5 Minute Biographies

“I’m so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark.” – Muhammad Ali Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr, later to be known to the whole world as Muhammad Ali, was born on 17 January 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. His father …

“I’ve only slept with men I’ve been married to. How many women can make that claim?” – Elizabeth Taylor Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor was born on 27 February 1932 at the family home in the Hampstead Garden Suburb of London. Her parents were Francis Lenn Taylor who was an art dealer and the retired actress Sara …

“I won’t be a rock star. I will be a legend.” – Freddie Mercury Farrokh Bulsara, known to everyone in the world as Freddie Mercury was born on 5 September 1946 in Stone Town, Zanzibar, which is now part of Tanzania. He was the second of two children, as he had a younger sister called …

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” – Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison was born on 11 February 1847 in Milan, Ohio, USA, but in 1854, the family moved to Port Huron, Michigan due to his father, Samuel getting a job there. Thomas was the youngest of seven children and …

“Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose.” – Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva was born on 21 March 1960 in São Paulo, Brazil to parents Milton da Silva and his wife Neide Senna da Silva. He was the middle of three children, having an older sister called Viviane and …

Henry Tudor was born on 28 January 1457 during a period of turmoil and conflict over the succession of the English throne. He was the son of the Countess of Richmond, Lady Margaret Beaufort and Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, although Edmund died at Carmarthen Castle three months before Henry was born after being …

“I’m gonna sing, and I’m going to make me a lot of money.” – Sam Cooke Samuel Cook was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA on 22 January 1931 and was the fifth of eight children born to a minister, the Reverend Charles Cook and his wife Annie Mae. When Samuel was only two years old, …

“There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” – Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was born on 16 October 1854 in Dublin Ireland to parents Sir William Wilde, Ireland’s leading oto-ophthalmologist (that is a specialist in ear and eye conditions) and his …

“I would rather die than do something which I know to be a sin, or to be against God’s will.” – Joan of Arc Joan of Arc was born to parents Jacques d’Arc and his wife Isabelle in the year 1412 in a village called Domrémy in France, which has since changed its name to …

“Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open.” – Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell was born in the family home on South Charlotte Street in Edinburgh, Scotland on 3 March 1847. He was the middle one of three brothers. His older …

“Adding sound to movies would be like putting lipstick on the Venus de Milo.” – Mary Pickford The actress and movie producer known to everyone as Mary Pickford was born Gladys Louise Smith on 8 April 1892 in Toronto, Canada to parents John, who worked various jobs, including as a purser on board steamships and …

“When I die, I want people to play my music, go wild, and freak out an’ do anything they wanna do.” – Jimi Hendrix Johnny Allen Hendrix was born on 27 November 1942 in Seattle, Washington, USA, and was the first of five children born to Lucille Jeter and James Allen Hendrix, whom everyone knew …

“Never make a defence or apology before you be accused.” – King Charles I On 19 November 1600, Anne of Denmark, the wife of King James VI of Scotland gave birth to their second son at Dunfermline Palace in Fife. He was named Charles and was baptised at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh on 23 December …

“Anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without affection.” – Jane Austen Jane Austen was born during one of the harshest winters on record, on 16 December 1775 in the small rural village of Steventon, Hampshire, England, which is about seven miles from the town of Basingstoke and due to the treacherous …

“Life is too short to work so hard.” – Vivien Leigh The British Actress known as Vivien Leigh was born in Darjeeling, in what was then British India on 5 November 1913. She was the only child of Ernest Richard Hadley, a Scottish-born broker and his wife Gertrude Mary Frances, a devout Roman Catholic who …

“Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.” – Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne was born on 8 February 1828 on Île Feydeau, which was a small man-made island which sits within the boundaries of the …

“I am like any other man. All I do is supply a demand.” – Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone was born on 17 January 1899 in Brooklyn, New York to immigrant parents Gabriele who was a barber and Teresa who was a seamstress, both of whom were from just outside Naples, Italy and had moved …

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr was a minister and civil rights activist who spoke out against racial segregation in the United States of America. He led the Montgomery bus boycott in …

“Trust, but verify.” – Ronald Reagan. Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on 6 February 1911 in Tampico, Illinois, USA to parents Jack, a salesman whose grandparents had emigrated from Ireland to the USA and Nelle who was of English, Irish and Scottish ancestry and who was very active and influential within the Disciples of Christ …

“Every bad situation is a blues song waiting to happen.” – Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse was born to Jewish parents, a window panel installer called Mitchell Winehouse and a pharmacist called Janis on 14 September 1983 at Chase Farm Hospital in North London. She lived with her parents and her older brother Alex in …