History of Biographies

Ancient Times

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Ancient Times: 80 AD -
• Biographies have been said to be around since ancient civilization.
• They were used as a way to teach others including the younger generation about morals and history.
• Authors like Plutarch from this era also included information about the private lives of his subjects.
• Historians started to realize that the private life and influence was important and worth mentioning.
• In the Ancient Greeks, biographies and accounts of the lives of great Philosophers were made

Medieval Period

Period: 400 to Sep 6, 1450

Romantic Era

Jun 5, 1781

Biographies concentrated on the emotional aspect of biographies; how to draw in the readers through various emotional techniques

18th Century

Jun 5, 1791

Claimed to be one of the "best biographies ever written in the English language", James Boswell's "Life of Samuel Johnson" is published.

19th Century Biographies

Jun 4, 1800

• Authors started to mention and elaborate on their subjects’ childhood life as well.
• This received more attention from society since it was more interesting.
• Biographers also started to reveal more of their subjects’ private lives including their sexual life, relationships, and personal issues.

20th Century

Jun 4, 1900

• Biographies began to become more focused on their subjects’ issues and flaws.
• “[…] subsequent biographers attempted to define the inner core of subjects lives, they focused ever more intently on relationships with parents and sexual partners” (Popkin, 3)
• Interest in the genre of biographies started to rapidly increase by society in the 1960’s.
• Ever since the 1970’s, the interest in biographies has been large and vast because of the many different catagories and types (like celebrities)