Irving Berlin Biography

The American composer Irving Berlin produced over eight hundred songs, many of which attained worldwide popularity. His patriotic songs, especially "God Bless America," summed up the feelings of Americans at the time.

Leonard Bernstein Biography

Leonard Bernstein was an American composer (writer of music), conductor, and pianist. His special gift of bridging the gap between the concert hall and the world of Broadway made him one of the most glamorous musical figures of his day.

Chuck Berry Biography

Chuck Berry, known as the "father of rock and roll," has been a major influence on popular music. Though his career and life reached great peaks and declined to low valleys, he has survived while his contemporaries (others from the same time period) have vanished.

Mary Mcleod Bethune Biography

Mary McLeod Bethune, an African American teacher, was one of the great educators in United States history. She was a leader of women, an adviser to several American presidents, and a powerful champion of equality among races.

Benazir Bhutto Biography

Benazir Bhutto became prime minister of Pakistan in 1988. She was the first woman in modern times to head the government of an Islamic state, and she followed her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who served as prime minister from 1971 to 1977.

Owen Bieber Biography

From 1983 to 1995 Owen Bieber was president of the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, the third-largest labor union in the United States. He was a key figure in the U.S.

Billy the Kid Biography

William H. Bonney, known as Billy the Kid, was the youngest and most famous example of a gun-fighter from the American West.

Larry Bird Biography

Few players have left a mark on 1980s professional basketball like Larry Bird, the famous forward for the Boston Celtics.

Shirley Temple Black Biography

Shirley Temple Black is widely regarded as an American heroine who devoted her career first to films and then to public service. The United States ambassador to Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992, she is still remembered by millions of fans for her success as a child movie star in the 1930s.

Elizabeth Blackwell Biography

The first woman in America to receive a medical degree, Elizabeth Blackwell crusaded for the admission of women to medical schools in the United States and Europe.

Tony Blair Biography

British politician and Prime Minister Tony Blair represented a new era in Parliament and made major changes to the Labour Party along the way.

William Blake Biography

William Blake was an English poet, engraver, and painter. A boldly imaginative rebel in both his thought and his art, he combined poetic and pictorial genius to explore life.

Konrad Bloch Biography

Konrad Bloch's investigations of the complex processes by which animal cells produce cholesterol have increased our understanding of the biochemistry of living organisms and have helped further research into treatment of various common diseases. For his contributions to the study of how the body creates cholesterol, he was awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Judy Blume Biography

Perhaps the most popular author ever of works for upper elementary to junior high school readers, Judy Blume is the creator of honest, often humorous stories that focus on the concerns of teenagers. Her books, including others written for both younger and older audiences, have sold over seventy million copies around the world.

Humphrey Bogart Biography

The American stage and screen actor Humphrey Bogart was one of Hollywood, California's, most durable stars and a performer of considerable skill, subtlety, and individuality.

Julian Bond Biography

J ulian Bond is a civil rights leader, political activist, and politician who has spent most of his life fighting for equality in America. He has remained committed to the causes he believes in since joining the civil rights movement as a young college student.

Daniel Boone Biography

An American frontiersman and explorer, Daniel Boone was the greatest woodsman in United States history. He left behind many lands that he had discovered, protected, settled, and improved.

John Wilkes Booth Biography

One of the most promising American actors of his time, John Wilkes Booth was a vocal supporter of the South during the Civil War (1861โ€“65) and was the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln (1809โ€“1865).

William Booth Biography

The English evangelist (crusading preacher) William Booth founded the Salvation Army, an international Christian organization for charitable and evangelical work (encouraging people to save their souls through religious faith).

Lucrezia Borgia Biography

Lucrezia Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara, earned a reputation as a political schemer in fifteenth century Italy. In actuality, she was simply used by her father and brother to further their own political goals.

P.W. Botha Biography

After serving for six years as prime minister, P. W.

Sandro Botticelli Biography

The Italian painter Botticelli was one of the major artists in Florence during the Renaissance (a period of revived interest in Greek and Roman culture that began in Italy during the fourteenth century).

Margaret Bourke-White Biography

American photographer Margaret Bourke-White was a leader in the new field of photo-journalism. As a staff photographer for Fortune and Life magazines, she covered the major political and social issues of the 1930s and 1940s.

Boutros Boutros-Ghali Biography

Appointed the sixth secretary-general of the United Nations (UN) in November 1991, Boutros Boutros-Ghali Reproduced by permission of AP/Wide World Photos. is respected around the world for his distinguished career as a lawyer, scholar, and international diplomat.

Ray Bradbury Biography

Ray Bradbury was among the first authors to combine the ideas of science fiction with a more developed writing style. In much of Bradbury's fiction, everyday events are transformed into unusual and sometimes dangerous situations.

Ed Bradley Biography

Edward R. Bradley was born on June 22, 1941.

Mathew Brady Biography

The American photographer, publisher, and historian (a professional writer of history) Mathew Brady was known for his portraits (pictures of a person showing his or her face) of famous people and his vast photographic record of the Civil War (1861โ€“65).

Johannes Brahms Biography

The German composer (writer of music), pianist, and conductor Johannes Brahms was one of the most significant composers of the nineteenth century. His works combine the warm feeling of the Romantic period with the control of classical influences such as Johann Sebastian Bach (1685โ€“1750) and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770โ€“1827).