5 Minute Biographies

“Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself” – Charlie Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin Biography Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, known to the world as Charlie, was born on 16 April 1889 to music hall entertainers Charles Chaplin Sr, a singer and son of a butcher and Hannah Harriet Pedlingham Hill, who had …

“I’m not sure that acting is something for a grown man to be doing.” – Steve McQueen Steve McQueen Biography The King of Cool as he became known, was born Terence Steven McQueen on 24 March 1930, in a suburb of Indianapolis called Beech Grove. He grew up on his uncle Claude’s farm during the …

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria Biography Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria was born on 20 November, 1875 in Graz, Austria. It is his assassination that is credited with triggering World War I, though this was really just the tipping point in a complex geo-political web that led to the greatest loss of life …

Catherine de Medici Biography Catherine de Medici was a formidable woman. She was the daughter of nobility, the mother of kings, and the wife of King Henry II of France. The times through which she lived demanded not a subservient queen but a powerful right hand to those in charge and although there is contention …

“What have I got? No looks, no money, no education. Just talent.” – Sammy Davis Jr. Sammy Davis Jr. Biography Samuel George Davis Junior, who will forever be known as Sammy, was born in Harlem, New York City, New York, USA on 8 December 1925. As his name suggests, he is the son of Sammy …

“Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” – Bruce Lee Bruce Lee Biography Lee Jun-fan (Bruce Lee was his professional name) was born on 27 November 1940 in the Chinatown district of San Francisco, USA. He was the fourth of five children born to father Lee Hoi-chuen who was a …

Julius Caesar Biography Julius Caesar is sometimes regarded as more myth than man due to his famous, or perhaps rather notorious, place in history as the harbinger of the end of the Roman Republic and the first emperor in the Roman Empire. A brilliant tactician, politically savvy, and intellectually enlightened writer of Latin prose, Julius …

“No man is good enough to govern any woman without her consent.” – Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony Biography When people think of the rights of women, of the protection of those rights, and of those who fought most vigorously to secure them, few names come to mind swifter, in the United States at …

“No man has a good enough memory to be a successful liar.” – Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was a fairly simple man, and with the hindsight of history, some have judged him unfairly, attempting to hold a 19th-century man to 21st century standards. However, when viewed as a man of his times, what he said …

“Slavery has never been abolished from America’s way of thinking.” – Nina Simone Nina Simone Biography Nina Simone was a complicated woman.  Extraordinarily talented musically, she played a wide variety of styles, and although well-known and critically acclaimed, she only had one song reach the top 20 chart in the United States throughout her whole …

“I have not yet begun to fight!” – John Paul Jones John Paul Jones Biography The reputation and legacy of John Paul Jones really depends on which side of the Atlantic you are on. In Britain, he is commonly thought of as a privateer at best and a pirate at worst. Having originally served for …

“Of all losses, time is the most irrecuperable for it can never be redeemed.” – King Henry VIII King Henry VIII Biography King Henry VIII is probably the most well-known and most studied of English monarchs. His reign is often seen as a prelude to and the forerunner of the British empire. Certainly, without the …

“I rob banks for a living, what do you do?” – John Dillinger John Dillinger Biography The Depression-era has become a somewhat romanticised time in American history, especially as the memory of it fades from the collective consciousness. It was a time when people used to think that outlaws still had a certain amount of …

Waylon Jennings Biography Waylon Jennings is a Texan legend when it comes to musical expression and songwriting. Born in Littlefield, Texas, USA on 15 June 1937, Waylon Jennings went on to have an extensive and ground-breaking career which included not only songwriting for which he received multiple awards but also saw him taking on acting …

Francis Crick Biography Francis Harry Campton Crick is one of the most influential and brilliant scientific minds of the 20th century. Dabbling in various fields but specifically in physics and microbiology, Francis Crick was a specialist in a highly specialised field. Born 8 June 1916 Francis Crick’s family was certainly no stranger to a high …

“The body is meant to be seen, not all covered up” – Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe Biography Norma Jeane Mortensen, better known to the rest of the world as legendary Hollywood actress, Marilyn Monroe, was born on 1 June 1926 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She could be considered to be born into the film …

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together” – Vincent Van Gogh Vincent van Gogh Biography Vincent Willem van Gogh was a 19th-century Dutch post-impressionist painter known for his influences on the history of western art. He was born 30 March 1853 in the southern Netherlands. His father was a Dutch …

“I believe in the dollar. Everything I earn, I spend.” – Joan Crawford Joan Crawford Biography Lucille Fay LeSueur was the birth name of Hollywood actress Joan Crawford when she was born in San Antonio, Texas, USA. She was born on 23 March, although the year is somewhat contested. She claimed herself that she was …

“The secret of golf is to turn three shots into two.” – Bobby Jones Bobby Jones Biography Robert Tyre Jones Jr. was born on 17 March 1902 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA to parents Clara Thomas and Robert Purmedus Jones. The Jones family spent their summer vacation time at the East Lake Country Club in Atlanta …

“I see Earth! It is so beautiful!” – Yuri Gagarin Yuri Gagarin Biography Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was born on 9 March 1934 in a small village called Klushino which is about 190km from Moscow, Russia. His parents, Alexey Ivanovich and Anna Timofeyevna worked on a collective farm which is where a number of farmers work …