Marion Eleanor Zimmer Bradley (1930 - 1999)

Fantasy and Science Fiction author and editor and receiver of numerous awards. She created the Darkover series and among many others wrote the highly successful novel “The Mists of Avalon”. She also edited the fantasy short story collections “Sword & Sorceress” and “The Marion Zimmer Bradley Fantasy Magazine”. Her ashes were to be scattered in […]

Esther “Kitty” Buhler Bradley (1922 - 2004)

Motion Picture Screenwriter. The second wife of General of the Army Omar N. Bradley, she was a playwright for television and movies. Educated at Kansas Wesleyan University and at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), (later receiving an honorary doctorate’s degree from Park College), she was a freelance writer for UPI in Okinawa when […]

Ben Bradlee (1921 - 2014)

Journalist. He served as Editor of The Washington Post from 1965 until 1991 and during his leadership, the stories of “The Pentagon Papers” and “Watergate” were reported. He was born Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee, his father was an investment banker, Ben (as he was called throughout his life) was educated at Harvard College. During World War […]

William Bradford (1663 - 1752)

Pioneer American Publisher.  Bradford established the American colony’s first press, in Philadelphia, after his emigration from England in 1683. He defended press freedom and was tried for sedition in 1692. He was not convicted and moved to New York where he became a Trinity Vestryman in 1703. He created the first edition of the Book […]

Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835 - 1915)

Autor. Her parents separated while she was still a child, and she wrote and worked as an actress to support her mother. Her first novel, “Three Times Dead” (also known as “The Trail of the Serpent”) sold well, but her second, “Lady Audley’s Secret” was reprinted nine times in three months. In 2000, it was […]

Thomas Bracken (1843 - 1898)

Poet. He wrote New Zealand’s National Anthem “God Defend New Zealand”. It was published in 1876.

Brendan Bracken (1901 - 1958)

Irish journalist and politicain. Born in Kilmallock in Ireland in 1901. Later moving to London, he became friends with Winston Churchill, edited the Financial News, The Banker and The Practitioner before being promoted to managing director of the Economist in 1928. He replaced Duff Cooper as Minister of Information on in 1941. He held the […]

Gerard Brach (1927 - 2006)

Screenwriter. He was born in Mountrouge, France. He is best known for his collaborations with directors Jean Jacques Annaud and Roman Polanski. His credits include “Repulsion” (1965), “Cul de Sac” (1965), “The Fearless Vampire Killers” (1967), “Wonderwall” (1968), “Le Locataire” (“The Tenant”) (1975), “Quest for Fire” (1981), “L’Africain” (1983), “The Name of the Rose” (1986), […]

Charles Brabin (1882 - 1957)

Motion Picture Director. Forgotten today, he was highly esteemed in the years following World War I. His independent production “Driven” (1923, now lost) was hailed as a masterpiece by contemporary critics. On the strength of this picture he was chosen to direct the epic “Ben-Hur” and began shooting in Italy in 1923, but after costly […]

Virginia Frazer Boyle (1863 - 1938)

Author. Poet Laureate of the Confederacy. Known for her writing of “Union” and “Love Songs and Bugle Calls.” (bio by: Laurie)

Kay Boyle Franckenstein (1902 - 1992)

Award-Winning Writer, Educator, and Political Activist. She was born in St. Paul (Minnesota) and died in Mill Valley (California). She studied architecture at the Ohio Mechanics Institute in Cincinnati. In 1929 the Crosbys’ Black Sun Press published Boyle’s first book of fiction titled Short Stories. Kay Boyle’s short stories won two O. Henry Awards (for […]

Harold Vincent “Hal” Boyle (1911 - 1974)

Writer. Hal Boyle graduated from Central High School in Kansas City Missouri, started as a copy boy at the Kansas City Bureau of Associated Press, later became a reporter, was AP’s first columnist, won a Pulitzer prize in 1945 for columns and stories from the North African and European war theaters, wrote a book “Best […]

Karin Boye (1900 - 1941)

Swedish Poet and Novelist. She wrote about how we should live our lives and how we actually manage to do it. To meet her poetry is to recieve a knowledge on the divion of life, between wanting and being. She made her debut with the collection of poems ”Moln” (Clouds) 1922, and wrote several noted […]

Gerald Michael Boyd (1950 - 2006)

Journalist. New York Times Managing Editor. He entered journalism after graduating from the University of Missouri. After working as the White House correspondent for the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Boyd joined the Times in 1983 and rose through the ranks, including assignments as metropolitan editor and managing editor. He oversaw the 2000 Pulitzer Prize-winning series, […]

Paul Bowles (1910 - 1999)

American Author. He lived in Tangier (Morocco) from 1947 and remained as an artist who evoked an atmosphere of dark, arabian streets, hashish and drug-induced visions. He is best remembered for his book “The Sheltering Sky,” filmed by Bernardo Bertolucci.  He was also a composer, and in 1936 he wrote a musical score for Orson […]

Jane Bowles (1917 - 1973)

Writer. She was born in New York (United States) and died in Málaga (Andalucia, Spain). Her first novel La Phaeton Hypocrite  was printed privately and no copies survive. Despite of her lesbianism, she married the gay writer Paul Bowles in 1938, who remain her husband until her death in 1973. Her health declined and in […]

Claude Gernade Bowers (1879 - 1958)

Author / Politician / Diplomat. US Ambassador to Spain 1933 – 1939. US Ambassador to Chile 1939 – 1953.  Family links:  Parents:  Lewis Bowers (1847 – 1891)  Juliet Bowers (1855 – 1917)  Spouse:  Sybil W. McCaslin Bowers (1884 – 1964)*  Sibling:  Gertrude Bowers (1874 – 1878)*  Claude Gernade Bowers (1879 – 1958) *Calculated relationship

Elizabeth Bowen (1899 - 1973)

Writer. She was born in Dublin (Ireland) and died in London (England). She is best remembered fos her books The Death of the Heart, Eva Trout, A World of Love, Seven Winters, The Last September, The House in Paris and Pictures and Conversations, that was published posthumously. (bio by: José L Bernabé Tronchoni)

Catherine Drinker Bowen (1897 - 1973)

Author. Born in Haverford, Pennsylvania, she was best known for writing biographies about noted figures in history. Her earliest biographies were about musicians when she wrote “Beloved Friend: The Story of Tchaikowsky and Nadejda Von Meck” (1937). Her works included “Free Artist: The story of Anton and Nicholas Rubinstein” (1939), “Yankee from Olympus: Justice Holmes […]

Emmanuel Bove (1898 - 1945)

Writer. Born Emmanuel Bobovnikoff  in Paris, France, he began his writing career as a journalist and published his first novel “Mes amis” in 1924, which was awarded the prix Figuière in 1928. Known for writing with an airy style about humorous observations, his numerous books included “Monsieur Thorpe” (1930), “Un célibataire” (1932), “Le Beau-fils” (1934), […]

Sir John George Bourinot (1837 - 1902)

Canadian Historian, Political Scientist, Author. He is best known as an authority on the Canadian Constitution and Government. He wrote “Local Government In Canada” (1887), “Manual Of The Constitutional History Of Canada” (1888) and “How Canada Is Governed” (1895). (bio by: K)

Paul Bourget (1852 - 1935)

Writer. Born in Amiens, France, he was a novelist known as a master of psychology in the pre-World War I period. He began his career as a poet, then went on to publish his early novels, such as “Cruelle Énigme” (1885), “Un Crime d’amour” (1886) and “André Cornélis” (1887). Bourget’s most noted novel “Le Disciple” […]

Édouard Bourdet (1887 - 1945)

Author. Principle works include “Le Rubicon” (1910), “L’Homme enchaîné” (1923; “The Man Enchained”), “La Prisonnière” (1926; “The Captive”), “Vient de paraître” (1928; “Just Appeared”), “Le Sexe faible” (1931; “The Weaker Sex”), “Les Temps difficiles” (1934; “The Difficult Times”), “Hyménée” (1941; “Hymen”) and “Père” (1943; “Father”). Bourdet also served as director of the Comédie Français from […]

Pierre Boulle (1912 - 1994)

Author. A writer of mainstream French fiction, he often injected satire and social commentary into the pulpish plots of his books. Boulle’s best known novels are the war saga “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1952) and the science-fiction tale “The Planet of the Apes” (1963). Both were made into classic American films. Born in […]

Alphonse Boudard (1925 - 2000)

Author. After waffling between sides in World War II for some time, he eventually became a member of the French Resistance. While fighting to oust the Germans from France, he was wounded and subsequently awarded a French military medal. He wrote about 30 novels and 22 screenplays, mostly depicting the common/everyday life of French people. […]

Dion Boucicault (1822 - 1890)

Playwright, Actor.  Family links:  Children:  Dion Boucicault (1859 – 1929)*  Nina Boucicault (1867 – 1950)* *Calculated relationship

Natalio Félix Botana Millares (1888 - 1941)

Journalist. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, he was exiliated in Argentina. He was the founder of the newspaper Crítica, which revolutionated the Argentine journalism for his popularity and sensacionalism. He also was the Director of the newspaper between 1913 and 1941. (bio by: 380W) Cause of death: Car accident

Tadeusz Borowski (1922 - 1951)

Author. His short story collection “This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen” (1959), based on his World War II experiences in Nazi death camps, is considered a masterpiece of Holocaust Literature. Written in a pitiless documentary style,  these first-person accounts compel readers to imagine what they would do to survive in similar circumstances.  They […]

Marcia Borie (1929 - 1990)

Long-time Hollywood entertainment writer/journalist and magazine editor. Author of countless expose articles, columns, and books. The inscription on her crypt marker reads “Hollywood will never be the same.” (bio by: A.J. Marik)

Jorge Luis Borges (1899 - 1986)

Famed Argentinian fantasy writer. Cause of death: Liver cancer