Sylvia Beach (1887 - 1962)

Literary Folk Figure. A noted book-seller, she is remembered as the hub of the ‘Lost Generation’ of Parisian expatriates during the 1920s and 1930s. Born Nancy Woodbridge Beach to a long line of Presbyterian ministers, she chose the name “Sylvia” for reasons of her own, was raised in Baltimore and in New Jersey, moved to […]

Farzad Bazoft (1958 - 1990)

Journalist. Born in Iran, Bazoft moved to the United Kingdom and became a reporter for the British newspaper The Observer. While investigating an explosion at an arms factory in Baghdad, Iraq, he was arrested for spying. Despite promises of a fair trial by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Bazoft was given a one-day, behind-closed-doors trial. He […]

William Baziotes (1912 - 1963)

American Abstract Expressionist Painter. Founded The Subjects of the Artist school in New York. Today his works can be seen in the Guggenheim Museum, Harvard University Art Museums, Massachusetts, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C. (bio by: Laurie)

Mikola Bazhan (1904 - 1983)

Writer and poet.

Félix Bayón (1970 - 2006)

Author, Journalist. He was born in Cádiz, Andalucia, Spain. He developed a prolific career as journalist for the newspaper “El País” from his foundation. Also, he worked for “Le Monde” and “Diario de Málaga.”  As a writer, he is best remembered for his book “Adosados,” whic he adapted to the cinema. His script won awards […]

Clifford Bax (1886 - 1962)

Author and playwright.Born in Knightsbridge, London, England.  Educated at Slade and Heatherly Art School.  Edited Orpheus, a theosophical magazine, and the Golden Hind, a literary magazine.  He married twice.  From his first marriage he had a daughter.  From his second he had two stepsons, both killed in WWII.  He published, edited or collaborated on 42 […]

Nina Bawden (1925 - 2012)

Author. Born Nina Mary Mabey, she wrote more than 40 books and was best-known for her novel “Carrie’s War” (1973), based on her World War II childhood experiences in England. As a young woman she studied politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford, before publishing her early novels about adult gothics and mysteries in 1950s. By […]

L. Frank Baum (1856 - 1919)

Author and Journalist. Lyman Frank Baum (who used “Frank” as his Christian name throughout his life) showed a remarkable inclination for journalism from an early age, publishing his own small newspaper and stamp-collecting magazine while still in his teens. He would run several small publications through his adult life, taking jobs with newspapers like the […]

Eduard von Bauernfeld (1802 - 1890)

Playwright.  He helped broaden the scope of 19th Century German-language theatre.  His farces and comedies of manners offered thinly-veiled social and political satires of his era,  written in an offhand,  almost flippant style to get around the censors.  The most popular included “The Dear Protocol” (1831),  “The Confessions” (1834),  “The Middle Class and the Romantics” […]

John Bauer (1882 - 1918)

Swedish Artist and Illustrator. Acclaimed for describing the world of elves, trolls and the mystique of the Nordic fairy tales. From 1907-1910 and 1912-1915 he illustrated a Swedish annual Christmas book for children, called “Bland tomtar och troll” (Among Elves and Trolls). That title has become synonumous with his pictures more than the contents of […]

Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867)

French Poet. Known as “the father of modern criticism.” Charles Baudelaire was born in Paris, where he lived most of his life. His father was a sixty-year-old ex-priest and widower when he married his mother orphan who was twenty-six. His father died in 1827. His stepfather, who became a senator, died in 1857. Baudelaire worshipped […]

Jean-Dominique Bauby (1952 - 1997)

Author.  Born and raised in Paris,  he was a journalist for French Elle magazine and became its editor-in-chief in 1991.  Nicknamed “Jean-Do” by his friends,  he was a noted bon vivant and a fixture of fashionable Parisian society.  In December 1995,  at the age of 43,  Bauby suffered a massive stroke which left him completely […]

Katharine Lee Bates (1859 - 1929)

Poetess, Author, Educator. The author of the lyrics to “America the Beautiful”, she was born in the town of Falmouth on Massachusetts’ Cape Cod, and her father died only a month after her birth from a spinal tumor. A precocious child, it has been related that “Katie” helped her mother survive the first years of […]

H. E. Bates (1905 - 1974)

Author. A prolific writer of novels, short stories, non-fiction, and children’s books, he is probably best remembered for his novels “Love for Lydia” (1952), “The Darling Buds of May” (1958, the first of the five ‘Pop Larkin’ series of novels), and his short-story series “My Uncle Silas” (1939). Many of his stories depict life in […]

Gilbert Henderson Bates (1836 - 1917)

Folk Figure,  Author. During the Civil War he was a Sergeant in the 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery. In 1868 his radical Republican neighbor told him anti-Union feeling meant no representative of the United States was safe in the former Confederacy. Bates, a Democrat, wagered he could walk unscathed through the southern states while carrying an […]

Denzil Batchelor (1906 - 1969)

Batchelor was a general sports journalist, leading cricket writer & broadcaster. (bio by: Connie Nisinger) Cause of death: Heart attack

Hamilton Basso (1904 - 1964)

Author. Among his popular works are “The World from Jackson Square,” “The Green Room,” and “The View from Pompey’s Head.” (bio by: Laurie)

Giorgio Bassani (1916 - 2000)

Author. Born in Bologna, Italy, into a Jewish family. He published his first book, “Una Città di Pianura” (1940),  under a pseudonym because of Mussolini’s anti-Semitic policies,  and was active as an anti-fascist fighter during World War II.  Bassani is best remembered for his novel “Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini”,  which earned him the Viareggio Award. […]

Dr Jonas Basanavicius (1851 - 1927)

Lithuanian Statesman. He was the patriarch of the Lithuanian National Movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the first signer of the Lithuanian Declaration of Independence (1918). A physician by profession, Basanavicius was a prolific writer who rallied the Lithuanian nation to national consciousness which resulted in Lithuanian independence being achieved. His […]

Jaime Barylko (1970 - 2002)

Writer and philosopher. He wrote “Cómo ser Persona en Tiempo de Crisis,” “En Busca de Uno Mismo,” “Cábala de la Luz,” “El Hombre que Está Solo y no Espera,” among others. (bio by: 380W)

Bernard Barton (1784 - 1849)

Poet. Like John Greenleaf Whittier in America, he is known as “The Quaker Poet”. He was born in Carlisle, but became apprenticed to a shopkeeper in Suffolk. In 1806, he moved to Woodbridge in the same county, where, with his brother, he founded a coal and corn merchants. At about this time, he married ; […]

John Bartlett (1820 - 1905)

Author. He is best remembered for his work “Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations” which was published in 1855. Known for his memory for quotations and trivia, “Ask John Bartlett” became a byword in the community whenever someone was stumped. His father was a descendant of the Mayflower Pilgrims Love Brewster, one of the founders of the town […]

Edward Ellsworth Bartholomew (1914 - 2003)

Historian. He was a prolific researcher and noted author of numerous non-fiction books about the American Old West, occasionally writing under the pseudonym “Jesse Ed Rascoe”. He had a particular interest in outlaws and gunfighters. He published books about such notable Western hardcases as Wild Bill Longley, Cullen Baker and Black Jack Ketchum. Perhaps his […]

Stan Barstow (1928 - 2011)

Author, Screenwriter. Best remembered for his novel “A Kind of Loving” (1960), which was made into a 1962 motion picture adaptation. The son of a coal miner, he dropped out of grammar school at age sixteen to work as a draftsman with a local engineering company. After marrying and beginning his family, he initiated his […]

Istvan Barsony (1855 - 1928)

Author. He was an award-winning Hungarian author. When he was four, his father, Janos and mother, Lujza moved the family to Nagykaroly. He completed his primary and secondary school studies in Nagykároly, Bratislava and Szatmárnémeti where his literary skills were already evident. Relocating to Budapest with the intention of practicing law, he soon transitioned into […]

Philip Barry, Sr (1896 - 1949)

Author. He is best remembered for his plays, often adapted to the cinema: “The Philadelphia Story,” “Holiday,” “Without Love,” “Here Comes the Clowns,” “The Animal Kingdom,” and “Tomorrow and Tomorrow.” (bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni)  Family links:  Spouse:  Ellen Semple Barry (1898 – 1995)*  Children:  Philip Barry (1923 – 1998)*  Peter Jonathan Barry (1926 […]

Clarence W. Barron (1855 - 1928)

Publisher, Journalist. In 1903 he purchased Dow Jones & Company, following the death of co-founder Charles Dow. From 1912 until his death, he was president of Dow Jones. During this period, as de facto manager of The Wall Street Journal, he expanded its daily circulation, modernized its printing press operations, and deepened its reporting capabilities. […]

Sir James Matthew Barrie (1860 - 1937)

Playwright. Born in the small weaving town of Kirriemuir, Scotland in 1860, he is most remembered for the creation of “Peter Pan” and the world of “Never Land.” The story of “Peter Pan” began with a book called “The Little White Bird,” published in 1902. The character, Peter, was introduced as a baby, and he […]

Ulises Barrera (1925 - 2005)

Journalist. During his +50 years career his columns about boxing marked an age in Argentine Sports, following the careers of great fighters like “Ringo” Bonavena, Carlos Monzón, Horacio Accavallo and many others. (bio by: 380W)

Alexander Baron (1917 - 1999)

Highly acclaimed British novelist and screenwriter. He was Britains greatest writer during World War II. Baron wrote books such as “From The City, From The Plough,” “There’s No Home,” and “The Human Kind.” As a scriptwriter “The Human Kind” was sold to Hollywood as “The Victors.” Also sold to Hollywood was “The Golden Princess” other […]