Muʿizz al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Sām was the Ghūrid conqueror of the north Indian plain; he was one of the founders of Muslim rule in India. Muʿizz al-Dīn’s elder brother, Ghiyāth al-Dīn, acquired power east of Herāt in the region of Ghūr (Ghowr, in present Afghanistan) about 1162. Muʿizz al-Dīn always

Sanjar was a Seljuq prince of Khorāsān from c. 1096 to 1157, whose fame almost eclipses that of the “Great Seljuqs” because of the length of his reign, his power and victories in its first half, his disasters in the second, and the fact that he was the last real Seljuq sultan in Iran. Appointed

al-Muʿizz was the most powerful of the Fāṭimid caliphs, whose armies conquered Egypt and who made the newly founded Al-Qāhirah, or Cairo, his capital in 972–973. He was about 22 years of age when he succeeded his father, al-Mansur, in 953 with the title of al-Muʿizz. His authority was acknowledged

Aybak was the first Mamlūk sultan of Egypt (1250–57) in the Turkish, or Baḥrī, line. Upon the death of al-Ṣaliḥ, the last great sultan of the Ayyūbid dynasty, his son succeeded him but offended his father’s slave guards, or Mamlūks, who killed him (April 30, 1250). Shajar al-Durr, al-Ṣaliḥ’s widow,

al-Muʿizz was the most powerful of the Fāṭimid caliphs, whose armies conquered Egypt and who made the newly founded Al-Qāhirah, or Cairo, his capital in 972–973. He was about 22 years of age when he succeeded his father, al-Mansur, in 953 with the title of al-Muʿizz. His authority was acknowledged

Ayman al-Zawahiri was an Egyptian physician and militant who became one of the major ideologues of al-Qaeda. Zawahiri led al-Qaeda from 2011 until his death in 2022. Zawahiri was raised in Maʿādī, Egypt, several miles south of Cairo. Although his parents were from prominent families, Zawahiri and

Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb al-Manṣūr: …the third ruler of the Muʾminid dynasty of Spain and North Africa, who during his reign (1184–99) brought the power of his dynasty to its zenith.

ʿAbbādid dynasty: His son Abu ʿAmr ʿAbbād, known as al-Muʿtaḍid (1042–69), greatly enlarged his territory by forcibly annexing the minor kingdoms of Mertola, Niebla, Huelva, Saltés, Silves, and Santa María de Algarve.

al-Muʿtaḍid was one of the greatest of the ʿAbbāsid caliphs (reigned 892–902), known especially for his ruthless skill in dealing with competing provincial dynasties, sects, and factions. The son of al-Muwaffaq, al-Muʿtaḍid was coregent, with al-Muʿtamid, in his father’s last years. He became

al-Muʿtamid was the third and last member of the ʿAbbādid dynasty of Sevilla (Seville) and the epitome of the cultivated Muslim Spaniard of the Middle Ages—liberal, tolerant, and a patron of the arts. At age 13 al-Muʿtamid commanded a military expedition that had been sent against the city of

al-Muʿtaḍid: …al-Muwaffaq, al-Muʿtaḍid was coregent, with al-Muʿtamid, in his father’s last years. He became caliph on al-Muʿtamid’s death in 892, having forced him to disinherit his own son. As caliph, al-Muʿtaḍid reorganized the administration and reformed finances. He concluded a peace with the Ṭūlūnids by marrying their caliph’s daughter and dealt…

al-Muʿtamid was the third and last member of the ʿAbbādid dynasty of Sevilla (Seville) and the epitome of the cultivated Muslim Spaniard of the Middle Ages—liberal, tolerant, and a patron of the arts. At age 13 al-Muʿtamid commanded a military expedition that had been sent against the city of

Hūdid Dynasty: …leaving it to his son Yūsuf al-Muʾtamin (reigned 1081–85), who was more a scholar than a political figure. The reign of Aḥmad II al-Mustaʿīn (1085–1110) was marked by constant wars against the Christians. He was dealt a severe defeat at Alcoraz in 1096, during the Christian march on Huesca; Saragossa…

al-Muʿtaṣim was the eighth ʿAbbāsid caliph, a younger son of Hārūn ar-Rashīd. Succeeding his brother al-Maʾmūn in 833, al-Muʿtaṣim was the first caliph to employ the Turkish mercenaries who later came to dominate the ʿAbbāsid dynasty. In 837 he crushed a revolt of Persian schismatics led by the

Muʿtazilah, in Islam, political or religious neutralists; by the 10th century ce the term had come to refer specifically to an Islamic school of speculative theology (kalām) that flourished in Basra and Baghdad (8th–10th century). The name first appears in early Islamic history in the dispute over

Muʿtazilah, in Islam, political or religious neutralists; by the 10th century ce the term had come to refer specifically to an Islamic school of speculative theology (kalām) that flourished in Basra and Baghdad (8th–10th century). The name first appears in early Islamic history in the dispute over

Muʿtazilah, in Islam, political or religious neutralists; by the 10th century ce the term had come to refer specifically to an Islamic school of speculative theology (kalām) that flourished in Basra and Baghdad (8th–10th century). The name first appears in early Islamic history in the dispute over

Marburgvirus: …humans, marburgviruses are responsible for Marburg virus disease (MVD), a zoonotic disease that is characterized by high fever, malaise, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, skin rash, and hemorrhage (bleeding). MVD case fatality rates have been as high as 80 to 90 percent.

MVD, former Soviet internal-affairs ministry, and one of the forerunners of the KGB

Afonso I was the ruler of Kongo (historical kingdom in west-central Africa) and the first of a line of Portuguese vassal kings that lasted until the early 20th century. He is sometimes called “The Apostle of Kongo” for his role in making Kongo a Christian kingdom. Nothing is known of his early

minimum viable population (MVP), ecological threshold that specifies the smallest number of individuals in a species or population capable of persisting at a specific statistical probability level for a predetermined amount of time. Ecologists seek to understand how large populations must be in

baseball: Awards: The Most Valuable Player (MVP) is selected in both the American League and the National League. The MVP was first given in 1922; since 1931 the players have been chosen by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA). There are also MVP awards for the League…

Movement of the Fifth Republic (MVR), nationalist Venezuelan political party established to support the presidential candidacy of Hugo Chávez in 1998. MBR-200 was secretly established within the Venezuelan military in the 1980s by Chávez and his fellow military officers. The movement rejected

mineral deposit: Mississippi Valley type: The central plains of North America, running from the Appalachian Mountains on the east to the Rocky Mountains on the west, are underlain by nearly flat sedimentary rocks that were laid down on a now-covered basement of igneous and metamorphic rocks. The…

moment magnitude (MW), quantitative measure of an earthquake’s magnitude (or relative size), developed in the 1970s by Japanese seismologist Hiroo Kanamori and American seismologist Thomas C. Hanks. Calculations of an earthquake’s size using the moment magnitude scale are tied to an earthquake’s

moment magnitude (MW), quantitative measure of an earthquake’s magnitude (or relative size), developed in the 1970s by Japanese seismologist Hiroo Kanamori and American seismologist Thomas C. Hanks. Calculations of an earthquake’s size using the moment magnitude scale are tied to an earthquake’s

Edgar Award: …annual awards presented by the Mystery Writers of America (MWA), a professional organization founded in 1945 to promote and elevate the standards of mystery writing. It is named for American writer Edgar Allan Poe, whose short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” (1841) is considered to be one of…

Comoros: Relief, drainage, and soils: Mohéli is the smallest island of the group. Composed largely of a plateau that averages about 1,000 feet (300 metres) in elevation, the island ends in the west in a ridge reaching more than 2,600 feet (790 metres) above sea level. The valleys are generally…

Julius Nyerere was the first prime minister of independent Tanganyika (1961), who later became the first president of the new state of Tanzania (1964). Nyerere was also the major force behind the Organization of African Unity (OAU; now the African Union). Nyerere was a son of the chief of the small

Burundi: The First and Second republics: …request of the constitutional monarch, Mwambutsa. Ngendandumwe was assassinated by a Tutsi gunman on January 15, before he had a chance to establish a government. Joseph Bamina, another Hutu, then served as prime minister until elections could be held later that year. Although elections gave the Hutu a clear majority…

Kingdom of Rwanda: …communities were subdued by the mwami (“king”) Ruganzu II Ndori in the 17th century. The borders of the kingdom were rounded out in the late 19th century by Kigeri IV Rwabugiri, who is regarded as Rwanda’s greatest king. By 1900 Rwanda was a unified state with a centralized military structure.

Levy Mwanawasa was a Zambian attorney and politician who became the third president of Zambia (2002–08). Levy Mwanawasa was a member of the Lenje tribe and was educated at Chiwala Secondary School in Ndola. He read law at the University of Zambia in Lusaka from 1970 to 1973 and became an assistant

Levy Mwanawasa was a Zambian attorney and politician who became the third president of Zambia (2002–08). Levy Mwanawasa was a member of the Lenje tribe and was educated at Chiwala Secondary School in Ndola. He read law at the University of Zambia in Lusaka from 1970 to 1973 and became an assistant

Mwanga was the last independent kabaka (ruler) of the African kingdom of Buganda, whose short but turbulent reign included a massacre of Ganda Christians, spasmodic civil war, and finally an unsuccessful uprising against the British in which Mwanga had only limited support from his own people. Only

Meja Mwangi is an African novelist who wrote prolifically on the social conditions and history of Kenya. Mwangi was stimulated to try his hand at writing after reading Weep Not, Child by Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Kenya’s first novelist. Like his mentor, Mwangi concentrated initially on the Mau Mau

East African lakes: Physiography: …the southern shores the Speke, Mwanza, and Emin Pasha gulfs lie amid rocky granitic hills. Ukerewe, situated in the southeast, is the largest island in the lake; in the northwest the Sese Islands constitute a major archipelago. At the entrance to the channel leading to Jinja, Uganda, lies Buvuma Island.…

Shona: …is belief in a creator-god, Mwari, and a concern to propitiate ancestral and other spirits to ensure good health, rain, and success in enterprise. Elementary education, Christian missions, and partial urbanization have weakened traditional institutions and leadership. However, magic and witchcraft continue as important means of social control and explanations…

Central Africa: Development of the slave trade: …ruler adopting the title of Mwata Yamvo became chief supplier to the Kasanje intermediaries. The Lunda empire spread its commercial network not only to the west but also eastward until it had outlets to the lower Zambezi River and the Indian Ocean. The Mwata Yamvo of the west and his…

Msiri was an African ruler, one of the most successful of the 19th-century immigrant adventurers and state builders in Central Africa. About 1856 Msiri settled in southern Katanga with a few Nyamwezi followers, and by about 1870 he had succeeded in taking over most of this valuable copper region

Mwene Matapa, title borne by a line of kings ruling a southeast African territory between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers, in what is now Zimbabwe and Mozambique, from the 14th to the 17th century. Their domain was often called the empire of the Mwene Matapa, or simply Matapa (or Mutapa), and is

Mwene Matapa, title borne by a line of kings ruling a southeast African territory between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers, in what is now Zimbabwe and Mozambique, from the 14th to the 17th century. Their domain was often called the empire of the Mwene Matapa, or simply Matapa (or Mutapa), and is

Lake Mweru, lake in central Africa, bordered to the east by Zambia and to the west by Congo (Kinshasa). The name is Bantu for “lake.” A part of the Congo River system, it lies in the northwest of the Mweru-Luapula-Bangweulu plain, its surface being about 3,010 feet (917 m) above sea level. Its

Jomo Kenyatta: Entrance into full-time politics: …a monthly Kikuyu-language newspaper called Mwigithania (“He Who Brings Together”), aimed at gaining support from all sections of the Kikuyu. The paper was mild in tone, preaching self-improvement, and was tolerated by the government. But soon a new challenge appeared. A British commission recommended a closer union of the three…

African literature: The epic: …Sunjata and in the epic Mwindo of the Nyanga people of Congo there are major political changes.

Tanzania: Tanzania under Nyerere: …for a short while when Ali Hassan Mwinyi succeeded Jumbe in 1984 and became president of the joint republic after Nyerere resigned in November 1985.

Muslim World League (MWL), international nongovernmental organization founded in 1962 to propagate Islam and to improve worldwide understanding of the religion. The MWL is headquartered in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and maintains offices in countries throughout the world. The MWL works to improve Islamic

fullerene: Carbon nanotubes: …microscopy later revealed that these multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) are seamless and that the spacings between adjacent layers is about 0.34 nanometre, close to the spacing observed between sheets of graphite. The number of concentric cylinders in a given tube ranged from 3 to 50, and the ends were generally…

medieval warm period (MWP), brief climatic interval that is hypothesized to have occurred from approximately 900 ce to 1300 (roughly coinciding with the Middle Ages in Europe), in which relatively warm conditions are said to have prevailed in various parts of the world, though predominantly in the

Peacekeeper missile, intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that was part of the United States’ strategic nuclear arsenal from 1986 to 2005. The MX (for “missile experimental”) was the most-sophisticated ICBM fielded by the United States during the Cold War against the Soviet Union. Under

10 Devastating Dystopias: My (1920; We), by Yevgeny Zamyatin: Yevgeny Zamyatin, one of the most subversive authors to hail from Russia, penned perhaps the most fundamental dystopian text in 1920. Although Russia forbade its publication until 1988, My (or We in English) circulated throughout the nation in manuscript…

Elvis Costello: My Aim Is True: …Lowe produced Costello’s first album, My Aim Is True. A critical and commercial success, it aligned the cynicism and energy of punk bands like the Sex Pistols and the Clash with the structures of a more literate songwriting tradition, weaving complex wordplay through a set of clever pop tunes—among them,…

Louis Adamic: His following book, My America (1938), a mixture of memoir and social philosophy, outlines his dream of a unified American people.

My Ántonia, novel by Willa Cather, her best-known work, published in 1918. It honours the immigrant settlers of the American plains. Narrated by the protagonist’s lifelong friend, Jim Burden, the novel recounts the history of Ántonia Shimerda, the daughter of Bohemian immigrants who settled on the

Thomas Merton: Other publications and posthumous works: Merton’s only novel, My Argument with the Gestapo, written in 1941, was published posthumously in 1969. His other writings include The Waters of Siloe (1949), a history of the Trappists; Seeds of Contemplation (1949); and The Living Bread (1956), a meditation on the Eucharist. Further posthumous publications include…

Diego Rivera: Early years and education: …he describes in his autobiography, My Art, My Life (coauthored with Gladys March and published posthumously in 1960). He wrote that he resisted the European focus of his school, having discovered and been inspired by the art of Mexico before the conquest. Rivera’s engagement with politics also seems to have…

Little Walter: …most popular song was “My Babe,” and his finest work included “Sad Hours,” “Off the Wall,” and “Can’t Hold Out Much Longer.” Little Walter was chosen for the inaugural class (1980) of the Blues Hall of Fame, and in 2008 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall…

Virgil Abloh: Early life and career: …art director on West’s albums My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) and Yeezus (2013) and on West and Jay-Z’s collaboration, Watch the Throne (2011), which garnered Abloh a Grammy nomination. During this period Abloh also pursued his own undertakings, including opening RSVP Gallery (2009), a boutique and gallery in Chicago,…

Stephen Frears: …acclaim for the gay romance My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), which starred a young Daniel Day-Lewis. He continued to garner praise with Prick Up Your Ears (1987), a biographical movie about British playwright Joe Orton, and the American films Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and The Grifters (1990), for which he received an…

Tracey Emin: …Turner Prize with the installation My Bed (1998), which displayed not only the artist’s actual bed but also rumpled bedclothes and what one critic called “uncomfortably personal debris,” including soiled underwear, empty liquor bottles, and used condoms. That work, like many others made by YBAs, was purchased by advertising mogul…

Werner Herzog: …film Mein liebster Feind (1999; My Best Fiend). In addition, Herzog occasionally took acting jobs himself, with notable roles including a stern father in the experimental drama Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) and a criminal mastermind in the big-budget action movie Jack Reacher (2012). He also lent his voice to various movies,…

Yorgos Lanthimos: First film projects: …O kalyteros mou filos (My Best Friend), which he codirected with Lakis Lazopoulos, who wrote and starred in the film. The following year Lanthimos directed and cowrote (with Maria Skaftoura) the short film Uranisco Disco. He began to gain attention for his work in 2005 with the film Kinetta,…

Julia Roberts: …About (1995), Mary Reilly (1996), My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), and Stepmom (1998), for which she also served as executive producer. Her personal life at times overshadowed her professional career, however, as when her highly publicized marriage to singer Lyle Lovett abruptly ended in 1995. In 1999 Roberts starred in…

Frida Kahlo: Marriage to Diego Rivera and travels to the United States: …a barren landscape, and in My Birth (1932) she painted a rather taboo scene of a woman, shrouded in a white sheet, giving birth.

alternative rock: …such as the Cure and My Bloody Valentine—assured that “grunge,” as the music based on those feedback sounds was called, would become an international pop phenomenon.

Herbert Ross: Last Films: My Blue Heaven, written by Nora Ephron, (1990) was a not widely successful showcase for Martin. Ross then directed True Colors (1991), a drama starring John Cusack and James Spader as former law-school friends whose careers diverge. Undercover Blues (1993), a spy farce starring Kathleen…

Wong Kar-Wai: My Blueberry Nights (2007), a road movie filmed in the United States and starring singer Norah Jones, was a rare critical and commercial disappointment for Wong. In 2008 he released Ashes of Time Redux, a restored, shortened version with a new score. He returned to…

“Weird Al” Yankovic: Early life: …junior year, he wrote “My Bologna,” a parody of the hit song “My Sharona” by the Knack. He recorded the accordion track for the song in the restroom across the hall from the KCPR studios, because he thought that the acoustics there were ideal. “My Bologna” was a huge…

African American literature: Slave narratives: In his second, revised autobiography, My Bondage and My Freedom (1855), Douglass depicted himself as a product of a slave community in Maryland’s Eastern Shore and explained how his struggles for independence and liberty did not end when he reached the so-called “free states” of the North. Harriet Jacobs’s Incidents…

melody: …the Scottish folk song “My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean” rises with a leap, then descends more or less stepwise. Melodic motion may be disjunct, using leaps, or conjunct, moving by steps; motion helps form the melody’s contour.

Ashton Kutcher: Stardom: …Effect (2004) and the rom-coms My Boss’s Daughter (2003) and A Lot Like Love (2005). In 2006 he starred with Kevin Costner in The Guardian, playing a man training to be a rescue swimmer with the U.S. Coast Guard. Kutcher had a big hit with What Happens in Vegas (2008),…

ska: …and is remembered for “My Boy Lollipop” by Millie Small, a Jamaican singer based in London, and for hits by Prince Buster and by Desmond Dekker and the Aces. In the 1970s ska was a significant influence on British pop culture, and so-called groups (whose name derived from both…

Miles Franklin: …setting of her first novel, My Brilliant Career (1901; filmed 1980), with its discontented, often disagreeable pioneer characters; yet, she was passionately attached to these regions. Franklin’s feminism and her outright rejection of traditional women’s roles made her books controversial in Australia. In fact, the book My Career Goes Bung,…

Gillian Armstrong: …Fink asked her to direct My Brilliant Career (1979), an adaptation of the novel by Miles Franklin. The movie, about a young woman aspiring to be a writer in Victorian-era Australia, garnered international acclaim and won six Australian Film Institute awards, including for best picture and best director. It launched…

Elena Ferrante: My Brilliant Friend series and later novels: …soon adapted into a well-reviewed television series that premiered in 2018.

Elena Ferrante: My Brilliant Friend series and later novels: In 2011 Ferrante, already a well-regarded international author, surged to even greater celebrity with the publication of L’amica geniale (My Brilliant Friend). It was the first of four novels that follow narrator Elena Greco and her childhood friend—and…

Jamaica Kincaid: Literary works: …of My Mother (1996) and My Brother (1997), an account of the death from AIDS of Kincaid’s younger brother Devon Drew.

Barack Obama: Life after the presidency of Barack Obama: …the Obama Foundation and the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, the organization Obama founded in 2014 to provide opportunities for boys and young men of color. The former president also indicated his support for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, an organization led by former attorney general Eric Holder that was focused…

Miles Franklin: In fact, the book My Career Goes Bung, the sequel to her first novel, was judged so audacious that it was not published until 1946. In 1906 she moved to the United States, where she worked as an editor and as secretary for the Women’s Trade Union League. The…

Günter Grass: Other novels and fictional works: ” Mein Jahrhundert (1999; My Century), a collection of 100 related stories, was less overtly political than many of his earlier works. In it Grass relates the events of the 20th century using a story for each year, each with a different narrator.

My Chemical Romance, American alternative rock band credited with helping to popularize the emo style of music, a subgenre of punk rock fusing confessional lyrics and punk aggression. Singer Gerard Way founded My Chemical Romance in 2001 in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks,

Stevie Wonder: …Made to Love Her,” “My Cherie Amour” (both cowritten with producer Henry Cosby), and “For Once in My Life,” songs that suited dancers as well as lovers. Where I’m Coming From, an album released in 1971, hinted not merely at an expanded musical range but, in its lyrics and…

African literature: Zulu: …in Nyembezi’s most successful novel, Mntanami! Mntanami! (1950; “My Child! My Child!”; Eng. trans. Mntanami! Mntanami!): the character Jabulani loves the city, but, unprepared to deal with it, he becomes a criminal. In Nxumalo’s Ngisinga empumalanga (1969; “I Look to the East”), a man loses his children when Zulu tradition…

My Childhood, the first book of an autobiographical trilogy by Maxim Gorky, published in Russian in 1913–14 as Detstvo. It was also translated into English as Childhood. Like the volumes of autobiography that were to follow, My Childhood examines the author’s experiences by means of individual

Congrats—you’re saving for retirement! You’ve already decided you’d like to invest in a Roth retirement plan so you can set aside after-tax money now and enjoy tax-free withdrawals later. But should you set up your own Roth IRA or invest in your employer’s Roth 401(k)? If your workplace offers it,

Leo Tolstoy: Conversion and religious beliefs: …describes in his Ispoved (1884; My Confession). All activity seemed utterly pointless in the face of death, and Tolstoy, impressed by the faith of the common people, turned to religion. Drawn at first to the Russian Orthodox Church into which he had been born, he rapidly decided that it, and…

The Moldau: …six-movement suite, Má vlast (My Country), which premiered in its entirety in Prague on November 5, 1882.

God Save the King: Smith (1808–95) wrote “My Country ’Tis of Thee” (1832), to be sung to the British tune; it became a semiofficial anthem for the nation, second in popularity only to “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Lin Yutang: …of his many English-language books, My Country and My People. It was widely translated and for years was regarded as a standard text on China. The following year he moved to New York City to meet the popular demand for his historical accounts and novels. In 1939 he published his…

Henry Koster: The 1950s: My Cousin Rachel (1952) was a suspenseful adaptation of the Daphne du Maurier period mystery; Richard Burton portrayed a man whose investigation into the death of his cousin leads him to suspect the dead man’s wife (Olivia de Havilland).

Fred Gwynne: …Sematary (1989) and the comedy My Cousin Vinny (1992).

Ivan Klíma: …memoir, Moje šílené století (My Crazy Century), was published in 2009.

My Darling Clementine, American western film, released in 1946, that is considered a classic of the genre. It was one of the first movies to elevate Wyatt Earp to mythical status and helped establish the legend of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1881). Wyatt Earp (played by Henry Fonda) and his

Paul Zindel: …adults are The Pigman (1968), My Darling, My Hamburger (1969), Harry and Hortense at Hormone High (1984), A Begonia for Miss Applebaum (1989), and David & Della (1993). Zindel broke new ground in 1994 with the horror story Loch, which he followed with The Doom Stone (1995) and Reef of…

The Weeknd: Breakthrough and albums: His next release, My Dear Melancholy (2018), recalled the moody, atmospheric sounds of his earlier music. The cinematic and introspective After Hours (2020) was critically praised and, like his previous release, debuted at the top of the charts. The Weeknd performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in…

Kelly Clarkson: Clarkson’s third album, My December (2007), marked a new era in her career; even more rock-oriented than her previous releases, it was also more confessional, with each track cowritten by its performer.

Chuck Berry: …first number one hit, “My Ding-A-Ling.” Although he recorded more sporadically in the 1970s and ’80s, he continued to appear in concert, most often performing with backing bands comprising local musicians. Berry’s public visibility increased in 1987 with the publication of his book Chuck Berry: The Autobiography and the…

Louis Malle: …renewal of a small-time criminal; My Dinner with André (1981), an unusual film consisting almost entirely of a dinner-table conversation between two characters; and Au revoir les enfants (1987), an autobiographical reminiscence of life in a Roman Catholic boys’ school in occupied France during World War II. Malle’s last film…

Peter Dinklage: …Island (1977–84), in the biopic My Dinner with Hervé (2018), which aired on the cable network HBO. In 2019 Dinklage appeared as the title character in the musical Cyrano, an Off-Broadway production based on Cyrano de Bergerac. He then reprised the role in the film adaptation (2021). During this time,…

Emma Goldman: …she recounted her experiences in My Disillusionment in Russia (1923). She remained active, living at various times in Sweden, Germany, England, France, and elsewhere, continuing to lecture and writing her autobiography, Living My Life (1931). At the time of her death, she was working for the antifascist cause in the…

Sarah Bernhardt: International success: …to disentangle in her autobiography, Ma Double Vie: mémoires de Sarah Bernhardt (1907; My Double Life: Memoirs of Sarah Bernhardt, also translated as Memories of My Life). Bernhardt’s treatise on acting, L’Art du théâtre (1923; The Art of the Theatre), is revealing in its sections on voice training: the actress…