Idanell “Nellie” Brill Connally (1919 - 2006)

Historical Figure, Author. Former Texas First Lady from 1963-1969.  Wife of Governor John Connally.  Last survivor of the car that carried President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. On November 22, 1963, it was Mrs. Connally that uttered the last words the president heard, “Mr. President, you can’t say Dallas doesn’t love you,” moments later those fateful shots […]

William Congreve (1670 - 1729)

Playwright. He was educated in Ireland, a friend and fellow student of  Jonathan Swift,  and turned to literature upon his arrival in London. An unsuccessful attempt at a novel, ‘Incognita’, was followed by the success of a comedy ‘The Old Bachelor’, which appeared in 1693. More comedies of manners followed.  Anne Bracegirdle, an enchanting actress […]

Charles Taber Congdon (1821 - 1891)

Journalist and author. Correspondent for the Boston Courier and to many magazine, including Vanity Fair, Knickerbocker Magazine. Wrote ‘Flowers Plucked by a Traveller on the Journey of Life'(poem), ‘The Warning of War’, and ‘Reminiscences of a Journalist.’ (bio by: Laurie)  Family links:  Spouse:  Charlotte E Baylies Congdon (1820 – 1859)* *Calculated relationship

Carmen Conde (1907 - 1996)

Noted Spanish Writer. She was the first woman to become a member of Royal Spanish Academy in 1978. She is remembered for her books “Brocal,” “Júbilos,” “A Este Lado de la Eternidad,” “Las Oscuras Raíces” and “Soy la Madre.” (bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni)

Auguste Comte (1798 - 1857)

French philosopher and sociologist. Born Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier, is considered the founder of a pragmatic ideology, known as Positivism. In contrast to the metaphysical claims of Hegelian Idealism, he enunciated the theory of the priority of Scientific Knowledge in his work “Cours de philosophie positive”. His doctrine is far removed from materialism and […]

Ivy Compton-Burnett (1884 - 1969)

Author. Her novels describe human weaknesses in ordinary domestic situations. Some of her best known books include “Pastors and Masters” (1925), “Two Worlds and Their Ways” (1949), and “Darkness and Day” (1951). She had a unique writing style that required the readers to pay close attention to the dialogue in order to follow the plot. […]

Henry Steele Commager (1902 - 1998)

Historian. He authored over 40 books and 700 papers, and was well known for his outspokenness on the topics of McCarthyism, the Vietnam War, and Civil Liberties. A professor at Columbia University, New York University, and Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts, for many years, he was the author of works such as “The Growth Of […]

Betty Comden (1917 - 2006)

Lyricist, Screenwriter. Born Elizabeth Cohen in Brooklyn. Along with her longtime collaborator Adolph Green, she wrote the lyrics and often the librettos for some of the most celebrated musicals of stage and screen. During a professional partnership that lasted for more than 60 years, and which finally ended with Adolph Green’s death in 2002, they […]

Padraic Colum (1881 - 1972)

Author.  A major figure in twentieth century literature, Colum’s sphere of work included his involvement in the Irish literay revival, children’s literature, and translations from Gaelic into English.  As the eldest of eight children, he accompanied his father to the United States to participate in the Colorado Gold Rush, and as an adult he frequently […]

Félix Coluccio (1911 - 2005)

Historian. One of the most recognized Folklore experts in Argentina, he wrote many books,  including  “Fiestas de América,” “Folklore para la Escuela,” “Paisaje y Pintura,” “Folklore del Noroeste,” and “Diccionario Folklórico Argentino.” (bio by: 380W)

Charles Wendell Colson (1931 - 2012)

US Presidential Official, Watergate Figure, Author. He served as Special Council to President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973. Raised during the “Great Depression” era under impoverished circumstances, the New England native managed to attend Brown University from where he received his BA and later attained his law degree from George Washington University. After service […]

Bert E Collyer (1876 - 1938)

Journalist. As a young boy he settled in Guelph, Ontario with his parents. Early on in his career as a journalist he would cover stories during the Gold Rush in Alaska, such as the Chilkoot Pass Avalanche in 1898. As his writing career grew he would become a sports writer in Chicago. He was known […]

Carlo Collodi (1826 - 1890)

Author. Real name Carlo Lorenzini. Born in Florence, he took his pen name from his mother’s native village. He worked for many years as a journalist and began writing fairy tales in 1856. Collodi’s book “The Adventures of Pinocchio” (1883) is one of the most famous children’s stories of all time.  It has been filmed […]

Wilkie Collins (1824 - 1889)

Author. He was born to a creative family. His father became an associate member of the Royal Academy in 1814 and a full member in 1820 painting more than 200 works and was one of the most famous artists of his day with both wealthy and aristocratic patrons. His maternal aunt Margaret Carpenter was also […]

William Gershom Collingwood (1854 - 1932)

Author, Artist, Antiquary. After a brilliant academic career at Oxford, where he was a pupil of John Ruskin, he married and settled at Gillhead, Windermere. He was influenced by Ruskin and William Morris, from whom he derived a life-long interest in Norse settlement, art and language. His interest in art and Scandinavia prompted his research […]

Robin George Collingwood (1889 - 1943)

Philosopher, Historian. The son of William Gershom Collingwood, he was awarded a fellowship at Oxford in 1912, and apart from military service in Admiralty Intelligence from 1914 to 1918, he spent the remainder of his professional life at Oxford, being appointed Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy in 1935. Much of his early work was in theology […]

Pierre Collings (1902 - 1937)

Screenwriter,  Cinematographer.  He won two Academy Awards,  for Best Original Story and Best Screenplay,  for “The Story of Louis Pasteur” (1936).  This film,  which also won an Oscar for star  Paul Muni,  launched Warner Bros.’ famous series of biopics of the late 1930s.  Collings was born in Nova Scotia,  Canada,  and entered films as an […]

Camilla Wergeland Collett (1813 - 1895)

Author. She was called the first Norwegian feminist, and founded the genre of “realism” in Norwegian literature. Raised in a literary family (the younger sister of poet Henrik Wergeland), she started writing professionally soon after her marriage in 1841. Her only novel “Amtmandens Dottre” (“The District Governor’s Daughters”) was published, at first anonymously, in 1854 […]

Colette (1873 - 1954)

Author.  She was one of the few 20th Century French novelists to identify with nature.  Her mother taught her to love every plant and animal,  and she expressed this feeling in her writing.  Colette’s style is earthy and sensual.  She was particularly sensitive portraying women in love or suffering from jealousy;  at other times she […]

Louise “The Muse” Colet (1810 - 1876)

Author. Born in the Aix-en Province of France, she was a pioneer feminist literary, known to her contemporaries as the Muse. A flamboyant populist, she wrote her first poetry novel “Fleurs du Midi,” in 1836. Her Paris salon became a meeting place for many noted literary writers such as Gustave Flaubert who had strong affections […]

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834)

Poet, Critic, Philosopher. Born in Ottery St. Mary in Devonshire England, Coleridge was the youngest of 10 children born to John Coleridge, a minister, and his wife, Ann Bowden. In this crowed household, it was reported that Coleridge led to a less than idyllic childhood. It was made worse in 1781 by the death of […]

John Winston Coleman, Jr (1898 - 1983)

Historian, Author. A 1920 graduate of the University of Kentucky with a B.S. degree he received an M.A. from U.K. in 1929. A Lexington businessman he was a noted collector, historian and author. “Squire” Coleman as he was known authored more than 150 pamphlets and articles, mostly on historical topics, and more than twenty books. […]

Gautier de Coincy (1970 - 1236)

Poet, Composer, Cleric. His masterpiece, the two-volume “Miracles de Nostre-Dame” (“Miracles of Our Lady”, 1222 and 1233), is a major work of Medieval French literature and music. A mammoth verse narrative of over 30,000 lines, it chronicles miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary interspersed with songs and prayers. Coincy wrote it in French rather than […]

Art Cohn (1909 - 1958)

Screenwriter, died in the same airplane crash that killed film pioneer, Mike Todd.  Family links:  Spouse:  Marta Cohn (1910 – 1972)* *Calculated relationshipCause of death: Plane crash

Robert Peter Tristram Coffin (1892 - 1955)

Author, Poet. He is best known as the author of more than three dozen works of literature, poetry and history, including the book Strange Holiness, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1936. His early poetry was derivative of classical forms (e.g., sonnets) and in verbiage and subject archaic. His mature poetry is marked […]

Vicente Coello (1915 - 2006)

Screenwriter, Journalist. A native of Valencia, Coello was one of the most prolific screenwriters in Spanish cinema. He is probably best remembered for his scripts for Paco Martínez Soria’s films, among them “El Abuelo Tiene un Plan” (1972) and “Estoy Hecho un Chaval” (1975). His other credits,  many of them popular comedies,  include “Pequeñeces” (1950), […]

John Albert Cockerill (1845 - 1896)

Cockerill was a journalist who served in the Civil War as a drummer boy when he was just 15 years old. He worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as the editor. In one editorial he criticized the conduct of James Overton Broadhead of the law firm of Broadhead, Slayback & Haeussler. Nine years after the […]

Robert Bingham Cochrane (1909 - 2000)

War correspondent who reported on World War II and who witnessed the the surrender of the Japanese.  Family links:  Spouse:  Irma B. Boyer Cochrane (1899 – 1974)Cause of death: Bone cancer

Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb (1876 - 1944)

Humorist. Born in Paducah, Kentucky, he made his mark as a columnist in New York. He wrote over 60 books, but is probably best known for his humorous tales of Kentucky first seen in a collection of stories about a shrewd but kindly Kentucky judge in “Old Judge Priest” in 1915. Among his other books […]

Elizabeth Jane Coatsworth (1893 - 1986)

Prolific poet and author of fiction and non-fiction. She is best remembered as an author of children’s books, most notably “The Cat That Went To Heaven,” which won the prestigious Newbery Medal for Children’s literature and has been in continuous print for the past 75 years. Over 80 of her children’s books have been published, […]