Jane Austen (1775) Jane Austen was born December 16, 1775 at Steventon, Hampshire, England (near Basingstoke). She was the seventh child (out of eight) and the second daughter (out of two), of the Rev. George Austen, 1731-1805 (the local rector, or Church of England clergyman), and his wife Cassandra, 1739-1827 (nee Leigh). In 1783, Jane and her older sister Cassandra went briefly to be taught by a Mrs. Cawley (the sister...

James Shirley (1596 – 1666) James Shirley was a leading dramatist of the Caroline stage. He was born in London on September 13, 1596, and educated at Merchant Taylors’ School and St. John’s College, Oxford. In 1615 he was at St. Catherine’s Hall, Cambridge, and by 1618 had published his first work, a long poem called Echo; or, The Unfortunate Lovers, which has since disappeared. In 1620, Shirley took holy orders...

James Joyce (1882 -1941) James Joyce, Irish novelist, was noted for his experimental use of language in works such as Ulysses (1922) and Finneganns Wake (1939). Joyce’s technical innovations in the art of the novel in-clude an extensive use of interior monologue; he used a complex network of symbolic parallels drawn from the mythology, history and literature, and created a unique language of invented words, puns and allusions. James Joyce was...

Jackie Collins Jackie Collins was born in London. Her father was a theatrical booking agent and intended both daughters to go into the theatre. Jackie and Joan grew around the entertainment business and they both were encouraged toward acting career. But when Joan Collins established herself as a star in Hollywood, Jackie found her talents in popular fiction. However, her novels The Stud (1969) and its sequel, The Bitch (1979), were...

Sunita Williams Indian-American astronaut Sunita Lyn Williams (41) returned to earth from International Space Station after six months (a record 195-day) stay in space on June 23, 2007 at 0119 hrs 1st. She surpassed the 188-, day, 4 hours mark set by US astronaut Shannon Lucid in 1996 on a mission to the Russian Mir space station. The Atlantis-the 118th shuttle mission and 21st mission to visit the space station landed...

J.K. Rowling (1965) J.K. Rowling is a well – known British author of children’s books. Rowling was born in Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire, and educated a Whedean Comporehensive School and Exeter University. After she graduated from Exeter University , she found work as a secretary, and later spent time teaching English in Portugal before moving to Edinburgh, Scotland, with her daughter. She currently resides in Scotland with her husband and two...

F. Cooper (1789 – 1851) F. Cooper was born at Burlington, New jersey, September 15, 1789. His father was a person of ability, who served the public as judge and as member of Congress. Cooper made a few voyages to perfect himself in seamanship. Having obtained a commission as lieutenant, he married, and resigning his commission in 1811, entered upon a life of literary labour. He settled at Westchester, where, in...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 – 1882) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the most popular American poet of the 19th century, whose works are still cited – or parodied. Among his most remembered works are Evangeline (1847), The Song Of Hiawatha (1855) and The Courtship of Miles Standish (1858). Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born on February 27, 1807, in Portland, Maine. His father, Stephen Longfellow, was a Portland lawyer and congressman, and mother...