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Bill bryson stephen fry biography wikipedia

William McGuire "Bill" Bryson , OBE , born 8 December is a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel , as well as books on the English language and on scientific subjects. He was a resident of North Yorkshire , England for most of his professional life before moving back to the US in He has lived in Norfolk, England since He has an older brother, Michael , and a sister, Mary Elizabeth. Bryson was educated at Drake University but dropped out in , deciding to backpack around Europe for four months.

For his father, a sports journalist, see Bill Bryson Sr. For the politician, see Bill Bryson (Australian politician).

William McGuire "Bill" Bryson, OBE, (born 8 December ) is a best-selling Americanauthor of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on scientific subjects.

He was a resident of North Yorkshire, England for most of his professional life before moving back to the US in He has lived in Norfolk, England since

Life

Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, the son of William and Mary Bryson. He has an older brother, Michael, and a sister, Mary Elizabeth.

Bryson was educated at Drake University but dropped out in , deciding to backpack around Europe for four months.

He returned to Europe the following year with his high-school friend, the pseudonymous Stephen Katz.

Bill bryson stephen fry biography Bill Bryson is an American writer who was born in the United States but spent the majority of his life in Britain. He became actively involved in literature shortly before his return to America in , and he is now considered one of the most prominent writers in the world. Bryson is best known for his humorous observations about his travels and his books on the English language and science. Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa and inherited a small amount of Irish blood from his mother. He attended Drake University for two years before dropping out in to travel around Europe.

Some of his experiences from this trip are relived as flashbacks in Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe, which documents a similar journey Bryson made twenty years later.

Bryson first visited the United Kingdom in during a tour of Europe, and decided to stay after landing a job working in a psychiatric hospital - the now defunct Holloway Sanatorium in Virginia Water, Surrey.

He met a nurse there named Cynthia, whom he married, and they moved to the USA in so Bryson could complete his college degree, after which, in , they settled in England, where they remained until Living in North Yorkshire and mainly working as a journalist, Bryson eventually became chief sub editor of the business section of The Times, and then deputy national news editor of the business section of The Independent.

He left journalism in , three years after the birth of his third child. Still living in Kirkby Malham, North Yorkshire, Bryson started writing independently and in their fourth and final child, Sam, was born.

In , Bryson returned to the United States to live in Hanover, New Hampshire for some years, the stories of which feature in his book I'm A Stranger Here Myself, alternatively titled Notes from a Big Country in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.

In , however, the Brysons and their four children returned to England, and now live near Wymondham, Norfolk.

Also in , in conjunction with World Book Day, voters in the United Kingdom chose Bryson's book Notes from a Small Island as that which best sums up British identity and the state of the nation.^[1] In the same year, he was appointed a Commissioner for English Heritage.

In , Bryson won the prestigious Aventis Prize for best general science book with A Short History of Nearly Everything.^[2] This page popular literature piece explores not only the histories and current statuses of the sciences, but also reveals their humble and often humorous beginnings.

Stephen fry books Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has been a resident of Britain for most of his adult life, returning to the U. He served as the chancellor of Durham University from to In October , he announced that he had retired from writing books. Bryson attended Drake University for two years before dropping out in , deciding instead to backpack around Europe for four months.

Although one "top scientist" is alleged to have jokingly described the book as "annoyingly free of mistakes",^[3] Bryson himself makes no such claim, and a list of nine reported errors in the book is available online, identifying the chapter in which each appears but with no page or line references.

In , the book won the EU Descartes Prize for science communication.^[2]

Bryson has also written two popular works on the history of the English language — Mother Tongue and Made in America — and, more recently, an update of his guide to usage, Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words (published in its first edition as The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words in ).

These books were popularly acclaimed and well-reviewed, though they received criticism from academics in the field, who claimed they contained factual errors, urban myths, and folk etymologies. Though Bryson has no formal linguistics qualifications, he is generally a well-regarded writer on the subject of languages.

In , Bryson was appointed Chancellor of Durham University,^[3] succeeding the late Sir Peter Ustinov, and has been particularly active with student activities, even appearing in a Durham student film: the sequel to The Assassinator and promoting litter picks in the city^[4].

He had praised Durham as "a perfect little city" in Notes from a Small Island. He has also been awarded honorary degrees by numerous universities, including Bournemouth University.

In , Bryson ran (as part of a celebrity relay team) in the Trescomarathon, the Scillian equivalent of the London marathon.

Bill bryson stephen fry biography personal Stephen Fry is an English actor, comedian, author and television presenter. Fry played the lead in the film Wilde , played Melchett in the Blackadder television series, and was the host of celebrity comedy trivia show QI. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history.

The same year, Frank Cownie, the mayor of Des Moines, awarded Bryson the key to the city and announced that 21 October would be known as, Bill Bryson - "The Thunderbolt Kid" day.^[5]

In November , Bryson interviewed Prime Minister Tony Blair on the state of science and education.^[6]

On 13 December , Bryson was awarded an honorary OBE for his contribution to literature.^[7] The following year, he was awarded the James Joyce Award of the Literary and Historical Society of University College Dublin.

In January , Bryson was the Schwartz Visiting Fellow of the Pomfret School in Connecticut.^[8]

In May , he became the President of the Campaign to Protect Rural England.^[9][10] His first area focus in this role was the establishment of an anti-littering campaign across England.

He discussed the future of the countryside with Richard Mabey, Sue Clifford, Nicholas Crane and Richard Girling at CPRE's Volunteer Conference in November

Bibliography

Travel

Language

Science

Memoir

Biography

References

External links

Persondata
NAME	Bryson, William McGuire
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Bryson, Bill
SHORT DESCRIPTION	American author
DATE OF BIRTH	8 December ()(age&#;57)
PLACE OF BIRTH	Des Moines, Iowa, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH