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 (1835 - 1928)

Writer.

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 […]

Pío Baroja (1872 - 1956)

Author. Noted Spanish writer, born in San Sebastián (País Vasco). He was part of the Generation of 1898. He is remembered for his books “La Busca”, “Las Inquietudes de Shanti Andía”, “El Mundo es Ansí”, “El Arbol de la Ciencia” and “Zalacaín, el Aventurero.” (bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni)

Natalie Clifford Barney (1876 - 1972)

Poet, Memoirist and Epigrammatist. Her father, Albert Clifford Barney, inherited a railroad fortune, which allowed Natalie to move in the highest social and diplomatic circles. High society and its rigid protocal bored her so she was eager to pursue her own adventures. As a child, she had visited Europe many times, and when she was […]

William Barnes (1801 - 1886)

Poet. The son of a farmer, he was born at Bagber, near Sturminster in North Dorset, England. He was educated locally and worked as a clerk until 1823 when he became a schoolmaster. He married in 1827 and began working toward a degree in divinity at Saint John’s College in Cambridge on a part-time basis […]

Peter Barnes (1931 - 2004)

British playwright. His most famous drama is “The Ruling Class.” His best known play was Red Roses which won an Olivier Award for best play in the early 80s. One of his last completed screenplays is to air on Granada television in 2004. Based on his own life, the 2-part drama, titled Babies, tells the […]

Margaret Ayer Barnes (1886 - 1967)

Novelist, Playwright. She attended Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and took up writing after a car accident she was in broke her back. From 1926 to 1930 she wrote several short stories. In 1931 she won the Pulitzer Prize for her book, “Years Of Grace.” Her other books include, “Dishonored Lady” (1947) and “Westward Passage” […]

Djuna Barnes (1892 - 1982)

Writer/Journalist: She was home schooled as a child. She attended Pratt Institute and Art Students League. She was a writer and illustrator for the Brooklyn Eagle. She published her first poetry book, “The Book of Repulsive Women” in 1915. By 1919, 3 of her plays were producted at the Provincetown Players. She published “A Book” […]

Mary E Barnard (1909 - 2001)

Mary E Barnard Mary Ethel Barnard was an American poet, biographer and Greek-to-English translator. She is known for her elegant rendering of the works of Sappho, a translation which has never gone out of print. Paideuma: A Journal Devoted to Ezra Pound Scholarship, Issue 94, was exclusively dedicated to her work and her correspondence with […]

Arturo Barea (1897 - 1957)

Spanish Writer. He was born in Badajoz (Extremadura, Spain) and died in Faringdon (England). He was forced to exile during Spanish Civil War and came to live on state of LordFaringdon. This experience marked his work, and he wrote some books about the Spanish Civil War. His masterpiece is the trilogy La Forja de un […]

Henri Barbusse (1873 - 1935)

Author. His novel of the First World War (‘Le Feu’ – ‘Under Fire’) won the Prix Goncourt and has remained a classic. (bio by: David Conway)

Jules Barbey d’Aurevilly (1808 - 1889)

Writer, he was transferred in 1926 to St Sauveur, le vicomte’s cemetery, in Normandy.

James “The Urban Peasant” Barber (1923 - 2007)

Author, Cook, Television Show Host. He gained international fame as “The Urban Peasant” with a culinary program broadcast in over 120 countries. The show ran for ten years on CBC in Canada and aired on PBS in the United States. Mr. Barber also wrote 12 cookbooks, two restaurant guides, a children’s book and regularly contributed […]

Anna Laetitia Aikin Barbauld (1743 - 1825)

She was a prominent English Romantic poet, essayist, and children’s author. She was the daughter of a classics tutor at Warrington Academy who won respect and admiration from her father’s colleagues for her intellectual skills. She became a respected poet and essayist. In 1774 she married a minister and former academy student, Rochement Barbauld. A […]

Amiri Baraka (1934 - 2014)

Poet and Playwright. Born Everett Leroy (later LeRoi) Jones, he adopted the Muslim name Imamu Amear Baraka (later changed to Amiri Baraka) in 1967. A writer on the edges of the Beat Movement and a follower of Malcolm X during the black liberation movement, Baraka was both influential and controversial. Through his poetry, plays, and […]

Theodore de Banville (1823 - 1891)

Poet. His most famous work of poetry, 1857 “Odes funambulesques”, was widely praised in its time and is considered a classic of French poetry in the Modern age.

Herman Bang (1857 - 1912)

Writer. He was born in Als (Denmark) and died in Ogden City (Utah). Active as an author, journalist, stage director and reader up until the time of his death. His most famous novel, Haabløse Slægter (1880, Generations Without Hope) was condemned as pornographic and the book was banned. His other books include Excentriske Noveller (Eccentric […]

Hubert Howe Bancroft (1832 - 1918)

Historian.  Authored 39 volumes of the history of the West, 11 volumes on California (containing 8,800 pages).  Banned from the Society of California Pioneers for reporting the truth about John Sutter, John C. Freemont and other paragons of the past.  Family links:  Parents:  Azariah Ashley Bancroft (1798 – 1885)  Lucy Damaris Howe Bancroft (1799 – […]

George Bancroft (1800 - 1891)

Historian, Statesman. Often called the father of American history, he is best known for his historical series “History of the United States.”  Family links:  Parents:  Aaron Bancroft (1755 – 1839)  Lucretia Chandler Bancroft (1765 – 1839)  Spouse:  Elizabeth Davis Bancroft (1803 – 1886)  Siblings:  Eliza Bancroft Davis (1791 – 1872)*  Thomas Chandler Bancroft (1796 – […]

Honoré de Balzac (1799 - 1850)

Author.  He is considered the founder of the realistic school of French Literature.  Balzac was the first great writer to explore the influence of environment on human beings,  and to reveal the complex bonds that tie man to society.  His fame rests on “The Human Comedy”,  a series of nearly 100 novels and novellas.  Together […]