Great Lives

Born and raised in Martinique, Frantz Fanon fought for the Free French Forces against the Nazis, and then devoted his life to the liberation of Algeria from France. Fanon was a psychiatrist and auth…

Althea Gibson made sporting history in 1957 - the first black tennis player to win a Wimbledon title.

She also won the US Open and the French Open.

Raised on the streets of Harlem, her story is rem…

Yehudi Menuhin was the original child prodigy. He was born in America in 1916, and was soon playing in concert halls round the world. He also played to the survivors of the German concentration camps…

Hans Christian Andersen was 'a very strange orchid,' says Michael Booth. He was born in 1806 in Denmark, and today is still famous for so many stories that every child knows, 156 in total. His own…

"Step one: invite notable guest. Step two: get them to talk about someone else."

After nearly 500 episodes, Great Lives feels like a stable series, but there have been surprises along the way. From Be…

Edward III should be much better known, Rosie tells Matthew Parris. He not only won great battles like Crecy in 1346. He also championed the flourishing of Perpendicular architecture; he understood…

Actor, comedian and Author Ben Miller discusses the colourful, complicated and uncompromising life of William Hazlitt.

Born in 1778 William Hazlitt is considered one of the greatest critics and essayi…

Singer-songwriter Arlo Parks has been nominated for three Brit Awards at just 20 years old. Her inspiration for her debut studio album is drawn from American singer-songwriter Elliott Smith.

Matthew …

Ivor Cutler is hard to categorise. Whimsical and uncompromising, depressive yet joyful, childlike and curmudgeonly, an 'outsider', championed by insiders like Paul McCartney, he's perhaps best known …

Kenny Lynch was born in Stepney, East London in 1938. He toured with the Beatles, wrote best-selling songs, was a champion boxer in the army, and a regular face on British TV. He was also - at the st…

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown picks Nigerian novelist, Chinua Achebe, the author of Things Fall Apart. With archive contributions from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Chinua Achebe himself. He was born in Nigeri…

Director Jonathan Kent was friends with Patricia Highsmith. He'd been playing Tom Ripley for a tv show, and staying in the hotel suite next door to her. She took a shine to him. Now he repays the deb…

In 1960s California, Mexican-American Civil Rights Leader, Cesar Chavez led the United Farmworkers union in a series of strikes, boycotts and semi-religious processions, which inspired farmworkers, s…

Actor Caroline Catz chooses Delia Derbyshire, the musician and composer best known for her work at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop where she realised the TV theme tune to Doctor Who.

Presented by Matthew…

Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat rose to fame in the 1980's Lower East Side New York arts scene.

Andy Warhol was his friend and collaborator, Madonna a one time girlfriend and David Bowie a huge admirer. …

Jessica Mitford was the fifth born of the notorious Mitford Sisters. Born into the aristocracy, as a child she had her own language, collected a running-away fund and fought to set herself apart from…

Comedian and actor Diane Morgan chooses the life of Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding.

Air Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding is best known for his role in the Battle of Britain. He is widely regarded as the a…

Frank Plumpton Ramsey contributed original ideas to the fields of logic, mathematics, economics and philosophy. He was a friend and respected interlocutor of Keynes, Wittgenstein, Russell and Moore, …

Back in the late summer of 2001, a new biography series aired on Radio 4. Matthew Parris was not the first presenter, but he has chaired more editions than anyone else. His very first episode was abo…