biographyblog

Three great achievers

Sun, 03 Mar 2013 10:44:28 +0100

A talented artist can achieve greatness

I have recently written three biography articles on people who have achieved greatness within their own lifetime. I discovered that they all had something in common. Each of them knew from an early age exactly what it was that they wanted to devote their life to, and they all went on to become celebrated for their accomplishments.

1. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin

British-born astronomer and astrophysicist Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin received many accolades for her scientific work and her research into the composition, evolution, magnitude and distance of stars.

At the age of five Cecilia decided that she wanted to be an astronomer, after she had witnessed a meteor in the night sky. Her lifetime contribution to astrophysics and astronomy led her to be accepted as one of the greatest astronomers of her time, and she was born at a time when women did not have equal rights or many opportunities to advance in a career.

Read more about the life and achievements of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin

2. Tintoretto

The great sixteenth-century Venetian artist, whose real name was Jacopo Robusti, was the son of a dyer. In Italian the name Tintoretto means 'little dyer', or 'a dyer's boy'.

It was as a young boy that Jacopo first began painting frescoes, using his father’s dyes to paint on the walls. Tintoretto devoted his whole adult life to his art and became one of the most innovative and influential artists of his time.

Read more about Tintoretto and his long and productive life

3. Sam Mendes

The multi-award-winning director, whose movies include the Oscar winning American Beauty and the 2012 James Bond movie Skyfall, first began directing plays when he was a student at Cambridge University. He has since won several top awards for directing highly acclaimed theatrical productions.

Skyfall is the highest-grossing movie in the UK and it broke box office records in the first week of opening in the USA. Within a month it had been viewed by 77 million people around the world.

Read more about Sam Mendes and his achievements

I do admire people who have always known what they wanted to do in life, and then go on to be great at what they do. I know I shall never achieve greatness but I have always had an interest in writing, and I've always been an avid reader. At least I can claim some success with my writing, ever since I started to write and publish content online in 2008. If you are interested in writing online you might want to follow my other blog: Writing Guidelines, take a look at Blogging for Writers, or visit the Freelance Writing Opportunities Project Board

Writing a personal account or first person narrative

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 12:55:33 +0100

Writing in first person is generally used for recording personal thoughts and feelings when writing a personal diary or keeping a journal. Memoirs, personal journals and diaries are types of biographical writing which do need to be written in the first person, clearly indicating what “I thought”, what “we did”, describing how something made an impact on “me” or how “our lives” were changed.

Providing an eye witness account is another way of describing an experience that allows readers to share immediate impressions and emotions felt at the time. This is not so effective in a third person report, which could only state that people who were there at the time appeared to be angry, shocked, frightened or having a good time.

Product reviews can be written as personal testimonials, if the writer is required to be open and honest when giving a personal response. Constructive criticism and praise will be more direct and effective when written in first person. A personal opinion can be more acceptable than a general rebuke or a vague commendation.

Read more about keeping a journal:
Journaling Tips
How to motivate yourself by writing a journal entry about a day that hasn't started
I shall be posting more writing tips, and information about ways of writing, on my new blog: Writing Guidelines

Biographies of some celebrated English, Scottish and American authors

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:36:41 +0100

It is always interesting to discover more about great authors, playwrights, essayists, journalists and other writers. Sometimes reading the life story of a writer can provide additional insight into their work. Most authors write from experience, and many fiction writers describe incidents that have actually happened to them. Some fictional characters are loosley based on real people, and novels are generally located in an area the author knows well.

It can be inspiring to read about how and why a person first decided to become an author, and to see how he or she progressed towards becoming a famous writer.

Here is a selection of biographaphical articles about some celebrated English, Scottish and American authors, past and present.

Enid Blyton British author of books for children

James Boswell Scottish biographapher of Dr. Samuel Johnson

William Buckley Jr. American author and journalist

Dorothy Dunnett Scottish author with an international reputation for historical fiction

John Galsworthy British author of The Forsyte Saga

Malcolm Gladwell British journalist and author of best-selling motivational books
Bevis Hillier British writer and art expert, best known for his biography of the British poet John Betjeman
Jenny Nimmo British author of books for children

Doreen Virtue American author of books about angel therapy

Brief profiles of several influential self-help authors can be found in this article on Top selling self-help books

Love Defined and Personified

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 15:58:34 +0100

Cupid and Psyche

Having written several articles on the subject, I thought I would take this opportunity to take a closer look at what love is and what the impact of loving and being loved can be. The personification of love is Cupid, so I shall start with him, and then go on to look at the origins of Valentine's Day, before taking a more philosophical view of love in its many forms.

Cupid is the Roman god of love. He possesses a set of golden arrows (or darts) which have the ability to cause mortals to fall in love when struck in the heart. Cupid is often portrayed as a chubby infant boy, naked and winged, carrying a bow and a quiver full of arrows. This is an enduring image, which features regularly on Valentine cards, and is frequently used for Valentine's Day displays.... Read more about Cupid and his own romantic love story

Valentine's Day is traditionally a day to celebrate romantic love. It is named after a Christian martyr, but has its origins in the pagan love feast of Lupercalia, an annual festival that was celebrated by the ancient Romans in mid-February.... Read more about the pagan origins of Valentine's Day

Love and hate are both very powerful emotions. They are often linked together as being somehow connected, even if it is just the perception of them being direct opposites. By looking at the positive and negative qualities of love and hate, it is possible to conclude that one of them is stronger than the other.... Read more about which is stronger, love or hate

To understand the importance of love in finding a life purpose it is necessary to consider the many ways of loving, and of being loved. Most people first experience love within their own family, then they develop love for close friends. Love of other people comes with maturity, as does the basic need to be loved..... Read more about finding a life purpose through love

Bradley Wiggins Goes Uphill

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:30:39 +0100

Bradley Wiggins, Olympic gold medallist and Tour de France cycling champion has been named as Britain’s Wittiest Celebrity. He was selected from a shortlist of 25, which excluded comedians, when more than 2,000 British adults voted for the celebrity they thought the funniest.

Sir Bradly Wiggins, or “Wiggo” as he is also known, is famous for quipping when addressing crowds, and when receiving awards or being interviewed. Asked about one of the steepest climbs in the Tour de France, Wiggo quipped: "It goes uphill like all the others, doesn't it?"

Bradley Wiggins is the first British cyclist to win the Tour de France (2012). He has also won 7 Olympic goal medals for cycling, so it is not surprising that he is regarded in the UK as a national sporting hero.

2012 was, for Bradley Wiggins, an outstanding year of sporting accomplishment. In a single season he won the Paris-Nice cycle race, the Tour de Romandie, the Criterium du Dauphine and, after becoming first British winner of the Tour de France, he won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

Remembering Reg Presley and The Troggs

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:26:10 +0100

Singer songwriter Reg Presley was best known for performing with The Troggs and for writing hit songs, such as Take A Girl Like You, and Love Is All Around.

Reg Presley was born Reginald Maurice Ball on 12 June 1941 in Andover, Hampshire. By the age of 15 he had formed a band and was performed locally. When he was working as a bricklayer he met a guitar player, Dave Wright, who was also a bricklayer. Reg then decided to start form another band.

Reg’s new band, The Troglodytes began performing in 1964 and they were signed up by manager Larry Page. He shortened the name to The Troggs and advised Reg to change his name to Reg Presley, thinking it better to be associated with Elvis than to remain as Reginald Ball.

In 1966 The Troggs had their first big hit in the UK with Wild Thing. It was also a number one hit in the USA.

Reg Presley’s 1967 song Love Is All Around was covered by Wet Wet Wet , and it became a world wide hit after being featured in Four Weddings and A Funeral. Their version was number one in the charts for fifteen weeks in 1994. As songwriter and musician, Reg Presley won three Ivor Novello awards that year.

Reg also became well known for his interest in unexplained phenomena. His investigations into crop circles resulted in a wider interest in conspiracy theories and alien visitations. His book Wild Things They Don't Tell Us was published in October 2002.

The Troggs continued touring as a band with Reg as lead singer and Chris Britton on lead guitar. They were joined by Pete Lucas on bass guitar and Dave Maggs on drums.

Reg suffered a serious stroke in December 2010 but recovered enough to continue touring with The Troggs. His health deteriorated when he was performing in Germany, and tests undertaken at the time revealed that Reg was suffering from lung cancer. He decided that it would be necessary to leave the Troggs, and announced his retirement in February 2012.

Reg Presley sadly died a year later: 5 February 2013

The official Troggs website

The bones of King Richard the third

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 09:37:01 +0100

It has now been confirmed that human remains discovered by archaeologists in Leicester are in fact the bones of King Richard III. The body of Richard the third was buried in the churchyard of the Grey Friars in 1485. He had lost his life on the battlefield at Bosworth, defending his country and his right to be king. He was succeeded by his rival Henry Tudor. The Tudor dynasty continued for a hundred years after the reign of King Henry VII.

William Shakespeare wrote his famous play about Richard III while under the patronage of the Tudors, so his portrayal of Richard as an evil usurper can be taken as Tudor propaganda. Shakespeare deliberately provided the public with a hostile version of the late monarch.

During his lifetime King Richard the third was a popular monarch, although he did have many enemies, and he might have been responsible for the removal of many of those who stood in his way.

The debate continues about whether or not Richard was responsible for the deaths of two young Princes following the death of King Edward IV in 1483, when Prince Edward, then aged 12, became the new king, and Richard of Gloucester was officially appointed Protector. The young king was taken to the Tower of London and his status reduced to that of prince. Prince Edward and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, were never seen again. The bodies of two young boys were discovered in a chest, two centuries later, and they appeared to have died from suffocation.

Richard III was younger brother of King Edward IV. He became king in 1483. His father, Richard Duke of York(1410-1460), was descended from Edward III but was never a ruling monarch. During the reign of King Henry VI, when the king was temporarily indisposed due to insanity, the Duke of York was briefly appointed as Lord Protector.

The surviving children of King Edward IV were all said to be illegitimate, so none of them could succeed to the throne. The children of Richard’s elder brother, the Duke of Clarence, were also disqualified. Their father had been tried for Treason and was executed at the Tower of London in February 1478.

King Richard III reigned for just 26 months.

Welcome to Ruth Belena's Biography Blog

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 16:48:28 +0100

I have named this blog Biography because I love to research and write articles about real people.

It is not my intention to restrict this blog to life stories and biography articles, I shall also be posting tips and helpful links for people who are interested in writing and publishing their own life story, memoir or autobiography.

I shall be happy to feature your personal blog, online journal or true life stories, if you would like to be connected with this blog.

Your comments are welcome and you can email me through the link at http://about.me/ruthbelena