Biographies of notable people — their path, achievements and key facts.
Iyengar B.k.s.
Yoga instructor and author Born Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar, December 14, 1918, in Karnataka, India; son of a teacher; married Ramamani, 1943; children: Geeta, ...

Charles Babbage
Born: December 26, 1791 London, England Died: October 18, 1871 London, England English mathematician and inventor Cha...

Johann Sebastian Bach
Born: March 21, 1685 Eisenach, Germany Died: July 28, 1750 Leipzig, Germany German composer, organist, and musician T...
Michelle Bachelet
President of Chile Born Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria, September 29, 1951, in Santiago, Chile; daughter of Alberto Bachelet Martínez (an Air Force general) and Ángela Jer...

Francis Bacon
Born: October 28, 1909 Dublin, Ireland Died: April 28, 1992 Madrid, Spain English painter and artist The English arti...

Roger Bacon
Born: c. 1214 Ilchester, Somerset, England Died: c. 1292 Oxford, England English philosopher The medieval English phi...

Joan Baez
Born: January 9, 1941 Staten Island, New York American musician, singer, and activist American folk singer Joan Baez is recognized for her nonviolent, ...
John N. Bahcall
Born John Norris Bahcall, December 30, 1934, in Shreveport, LA; died of a rare blood disorder, August 17, 2005, in New York, NY. Astrophysicist and astronomer. Princeton astrophysicist Joh...

F. Lee Bailey
Born: June 10, 1933 Waltham, Massachusetts American attorney and author F. Lee Bailey is a "superstar" lawyer and best-selling author. Bailey has...
Josephine Baker
Born: June 3, 1906 St. Louis, Missouri Died: April 12, 1975 Paris, France African American dancer and singer Josephin...

George Balanchine
Born: January 22, 1904 St. Petersburg, Russia Died: April 30, 1983 New York, New York Russian-born American choreographer ...
James Baldwin
Born: August 2, 1924 New York, New York Died: November 30, 1987 Saint-Paul-de-Vance, France African American author and playwright ...

Christian Bale
January 30, 1974 • Pembrokeshire, Wales Actor Christian Bale has performed a feat that is astonishing for most Hollywood actors. Although he became a professional perfo...
Michael Ball
Fashion designer Born c. 1964; son of a musician. Education: Attended the University of California—Los Angeles. Addresses: H...

Lucille Ball
Born: August 6, 1911 Jamestown, New York Died: April 26, 1989 Los Angeles, California American actress and comedienne ...
Alan Ball
Screenwriter, producer, and director Born in Georgia, 1957, son of an aircraft inspector and a homemaker. Education: Florida State University, bachelor's d...

David Baltimore
Born: March 7, 1938 New York, New York American virologist The American virologist David Baltimore was only thirty-seven years old when he receiv...

HonorÉ de Balzac
Born: May 20, 1799 Tours, France Died: August 19, 1850 Paris, France French novelist The French novelist Honoré de Ba...
Mary Bancroft
Author and intelligence analyst Mary Bancroft (1903–1997) had a colorful career as a journalist and spy for the United States in Switzerland during World War II. Bancroft was best ...
Anne Bancroft
Born Anna Maria Louise Italiano, September 17, 1931, in New York, NY; died of uterine cancer, June 6, 2005, in New York, NY. Actress. Award-winning star of stage and screen Anne Bancroft w...