List of Biographies for Middle School and High School

Learning about other people can be captivating. What is the real story of Jim Bowie who died at the Alamo? Was Billy the Kid like his legend? What made men want to be President? Too often what we “know” is legend and myth. By reading biographies we learn more about what really happened. We get a chance to learn about people who were pioneers in the fields we are interested in. If science might be calling you as a profession, read about Marie Curie. If you want to be a photographer, read up on famous photographers for inspiration. Here are few biographies that are appropriate for middle school and high school ages. Use them as a starting point to learn more about real men and women who made a difference in the world.


American Dinosaur Hunters (Collective Biographies) by Nathan Aaseng
American Homefront in World War II: Biographies (American Homefront in World War II Reference Library) by Richard Clay Hanes
Andrew Jackson & His America (Milton Meltzer Biographies) by Milton Meltzer
Billy the Kid: Outlaw of the Wild West (Historical American Biographies) by Roger Bruns
Biography Today: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Scientists and Inventors, Vol 1) by Laurie Lanzen Harris
Breaking Barriers: The Feminist Revolution from Susan B. Anthony to...Betty Friedan (Epoch Biographies) by Jules Archer
Daniel Boone: Frontier Legend (Historical American Biographies) by Pat McCarthy
Edgar Allan Poe: A Biography by Milton Meltzer
Emily Dickinson (Literary Greats) by Milton Meltzer
First Ladies: A Biographical Dictionary (Facts on File Library of American History) by Dorothy Schneider
Harriet Beecher Stowe (Impact Biographies) by Suzanne M. Coil
Holocaust Rescuers: Ten Stories of Courage (Collective Biographies) by Darryl Lyman
Jane Addams: Nobel Prize Winner and Founder of Hull House (Historical American Biographies) by Bonnie C. Harvey
Jim Bowie: Hero of the Alamo (Historical American Biographies) by Ann Gaines
Jim Henson: Puppeteer And Filmmaker (Ferguson Career Biographies) by James Robert Parish
Jimmy Carter: U.s. President And Humanitarian (Ferguson Career Biographies) by Bernard Ryan, Jr
Kids with Courage: True Stories About Young People Making a Difference by Barbara A. Lewis
Kindred Spirit: A Biography of L. M. Montgomery, Creator of Anne of Green Gables by Catherine M. Andronik
Madam C.J. Walker: Self-Made Businesswoman (African-American Biographies) by Della A. Yannuzzi
Madam Prime Minister: A Biography of Margaret Thatcher (People in Focus) by Libby Hughes
Margaret Bourke-White: A Photographer's Life (Lerner Biographies) by Emily Keller
Marian Anderson: Singer and Humanitarian (African-American Biographies (Enslow)) by Andrea Broadwater
Martha Berry: A Woman of Courageous Spirit and Bold Dreams : A Biography by Joyce Blackburn
Moe Berg: The Spy Behind Home Plate (Jps Young Biography Series.) by Vivian Grey
Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Biography (Literary Greats) by Milton Meltzer
Presidents: A Biographical Dictionary (Political Biographies) by Neil A. Hamilton
Robert Fulton: Inventor and Steamboat Builder (Historical American Biographies) by James M. Flammang
Sitting Bull: Sioux Leader (Native American Biographies) by Elizabeth Schleichert
The Emperor General: A Biography of Douglas MacArthur by Norman H. Finkelstein
The Life & Times Of Constantine (Biography from Ancient Civilizations) (Biography from Ancient Civilizations: Legends, Folklore, and Stories of Ancient Worlds) by Kathleen Tracy
Thomas Edison: Inventor of the Age of Electricity (Lerner Biography) by Linda Tagliaferro
With Daring Faith: A Biography of Amy Carmichael by Rebecca Davis