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Birth
Angelou was born in St. Louis, under the given name Marguerite Johnson to Bailey and Vivian Johnson. She took her professional name from a childhood nickname and a variation on her first husband's last name, Angelopulos. -
Parent's Divorce
When she was three her parents divorced and she and her brother Bailey were sent to live with their grandmother in Stamps, Arkansas -
Silence
While visiting in Chicago, Angelou was molested by her mother's boyfriend. She told her brother, and one of her uncles killed the man. She felt like her words had killed him, so she did not speak for five years. -
First marriage
In 1952, she married a Greek sailor named Anastasios Angelopulos. The marriage didn't last. -
Second Marriage
In New York, she fell in love with the South African civil rights activist Vusumzi Make and in 1960, the couple moved, with Angelou's son, Guy, to Cairo, Egypt. -
Ghana
Angelou moved to Ghana for her work with Martin Luther King, where she edited the African review and wrote for the Ghanian Times. While there, she met and worked with Malcolm X, and she returned to America to help him build his Organization of African American Unity. -
Autobiography Published
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", her first and most famous autobiography, was published. It revealed the details of her childhood with her grandparents and brother in Stamps, Arkansas, up until her high school graduation. A bestseller, it made many people aware of the racial discrimination and African American values that she learned in Arkansas. -
Georgia, Georgia
Angelou has had a varied career as a singer, dancer, actress, composer, and Hollywood's first female black director. She was the first female black cable car conductor in San Francisco, and received three Grammys in her life. She wrote the screenplay and composed the score for the film Georgia, Georgia. Her screenplay, the first by an African American woman ever to be filmed, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. -
Inaugural Poem
She was the first to write and read an inaugural poem in years. She read her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" by invitation of Bill Clinton at his presidential inauguration. Her poem reflected the Civil Rights Movement, and called for racial and religious peace and equality. -
Million Man March
Angelou spoke at the Million Man March, a rally for black men to take responsibility and move to improve the problems in black communities. Even though only about 400,000 people attended, the march inspired the Million Woman March and Million Family March for similar goals. -
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Maya Angelou was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. It is the highest civilian honor awarded in the nation.
