederick W.; Lives of the fathers; sketches of church history Fitchett, William Henry; Nelson and his captains Franklin, John Hope, Black Leaders of the Twentieth Century Fraser, C. L.; Pirates Frothingham, Jessie Peabody; Sea fighters from Drake to Farragut

Collective Biographies – Authors G-P

Greely, Adolphus Washington; Explorers and travellers Hadow, W. H.; Studies in modern music Halsey, Francis Whiting, ed.; Women Authors of our Day in their Homes Harkins, E. F. and C. H. L. Johnston; Little Pilgrimages Among the Women who have Written Famous Books Headley, Joel Tyler; Washington and his generals Hubert, Philip G. Jr.; Inventors Husband, Joseph; Americans by adoption Iles, George; Leading American inventors Johnston, Robert M.; Leading American Soldiers Jordan, David Starr, ed.; Leading American Men of Science La Farge, John; Great masters Lanker, Brian and Summers, Barbara; I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women who Changed America Laut, Agnes Christina; Pathfinders of the West Maitland, John Alexander Fuller; Masters of German music Mason, Daniel Gregory; From Grieg to Brahms; studies of some modern composers and their art Masson, Thomas Lansing; Our American humorists Mauclair, Camille; French impressionists McCarthy, Justin; British political portraits McCarthy, Justin; Portraits of the sixties Metcalf, Frank Johnson; American writers and compilers of sacred music Morgan, Henry James, ed.; Canadian men and women of the time Morris, Charles; Heroes of progress in America Olds, Elizabeth Fagg; Women of the Four Winds Oliphant, Mrs M. O.; Makers of Florence; Dante, Giotto, Savonarola, and their city Parkman, Mary Rosetta; Heroines of service Patrick, David and Groome, F. H., eds.; Chambers’s biographical dictionary Payne, William Morton; Leading American Essayists Perry, Francis Melville, & Beebe, Katherine; Four American pioneers: Daniel Boone, George Rogers Clark, David Crockett, Kit Carson

Collective Biographies – Authors Q-Z – Free Biography Books

Rose, Phyllis, The Norton Book of Women’s Lives Seawell, Molly Elliot; Twelve naval captains Sharp, Robert Farquharson; Dictionary of English authors, biographical and bibliographical Smiles, Samuel; Industrial Biography: Iron-workers and tool-makers Smiles, Samuel; Lives of the engineers, with an account of their principal works Smith, Charles Sprague; Barbizon days Smith, Sir William; Classical dictionary of Greek and Roman biography, mythology and geography Sparks, Jared; American biography. 12 volumes Stephen, Sir Leslie; Studies of a biographer. 4 volumes Stoddard, William O.; Men of business Strachey, Giles Lytton; Eminent Victorians Strang, Lewis C.; Famous actors of the day in America Strang, Lewis C.; Famous actresses of the day in America Strickland, Agnes and Kaufman, Rosalie; Queens of England Taylor, George Robert Stirling; Modern English statesmen Thayer, William Roscoe; Throne-makers Trent, William P.; Southern statesmen of the old regime Tulloch, John; Luther and other leaders of the reformation U. S. Congress; Biographical Congressional directory Vasari, Giorgio; Lives of seventy of the most eminent painters, sculptors and architects Vedder, Henry C.; American writers of to-day Warren, Arthur; London days; a book of reminiscences Wilkinson, Spenser, ed.; From Cromwell to Wellington: twelve soldiers Wilson, J. G. & John Fiske, eds.; Appleton’s cyclopaedia of American biography Wilson, John Grant, ed.; Presidents of the United States Winship, A. E.; Great American educators Who’s Who; Who’s who in America Who Was Who; Who was who in America Worthington & Co.; Our Famous Women. Distinguished American Women of our Times Worthington & Co.; Our Famous Women. American Women… in Literature, Science, Art, Music, Drama … Youmans, William Jay, M.D.; Pioneers of science in America

Notable Women in World History: A Guide to Recommended Biographies and Autobiographies – Biography PDF

Adamson, lynda g., greenwood 1998        dewey dec.    016.

“The entries are arranged alphabetically by last name with appropriate cross-references for alternative designations. Each contains the woman’s name, key dates, occupation or avocation, and birthplace. A short biographical sketch about parents, education, general achievement, and recognition or awards follows. Women of all time periods are included. . . . Because it includes only those born outside the U.S., it complements sources on American women. -Booklist.

Read On … Biography: Reading Lists for Every Taste – Free Biography Books

Roche, rick, libraries unlimited 2008        dewey dec.    016.

“A readers’ advisory guide, with information about 450 biography titles, most published within the last decade, but including some classic titles as well… The book focuses on life stories written in the third person, with subjects ranging from individuals who lived in ancient times to the present-day, hailed from myriad nations, and gained fame in diverse fields.” -Publisher.

Index to Contemporary Biography and Criticism – Biography PDF

Hefling, helen and richards, eva, faxon 1929        dewey dec.    012.

The index is for collections of biography and criticism, not individual biographies or works of criticism. In addition to literary figures, the index covers persons in the arts, science, politics, and other fields. Most persons covered were born around 1850 or after. Free biography books.

Viewpoints in Biography; an Arrangement of Books According to their Essential Interest – Biography PDF

Tappert, katherine, american library assoc. 1921        dewey dec.    012.

Selected biographical literature, arranged according to distinct interests such as adventure, American Indians, art, etc.; brief annotations, with subject indexes.- A.L.A. Catalog 1912-1921. Biography pdf.

Standard Catalog for Public Libraries: Biography Section – Free Biography Books

Second edition revised and enlarged. about 1,150 titles of the most representative, interesting and useful biographies, wilson, h.w.; sears, minnie earl, comp., wilson 1927        dewey dec.    012.

Biography pdf.

These Century Past Pages May Be of Interest

Biography Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Biographies from Ancient History

Biographies of People in the Great Lakes States

Biography Articles

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Walk with Gandhi

Text: Gabriel Rosenstock Illustrations: Masood Hussain

Categories: Age 10-13 years , Age years 13+ , All FKB Books , Biography , Books for a Cause , Creative Commons , Editor's Picks , Gabriel Rosenstock , Grade 7+ , History , Inspirational , moral , Non-Fiction , Older Children , poetry , Spiritual , Values , Young Adult

An enlightening text on the life of Gandhi, containing enlightening snapshots of Gandhi’s life, with lots of questions for reflection, making it very suitable for school use – social studies, history, art, or English. The Haiku, images, and text reflect the remarkable life of Mahatma (‘great soul’) who brought freedom to India through non-violent protest. …

The Life Story of Ayrton Senna

Sachin Dissanayake

Categories: Age 6-9 years , All FKB Books , Biography , Careers , Cars , Children , Creative Commons , Grade 4 to Grade 6 , Intermediate English , Non-Fiction , Sachin Dissanayake

Ayrton Senna’s life, a race driver and philanthropist, is highlighted in this book for elementary school age children. The book details his early life, race successes and career, and his tragic ending and legacy.  

Sindiwe and the Fireflies

Author: Cheréne Pienaar Illustrator: Jano Strydom

Categories: Age 6-9 years , All FKB Books , Biography , BookDash , Children , Creative Commons , Inspirational , Non-Fiction

Sindiwe and the Fireflies – This is the story of Sindiwe Magona. Born in the village of Gungululu in rural Eastern Cape. Born on August 23 1943, But life was not easy on Sindiwe, she left school in order to work as a cleaner, but no matter difficult her situation was Sindiwe never gave up …

Kali Wants to Dance – Biography of Kali Veerapathiran

Author: Aparna Karthikeyan Illustrator: Somesh Kumar

Categories: Age 10-13 years , Age 6-9 years , Biography , Careers , Children , Creative Commons , Culture , Fluent English , Grade 4 to Grade 6 , Inspirational , Storyweaver-Pratham

Kali Wants to Dance is the biography of Kali Veerapathiran born in a fishing Village, with a talent and passion in dancing. But his family does not have enough money to spare for dance classes. And who has heard of boys dancing for a living? “Who has ever learned dance and made any money from it? It’s a …

What is Love – Children’s Biography of Helen Keller

Free Kids Books

Categories: Age 10-13 years , Age 6-9 years , All FKB Books , Biography , Children , Creative Commons , Danielle Bruckert , Diversity and Differences , Editor's Picks , Emotions , Free Kids Books , Grade 4 to Grade 6 , Helen Keller , Intermediate English , Non-Fiction , Older Children

In What is Love – a children’s biography of Helen Keller, an excerpt from Helen Keller’s book, The Story of My Life is included, whereupon she explains beautifully the first time she learns what love is and what her life was like before her teacher arrived, thereafter the book details the biography of Helen Keller …

The Story of My Life – Helen Keller’s Autobiography up to age 21

Helen Keller

Categories: Biography , Classic Books , Diversity and Differences , Fluent English , Grade 7+ , Helen Keller , Non-Fiction , Stories with English Worksheets

Helen Keller’s Autobiography, written at age 22, and details her growing up, before and after meeting Anne Sullivan, and her years in formal education, both special needs education and afterwards when she was accepted into main stream education, with the help of Ms Sullivan’s translation. The book includes letters written by Helen from the age …

The World I Live In and Optimism – Helen Keller

Categories: Age 10-13 years , Age years 13+ , All FKB Books , Biography , Classic Books , Fluent English , Grade 7+ , Helen Keller , Non-Fiction , Older Children , Public Domain

In The World I Live In – The Practice of Optimism, Iby Helen Keller explains in an amazing and inspiring set of biographical accounts, along with essays and poems what it is like for her in her world. Helen Keller, being both deaf and blind, seeing the world through her sense of touch, displays an …

Tine and the Faraway Mountain – Children’s biography, A story of determination

Author: Shikha Tripathi Illustrator: Ogin Nayam

Categories: Adventure , Age 6-9 years , All FKB Books , Biography , Children , Grade 1 to Grade 3 , Intermediate English , Non-Fiction , Storyweaver-Pratham

In Tine and the Faraway Mountain we follow the story of Tine Mena, a mountineer, who at the age of 25 became the first woman from North-East India to climb Everest. Tine Mena was a young girl from  Mishmi hills of Arunachal Pradesh who heard the calling of the mountains. She had to hide her …

Benjamin Franklin – Interactive Biographies for Kids

Categories: Age 6-9 years , All FKB Books , Biography , Children , Creative Commons , Grade 1 to Grade 3 , Intermediate English , Kiwi Opa , Non-Fiction

Benjamin Franklin was an amazing person, statesman, businessman, author, philanthropist, and inventor, with his achievements from the declaration of independence to contributions to discovering electricity.  This biography tells all the events of his life, interspersed with activities for children to complete. This Benjamin Franklin children’s book is great for a school or home school project. …

Dipa Karmakar – In Perfect Balance, Biography for children

Author: Sreelata Menon, Illustrator: Sonal Gupta

Categories: Age 6-9 years , All FKB Books , Biography , Children , Creative Commons , Grade 1 to Grade 3 , Intermediate English , Storyweaver-Pratham

In Perfect Balance is the story of Dipa Karmakar – Biography for children, the first female Indian Olympic gymnast. Karmakar is famous for being one of only five women in the world who have ever successfully landed the Produnova vault. The story is inspiring since Dipa had to overcome diversity, having flat feet, not suitable …

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Blog – Posted on Monday, Jan 21

The 30 best biographies of all time.

Biographer Richard Holmes once wrote that his work was “a kind of pursuit… writing about the pursuit of that fleeting figure, in such a way as to bring them alive in the present.”

At the risk of sounding cliché, the best biographies do exactly this: bring their subjects to life. A great biography isn’t just a laundry list of events that happened to someone. Rather, it should weave a narrative and tell a story in almost the same way a novel does. In this way, biography differs from the rest of nonfiction .

All the biographies on this list are just as captivating as excellent novels , if not more so. With that, please enjoy the 30 best biographies of all time — some historical, some recent, but all remarkable, life-giving tributes to their subjects.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the number of great biographies out there, you can also take our 30-second quiz below to narrow it down quickly and get a personalized biography recommendation  😉

Which biography should you read next?

Discover the perfect biography for you. Takes 30 seconds!

1. A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar

This biography of esteemed mathematician John Nash was both a finalist for the 1998 Pulitzer Prize and the basis for the award-winning film of the same name. Nasar thoroughly explores Nash’s prestigious career, from his beginnings at MIT to his work at the RAND Corporation — as well the internal battle he waged against schizophrenia, a disorder that nearly derailed his life.

2. Alan Turing: The Enigma: The Book That Inspired the Film The Imitation Game - Updated Edition by Andrew Hodges

Hodges’ 1983 biography of Alan Turing sheds light on the inner workings of this brilliant mathematician, cryptologist, and computer pioneer. Indeed, despite the title ( a nod to his work during WWII ), a great deal of the “enigmatic” Turing is laid out in this book. It covers his heroic code-breaking efforts during the war, his computer designs and contributions to mathematical biology in the years following, and of course, the vicious persecution that befell him in the 1950s — when homosexual acts were still a crime punishable by English law.

3. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton is not only the inspiration for a hit Broadway musical, but also a work of creative genius itself. This massive undertaking of over 800 pages details every knowable moment of the youngest Founding Father’s life: from his role in the Revolutionary War and early American government to his sordid (and ultimately career-destroying) affair with Maria Reynolds. He may never have been president, but he was a fascinating and unique figure in American history — plus it’s fun to get the truth behind the songs.

Prefer to read about fascinating First Ladies rather than almost-presidents? Check out this awesome list of books about First Ladies over on The Archive.

4. Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" by Zora Neale Hurston

A prolific essayist, short story writer, and novelist, Hurston turned her hand to biographical writing in 1927 with this incredible work, kept under lock and key until it was published 2018. It’s based on Hurston’s interviews with the last remaining survivor of the Middle Passage slave trade, a man named Cudjo Lewis. Rendered in searing detail and Lewis’ highly affecting African-American vernacular, this biography of the “last black cargo” will transport you back in time to an era that, chillingly, is not nearly as far away from us as it feels.

5. Churchill: A Life by Martin Gilbert

Though many a biography of him has been attempted, Gilbert’s is the final authority on Winston Churchill — considered by many to be Britain’s greatest prime minister ever. A dexterous balance of in-depth research and intimately drawn details makes this biography a perfect tribute to the mercurial man who led Britain through World War II.

Just what those circumstances are occupies much of Bodanis's book, which pays homage to Einstein and, just as important, to predecessors such as Maxwell, Faraday, and Lavoisier, who are not as well known as Einstein today. Balancing writerly energy and scholarly weight, Bodanis offers a primer in modern physics and cosmology, explaining that the universe today is an expression of mass that will, in some vastly distant future, one day slide back to the energy side of the equation, replacing the \'dominion of matter\' with \'a great stillness\'--a vision that is at once lovely and profoundly frightening.

Without sliding into easy psychobiography, Bodanis explores other circumstances as well; namely, Einstein's background and character, which combined with a sterling intelligence to afford him an idiosyncratic view of the way things work--a view that would change the world. --Gregory McNamee

6. E=mc²: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation by David Bodanis

This “biography of the world’s most famous equation” is a one-of-a-kind take on the genre: rather than being the story of Einstein, it really does follow the history of the equation itself. From the origins and development of its individual elements (energy, mass, and light) to their ramifications in the twentieth century, Bodanis turns what could be an extremely dry subject into engaging fare for readers of all stripes.

7. Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario

When Enrique was only five years old, his mother left Honduras for the United States, promising a quick return. Eleven years later, Enrique finally decided to take matters into his own hands in order to see her again: he would traverse Central and South America via railway, risking his life atop the “train of death” and at the hands of the immigration authorities, to reunite with his mother. This tale of Enrique’s perilous journey is not for the faint of heart, but it is an account of incredible devotion and sharp commentary on the pain of separation among immigrant families.

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

Herrera’s 1983 biography of renowned painter Frida Kahlo, one of the most recognizable names in modern art, has since become the definitive account on her life. And while Kahlo no doubt endured a great deal of suffering (a horrific accident when she was eighteen, a husband who had constant affairs), the focal point of the book is not her pain. Instead, it’s her artistic brilliance and immense resolve to leave her mark on the world — a mark that will not soon be forgotten, in part thanks to Herrera’s dedicated work.

9. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Perhaps the most impressive biographical feat of the twenty-first century, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is about a woman whose cells completely changed the trajectory of modern medicine. Rebecca Skloot skillfully commemorates the previously unknown life of a poor black woman whose cancer cells were taken, without her knowledge, for medical testing — and without whom we wouldn’t have many of the critical cures we depend upon today.

10. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Christopher McCandless, aka Alexander Supertramp, hitchhiked to Alaska and disappeared into the Denali wilderness in April 1992. Five months later, McCandless was found emaciated and deceased in his shelter — but of what cause? Krakauer’s biography of McCandless retraces his steps back to the beginning of the trek, attempting to suss out what the young man was looking for on his journey, and whether he fully understood what dangers lay before him.

11. Let Us Now Praise Famous Men: Three Tenant Families by James Agee

"Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers that begat us.” From this line derives the central issue of Agee and Evans’ work: who truly deserves our praise and recognition? According to this 1941 biography, it’s the barely-surviving sharecropper families who were severely impacted by the American “Dust Bowl” — hundreds of people entrenched in poverty, whose humanity Evans and Agee desperately implore their audience to see in their book.

12. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann

Another mysterious explorer takes center stage in this gripping 2009 biography. Grann tells the story of Percy Fawcett, the archaeologist who vanished in the Amazon along with his son in 1925, supposedly in search of an ancient lost city. Parallel to this narrative, Grann describes his own travels in the Amazon 80 years later: discovering firsthand what threats Fawcett may have encountered, and coming to realize what the “Lost City of Z” really was.

13. Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang

Though many of us will be familiar with the name Mao Zedong, this prodigious biography sheds unprecedented light upon the power-hungry “Red Emperor.” Chang and Halliday begin with the shocking statistic that Mao was responsible for 70 million deaths during peacetime — more than any other twentieth-century world leader. From there, they unravel Mao’s complex ideologies, motivations, and missions, breaking down his long-propagated “hero” persona and thrusting forth a new, grislier image of one of China’s biggest revolutionaries.

14. Mad Girl's Love Song: Sylvia Plath and Life Before Ted by Andrew Wilson by Andrew Wilson

Titled after one of her most evocative poems, this shimmering bio of Sylvia Plath takes an unusual approach. Instead of focusing on her years of depression and tempestuous marriage to poet Ted Hughes, it chronicles her life before she ever came to Cambridge. Wilson closely examines her early family and relationships, feelings and experiences, with information taken from her meticulous diaries — setting a strong precedent for other Plath biographers to follow.

15. The Minds of Billy Milligan by Daniel Keyes

What if you had twenty-four different people living inside you, and you never knew which one was going to come out? Such was the life of Billy Milligan, the subject of this haunting biography by the author of Flowers for Algernon . Keyes recounts, in a refreshingly straightforward style, the events of Billy’s life and how his psyche came to be “split”... as well as how, with Keyes’ help, he attempted to put the fragments of himself back together.

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

This gorgeously constructed biography follows Paul Farmer, a doctor who’s worked for decades to eradicate infectious diseases around the globe, particularly in underprivileged areas. Though Farmer’s humanitarian accomplishments are extraordinary in and of themselves, the true charm of this book comes from Kidder’s personal relationship with him — and the sense of fulfillment the reader sustains from reading about someone genuinely heroic, written by someone else who truly understands and admires what they do.

17. Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts

Here’s another bio that will reshape your views of a famed historical tyrant, though this time in a surprisingly favorable light. Decorated scholar Andrew Roberts delves into the life of Napoleon Bonaparte, from his near-flawless military instincts to his complex and confusing relationship with his wife. But Roberts’ attitude toward his subject is what really makes this work shine: rather than ridiculing him ( as it would undoubtedly be easy to do ), he approaches the “petty tyrant” with a healthy amount of deference.

18. The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson IV by Robert A. Caro

Lyndon Johnson might not seem as intriguing or scandalous as figures like Kennedy, Nixon, or W. Bush. But in this expertly woven biography, Robert Caro lays out the long, winding road of his political career, and it’s full of twists you wouldn’t expect. Johnson himself was a surprisingly cunning figure, gradually maneuvering his way closer and closer to power. Finally, in 1963, he got his greatest wish — but at what cost? Fans of Adam McKay’s Vice , this is the book for you.

19. Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser

Anyone who grew up reading Little House on the Prairie will surely be fascinated by this tell-all biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Caroline Fraser draws upon never-before-published historical resources to create a lush study of the author’s life — not in the gently narrated manner of the Little House series, but in raw and startling truths about her upbringing, marriage, and volatile relationship with her daughter (and alleged ghostwriter) Rose Wilder Lane.

20. Prince: A Private View by Afshin Shahidi

Compiled just after the superstar’s untimely death in 2016, this intimate snapshot of Prince’s life is actually a largely visual work — Shahidi served as his private photographer from the early 2000s until his passing. And whatever they say about pictures being worth a thousand words, Shahidi’s are worth more still: Prince’s incredible vibrance, contagious excitement, and altogether singular personality come through in every shot.

21. Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss

Could there be a more fitting title for a book about the husband-wife team who discovered radioactivity? What you may not know is that these nuclear pioneers also had a fascinating personal history. Marie Sklodowska met Pierre Curie when she came to work in his lab in 1891, and just a few years later they were married. Their passion for each other bled into their passion for their work, and vice-versa — and in almost no time at all, they were on their way to their first of their Nobel Prizes.

22. Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson

She may not have been assassinated or killed in a mysterious plane crash, but Rosemary Kennedy’s fate is in many ways the worst of “the Kennedy Curse.” As if a botched lobotomy that left her almost completely incapacitated weren’t enough, her parents then hid her away from society, almost never to be seen again. Yet in this new biography, penned by devoted Kennedy scholar Kate Larson, the full truth of Rosemary’s post-lobotomy life is at last revealed.

23. Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford

This appropriately lyrical biography of brilliant Jazz Age poet and renowned feminist, Edna St. Vincent Millay, is indeed a perfect balance of savage and beautiful. While Millay’s poetic work was delicate and subtle, the woman herself was feisty and unpredictable, harboring unusual and occasionally destructive habits that Milford fervently explores.

24. Shelley: The Pursuit by Richard Holmes

Holmes’ famous philosophy of “biography as pursuit” is thoroughly proven here in his first full-length biographical work. Shelley: The Pursuit details an almost feverish tracking of Percy Shelley as a dark and cutting figure in the Romantic period — reforming many previous historical conceptions about him through Holmes’ compelling and resolute writing.

25. Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin

Another Gothic figure has been made newly known through this work, detailing the life of prolific horror and mystery writer Shirley Jackson. Author Ruth Franklin digs deep into the existence of the reclusive and mysterious Jackson, drawing penetrating comparisons between the true events of her life and the dark nature of her fiction.

26. The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel

Fans of Into the Wild and The Lost City of Z will find their next adventure fix in this 2017 book about Christopher Knight, a man who lived by himself in the Maine woods for almost thirty years. The tale of this so-called “last true hermit” will captivate readers who have always fantasized about escaping society, with vivid descriptions of Knight’s rural setup, his carefully calculated moves and how he managed to survive the deadly cold of the Maine winters.

27. Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

The man, the myth, the legend: Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple, is properly immortalized in Isaacson’s masterful biography. It divulges the details of Jobs’ little-known childhood and tracks his fateful path from garage engineer to leader of one of the largest tech companies in the world — not to mention his formative role in other legendary companies like Pixar, and indeed within the Silicon Valley ecosystem as a whole.

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

Olympic runner Louis Zamperini was just twenty-six when his US Army bomber crashed and burned in the Pacific, leaving him and two other men afloat on a raft for forty-seven days — only to be captured by the Japanese Navy and tortured as a POW for the next two and a half years. In this gripping biography, Laura Hillenbrand tracks Zamperini’s story from beginning to end… including how he embraced Christian evangelism as a means of recovery, and even came to forgive his tormentors in his later years.

29. Vera (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov) by Stacy Schiff

Everyone knows of Vladimir Nabokov — but what about his wife, Vera, whom he called “the best-humored woman I have ever known”? According to Schiff, she was a genius in her own right, supporting Vladimir not only as his partner, but also as his all-around editor and translator. And she kept up that trademark humor throughout it all, inspiring her husband’s work and injecting some of her own creative flair into it along the way.

30. Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt

William Shakespeare is a notoriously slippery historical figure — no one really knows when he was born, what he looked like, or how many plays he wrote. But that didn’t stop Stephen Greenblatt, who in 2004 turned out this magnificently detailed biography of the Bard: a series of imaginative reenactments of his writing process, and insights on how the social and political ideals of the time would have influenced him. Indeed, no one exists in a vacuum, not even Shakespeare — hence the conscious depiction of him in this book as a “will in the world,” rather than an isolated writer shut up in his own musty study.

If you're looking for more inspiring nonfiction, check out this list of 30 engaging self-help books , or this list of the last century's best memoirs !

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