Celebrities

(b. Nov. 20, 1923, Springs, Transvaal, S.Af.) The South African novelist and short-story writer Nadine Gordimer examined the theme of exile and alienation in her works; she received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991. Gordimer was born into a privileged white middleclass family and began reading at an early age. By the age of […]

(b. April 21, 1926, London, Eng.) Elizabeth II reigned as the queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from Feb. 6, 1952. Elizabeth II, born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, was the elder daughter of Albert, duke of York, and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. As the child of a younger son of

(b. Nov. 19, 1917, Allahabad, India-d. Oct. 31, 1984, New Delhi) Indira Gandhi served as prime minister of India for three consecutive terms (1966–77) and a fourth term (1980–84). She was assassinated by Sikh extremists. Indira Priyadarshini Nehru was the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India. She attended Visva-Bharati

(b. Aug. 6, 1911, Celoron, near Jamestown, N.Y., U.S.-d. April 26, 1989, Los Angeles, Calif.) The radio and motion-picture actress Lucille Ball (in full Lucille Désirée Ball) was a longtime comedy star of American television, best remembered for her classic television comedy series I Love Lucy. Ball determined at an early age to become an

(b. Dec. 11, 1863, Dover, Del., U.S.-d. April 13, 1941, Cambridge, Mass.) Annie Jump Cannon was an American astronomer who specialized in the classification of stellar spectra. Cannon was the oldest daughter of Wilson Cannon, a Delaware state senator, and Mary Jump. She studied physics and astronomy at Wellesley College, graduating in For several years

(b. July 1, 1961, Sandringham, Norfolk, Eng.-d. Aug. 31, 1997, Paris, France) One of the best-loved women of the 20th century was Diana, princess of Wales, the former consort (1981–96) of Charles, prince of Wales, and mother of the heir second in line to the British throne, Prince William of Wales. Diana Frances Spencer was

(b. June 12, 1929, Frankfurt am Main, Ger.—d. March 1945, Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, near Hannover) Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl who wrote a diary of her family’s two years in hiding during the German occupation of The Netherlands, personalized the Holocaust for generations of readers. The Diary of a Young Girl (published posthumously) has

(b. 70/69 BCE-d. August of 30 BCE, Alexandria, Egypt) Noted in history and drama as the lover of Julius Caesar and later the wife of Mark Antony, Cleopatra became queen on the death of her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes, in 51 BCE. She ruled successively with her two brothers, Ptolemy XIII (51–47) and Ptolemy XIV

(b. Jan. 9, 1959, Guatemala) The Guatemalan Indian-rights activist Rigoberta Menchú was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in Menchú, of the Quiché Maya group, spent her childhood helping with her family’s agricultural work; she also likely worked on coffee plantations. As a young woman, she became an activist in the local women’s rights movement

(b. Oct. 26, 1947, Chicago, Ill., U.S.) The American lawyer and politician Hillary Rodham Clinton served as a U.S. senator (2001–09) and secretary of state (2009) in the administration of Pres. Barack Obama. She also served as first lady (1993–2001) during the administration of her husband, Bill Clinton, 42nd president of the United States. The