May 16 - Biographer's Day

A biography is a true story written about someone else. A biographer is the author of a biography.  

In order to write a biography, an author must study the subject of his book. It is said that the best biographers write a story after living with a person, watching their every move and listening to what they talk about, who they love, and where they go.  It is true that an author can write a biography on a person whom they have never met, but that is much harder.

This day is named in honor of an English writer, Hames Boswell, who wrote about the life of another biographer, Samuel Johnson in 1763.  

There is a popular series of children's books on the school library shelves that are biographies.  It is called the "Who Is/Who Was" series with over 150 titles.  It includes titles like, "Who Was Lucille Ball?", "Who Was Mother Teresa?", "Who was Winston Churchill?" and "Who Was Davy Crockett?".  They are very easy to read and we can learn so much about a person, from the author's point of view.

If someone was to write a book called, "Who is Jesus?", who would be the best person to write such a book?  Maybe one of his disciples who lived with him for 3 years?  Maybe someone who lived at the same time and watched Jesus' life? Maybe someone who was a good friend of Jesus?  All of these are correct, and  you can find 4 biographies about Jesus at the very beginning of the New Testament written by people who knew Jesus: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  These are the best kind of biographers: people who knew him, lived with him, traveled with him, and personally listened to him speak.  It makes their account of his life very believable, especially when their stories are verified by other people and historians.

Over 40 authors wrote parts of the Bible. Many were biographers, reporting the stories of another person's life.  We can believe the whole Bible, so today would be a great day to read one of the biographies in the Bible. Maybe start with the book of John.

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