The biographer Peter Ackroyd once said, "I think biography can be more personal than fiction, and certainly can be more expressive."
Every great biography lends us a perspective of a life lived. True to Ackroyd's words, many biographies illuminate the lives of people who have captured the public's imagination, awe, and admiration. As we celebrate National Biographers Day, let's travel down memory lane and see how this day came to be.
The early forms of biographies were hieroglyphic inscriptions found on Egyptian tombs and temples believed to have been created in 1300 BC. Although much of these have been studied, it's believed that ancient inscriptions depicting life stories in other parts of the world were plenty but were not adequately preserved and studied. Centuries later, as more people had access to the written word, many biographies of famous people were written. However, they were often left unchecked. Credibility and accuracy were often sacrificed in favor of glorification and exaggeration of historical events.
Every once in a while in history, a remarkable confluence brings about change. In the world of biographies, this happened with biographers Samuel Johnson and James Boswell in the latter half of the 18th century. Today, May 16th, commemorates that particular event. The meeting and collaboration between Johnson and Boswell resulted in "The Life of Samuel Johnson," widely regarded as one of the most celebrated biographies in English literature and also paved the way for how biographies should be written.
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