Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Biography
 | This guideline is a part of the English Wikipedia's Manual of Style. Editors should generally follow it, though it is best treated with common sense, and exceptions may apply. Substantive edits to this page should reflect consensus. |
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This page sets out guidelines for achieving visual and textual consistency in biographical articles and in biographical information in other articles; such consistency allows Wikipedia to be used more easily. While this guideline focuses on biographies, its advice pertains, where applicable, to all articles that mention people.
Lead section
The lead section should summarise with due weight the life and works of the person. When writing about controversies in the lead section of a biography, relevant material should neither be suppressed nor allowed to overwhelm: always pay scrupulous attention to reliable sources, and make sure the lead correctly reflects the entirety of the article. Write clinically, and let the facts speak for themselves. These concerns are especially pressing for biographies of living persons.
Well-publicized recent events affecting a subject, whether controversial or not, should be kept in historical perspective. What is most recent is not necessarily what is most noteworthy: new information should be carefully balanced against old, with due weight accorded to each.
When a subject dies, the lead need not be radically reworked; Wikipedia is not a memorial site. Unless the cause of death is itself a reason for notability, a single sentence describing the death is usually sufficient, and often none is included in the lead at all, just a death date.
Opening paragraph
MoS guidelines for opening paragraphs and lead sentences should generally be followed. The opening paragraph of a biographical article should neutrally describe the person, provide context, establish notability, explain why the person is notable, and reflect the balance of reliable sources.
First sentence
The first sentence should usually state:
- Name(s) and title(s), if any . Handling of the subject's name is covered below in .
- Dates of birth and death, if found in secondary sources (do not use primary sources for birth dates of living persons or other private details about them).
- Context (location, nationality, etc.) for the activities that made the person notable.
- One, or possibly more, noteworthy positions, activities, or roles that the person is mainly known for, avoiding subjective or contentious terms.
- The main reason the person is notable (key accomplishment, record, etc.)
However, try not to overload the first sentence by describing everything notable about the subject; instead, spread relevant information over the lead paragraph.
The first sentence should start with the person's name, immediately followed by key biographical data in parentheses. The parenthetical list of facts is separated by semicolons. Typically, these include their birth name, if relevant, introduced by born, neé or né (), and their birth date, lifespan, or period of activity (). Other information may be included, such as pronunciation, but this is usually better incorporated elsewhere (). If a birth name and birth date are both introduced with born, they should be joined with a comma and the second born should be omitted (e.g., born Hussein Abdi Kahin, 23 March 1983, not born Hussein Abdi Kahin; born 23 March 1983 or born Hussein Abdi Kahin; 23 March 1983).
First sentence examples:
- Cleopatra VII Philopator[a] (69 – August 12, 30 BC) was queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, and its last active ruler.
- Francesco Petrarca[b] (July 20, 1304 – July 19, 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch,[c] was a scholar and poet of Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists.
- Cesar Estrada Chavez (March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist.
- François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 1916 – 8 January 1996) was President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France.
- Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver ...
Birth date and place
The opening paragraph should usually have dates of birth and (when applicable) death. These dates (specific day–month–year) are important information about the subject, but if they are also mentioned in the body, the vital year range (in brackets after the person's full name) may be sufficient to provide context. For living persons, privacy should be considered .
Birth and death places, if known, should be mentioned in the body of the article, and can appear in the lead if relevant to notability, but not in the opening brackets alongside the birth and death dates.
Birth and death labels are included only when needed for clarity. When given, use full words, whether immediately preceding a date or not:
- William Alexander Spinks Jr. (1865–1933) was an American professional player of carom billiards in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. – no need for labels, and specific dates are in the article body
- Gro Harlem Brundtland (... born Gro Harlem, 20 April 1939) is a Norwegian politician ... – "born" label used to introduce birth name
For an approximate date or range of dates, use c. (abbreviation for circa); at first occurrence this should be done with the template {{circa}} a.k.a. {{c.}}, which explains the abbreviation: c. 1457. When the only date known for a historical subject is a date (or range) when they were alive, fl. for floruit (Latin for 'they flourished') is used; at first occurrence the {{floruit}} a.k.a. {{fl.}} template produces similar output: fl. 1432.
For full details on how to format simple and complex dates and ranges, .
Beyond the first paragraph of the lead section, birth and death details should only be included after a name if there is special contextual relevance. Abbreviations like b. and d. can be used, if needed, when space is limited (e.g., in a table) and when used repetitively (e.g., in a list of people). Birthdate information can be included in lists, directly to the right of the name, in parentheses, using the following format:
- John Smith (1900–1990), doctor, lawyer and politician
- Sally Wong (born 1984), ice skater