Famous people | AnyQuestions

some famous people

here is a list of famous people, but there are many more. some famous people have their own official websites or foundations, like the ones highlighted below.

Joan of Arc (1412? – 1431): French heroine.

the beatles (1960 – 1970): British rock group.

ludwig van beethoven (1770 – 1827): German composer.

james cook (1728-1779): English explorer.

charles darwin (1809 – 1882): English naturalist.

albert einstein (1879 – 1955): physicist born in Germany.

mahatma gandhi (1869 – 1948): Indian peace activist.

helen keller (1880 – 1968): blind and deaf American writer.

martin luther king, jr(1929 – 1968): civil rights activist.

abraham lincoln (1809 – 1865): president of the united states.

nelson mandela (1918 – 2013): activist against apartheid.

j k rowling (1965 – ): British author.

william shakespeare (1564 – 1616): English playwright & poet.

vincent van gogh (1853 – 1890): Dutch painter.

Queen Elizabeth II (1926 – ): Queen of England.

billie eilish (2001-): singer.

greta thunberg (2003-): Swedish climate activist.

malala yousafzai (1997-): Pakistani human rights activist and youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Tips: When searching for information about a famous person, we always recommend trying to find their official website first, as the information is likely to be more accurate than fan sites.

general websites

These websites have a lot of information about famous people from all over the world.

info please

infoplease is a reference and learning site that combines the contents of an encyclopedia, a dictionary, an atlas, and several almanacs loaded with statistics, facts, and historical records.

• search for a famous person.
• or go to the browse tab at the top of the page.
• under people go to the overview of people.
• browse bios by letter or by type, eg arts & entertainment.

encyclopedia of world biography

A biography is the story of someone’s life written by someone else. this website is good if you are looking for information on American famous actors, musicians, writers, presidents and more.

• use the search box to find the famous person you’re looking for.
• or browse the lists of famous people under the letters of the alphabet.

Tips: You will need to compare the information found here with other sources, as there is no “about” link to tell us who is responsible for this website.

epic resources

epic is a collection of online resources that have been created especially for new zealand school students. the two resources below have a lot of information about famous people.

biography (gale in context)

This is a great site for information on famous people from around the world. In addition to biographies, it includes videos, audio recordings, and images of famous people, past and present.

• search for your famous person using the search box.
• or go to people search to find a list.
• under topics choose a category, for example, environmentalists or singers.
• When you select a name, there will be an overview and other information such as bios, images, and articles.

British school

The British school has a whole section on biographies.

• start by choosing the medium.
• search for a famous person or select biographies.
• use the options on the left to have fewer results, for example, was for the time period and known.
• in the article, change the reading level at the top of the page if you want more or less information.

Tips: To use the epic resources, you will need a username and password from your school librarian or you can log in to anyquestions between 1:00 p.m. m. and 6:00 p.m. m. Monday through Friday and one of our librarians will help you online.

news

famous people often appear in the news. even if they are no longer living, they can be remembered on the anniversary of their death.

bbc news

a great place to find information on current events and news from around the world is the bbc website.

• Use the search box at the top right of the page to search for your famous person.

tips: it’s worth checking out what other major news sites have on famous people: cnn (us), pbs newshour (us), and abc news (australia). all will have links to world news.

tvnz news

new zealand news service broadcast on tv channel 1, covering real time news, sports highlights, world news, entertainment and weather updates.

• Enter the name of a famous person in the search bar.

books

Your school or local public library will have many books about famous people. here are some suggested titles:

• 100 People Who Made History: Meet the People Who Shaped the Modern World by ben gilliland & philip parker
• 100 women who made history: remarkable women who shaped our world by s a caldwell et al
• extraordinary people: a semi-complete guide to some of the world’s most fascinating people by michael hearst
• letter to my younger self: 100 inspiring people about the moments that shaped their lives edited by jane graham
• 100 scientists who made history: remarkable scientists who gave shape our world by andrea mills & it’s a caldwell.

scis no: 1850784