A Famous Female Biography

By: Mr. Trahey

Maya Angelou

• The female I chose to research was Maya Angelou. I saw her recite poetry at the final Oprah show that was held at the United Center.

Maya Angelou’s date of birth

• She was born on April 4, 1928. Her original name at birth was Marguerite Johnson.

Maya Angelou’s hometown

• She lived in Stamps.

Maya Angelou’s home state

• Stamps is located in Arkansas.

Maya Angelou’s Mother

• Her mother was Vivian Baxter Johnson

Maya Angelou’s Father

• Her father’s name was Bailey Johnson.

Maya Angelou’s Brothers

• Her brothers name was Bailey Jr. after their father.

Maya Angelou’s Sisters

• She did not have any sisters.

Maya Angelou’s Childhood Family

• She cam from a small childhood family.

Maya Angelou’s Husband

• She originally married a Greek sailor named Enistasio “Tosh” Angelos in 1951 for a brief 4 years.

Maya Angelou’s Sons

• She had a son named Guy.

Maya Angelou’s Daughters

• She did not have any daughters.

Maya Angelou’s Pets

• It is unclear if she had any pets.

Accomplishment 1

• She is best know for her autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, that she wrote in 1970 which was nominated for the National Book Award.

Accomplishment 2

• Angelou has taught at several American colleges and universities, including the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Kansas, Wichita State University, and California State University at Sacramento. Since the early 1980s, she has been Reynolds Professor and writer-in-residence at Wake Forest University.

Accomplishment 3

• She is a well known poet. She has written several published works and is extremely respected as a poet.

Accomplishment 4

• She recited, On the Pulse of the Morning in 1993 at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton.

Accomplishment 5

• In 2005 she recited an anti-war poem, Amazing Peace, for the annual White House Christmas tree lighting ceremony during the George W. Bush administration.

• She was also awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2011

Maya Angelou’s Life Span

• She died on May 28, 2014 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was 86 years old.

Works Cited

• "Maya Angelou." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Student Resources in Context. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

• URL

• http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/BiographiesDetailsPage/BiographiesDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Biographies&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&search_within_results=&p=SUIC&action=e&catId=GALE%7C00000000MJ9E&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CK1631000219&source=Bookmark&u=cps&jsid=48ff4d7c0b1ddd44d4ed3e09c77baa64