Jesus Salvador Treviño: 1946—: Director, producer, writer. Jesus Salvador Treviño has become one of the best-known chicano filmmakers in America. Known for his temerity, he has told stories that could be perceived as difficult or risky and has attacked issues that other filmmakers were either too timid or too bound by restrictions to attempt. Treviño has also direct…
1968— Baseball player Frank Thomas was quite possibly the most exciting major league baseball player to emerge in the 1990s. The six-foot-five-inch, 257-pound Thomas wears his nickname "The Big Hurt" well. It aptly describes his devastating talents as a power hitter for the Chicago White Sox. Thomas won back-to-back American League Most Valuable Player citations—in 1993…
Dara Torres: 1967—: Olympic swimmer, model, TV reporter and announcer. Resilient Olympic sprinter Dara Torres brought home gold, silver, and bronze medals in swimming in 1984, 1988, and 1992 before entering a voluntary seven-year retirement. After defeating bulimia, which hampered her stamina, she began a career in modeling and TV sports commentary. At age 32, she returned to athletic f…
Has also written as Catherine Aydy. Nationality: British. Born: London, 1937. Education: St. Paul's Girls' School, London. Career: Travel correspondent, Queen, London, 1963; features editor, Vogue, London, 1966; editor, Bananas, London, 1975-78. Since 1982 general editor, In Verse, London; since 1985 editor, Lives of Modern Women series, Viking, publishers, London. Fellow, Royal Soci…
Nationality: British. Born: London, 1956. Education: Delhi University, B.A. (with honors) 1975; Tufts University, M.A. 1976; M.A.L.D. 1977; Ph.D. 1978. Career: Assistant to the director of external affairs, 1978-79, public information officer, 1980-81, head of Singapore office, 1981-84, senior external affairs officer, 1985-87, executive assistant to the deputy high commissioner, 1987-89, all Uni…
Nationality: American. Born: Medford, Massachusetts, 1939; brother of Paul Theroux, q.v. Education: St. Joseph's Seminary, 1960-62; St. Francis College, Biddeford, Maine, B.A. 1964; University of Virginia, Charlottesville (Woodrow Wilson fellow), M.A. 1965, Ph.D. 1968; Brasenose College, Oxford. Career: Instructor, University of Virginia, 1968; Fulbright lecturer, University of London, 196…
Nationality: American. Born: Medford, Massachusetts, 1941; brother of Alexander Theroux, q.v. Education: Medford High School; University of Maine, Orono, 1959-60; University of Massachusetts, Amherst, B.A. in English 1963. Career: Lecturer, University of Urbino, Italy, 1963; Peace Corps lecturer, Soche Hill College, Limbe, Malawi, 1963-65; lecturer, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, 1965-68, a…
Nationality: Canadian citizen. Born: Audrey Callahan in Binghamton, New York, 1935. Moved to Canada, 1959; lived in Kumasi, Ghana, 1964-66. Education: Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, B.A. 1957; University of British Columbia, Vancouver, M.A. in English 1963. Career: Since 1990 visiting professor, Concordia University, Montreal. Scottish-Canadian Exchange Fellow, Edinburgh, 1985-86; writ…
Surname pronounced "Taves"; born 1964, in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada; Education: University of Manitoba, B.A. (film studies); University of King's College, bachelor's degree (journalism). Religion: Mennonite. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Random House of Canada Ltd., 1 Toronto St., Unit 300, Toronto, Ontario M5C 2V6, Canada. Writer and journalist. John Hirsch Award for…
Nationality: British. Born: Redruth, Cornwall, 1935. Education: Redruth Grammar School; University High School, Melbourne; New College, Oxford, B.A. (honours) in English 1958, M.A. 1961. Military Service: Served in the British Army (national service), 1953-54. Career: Teacher, Teignmouth Grammar School, Devon, 1959-63; senior lecturer in English, Hereford College of Education, 1964-78, visiting le…
Born 1946, in Crawley, Sussex, England; Education: Attended Hull College of Education. Politics: "Socialist." Religion: "Agnostic." Hobbies and other interests: Dancing, drawing, painting. Agent—Caroline Walsh, David Higham Associates, 5-8 Lower John St., Golden Square, London W1R 4HA, England. Author, 1987–. National Association of Writers in Education, …
Nationality: American. Born: Pomona, California, 1937. Education: University of California, Santa Barbara, B.A. 1960, M.A. 1967, Ph.D. 1973. Career: Assistant professor of English, Montana State University, Bozeman, 1974-79, associate professor of English, 1980-84; visiting associate professor at University of California, Los Angeles, and University of California, Santa Barbara, 1984-88; writer in…
Nationality: British. Born: London, 1939. Education: Eton College, Berkshire, 1953-57. Career: Editorial assistant, Hutchinson, publishers, London, 1959-62; production editor, Macmillan, publishers, New York, 1964-65; since 1965 freelance documentary filmmaker and writer. Awards: PEN award, 1985; Thomas Cook award, for travel book, 1988; Hawthornden prize, 1989. Agent: Gillon Aitken and Stone, 29 …
1963– Restaurant executive One of the highest-ranking African Americans in the restaurant industry, Don Thompson was named executive vice president and chief operations officer of the McDonald's USA fast-food restaurant chain early in the year 2005. That post marked a new stage of 15 years of steady advancement through the McDonald's hierarchy for Thompson, whose McDonald�…
Nationality: British. Born: London, 1938. Education: Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, B.A. (honours) in English, M.A. 1959. Career: Freelance journalist since 1960. Awards: Mary Elgin prize, 1970; Maugham award, 1972. Agent: Curtis Brown, 28-29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4SP, England. Gillian Tindall's first novel, No Name in the Street, was published soon after she graduated from Oxford, and its he…
Nationality: British. Born: Liverpool, 1936. Education: Sale County Grammar School, 1947-54; University of Manchester, 1954-57, B.A. 1957. Career: Insurance clerk, Vienna, 1957; journalist, Sheffield Star, 1958-63, Thomson newspapers, London, 1964-65, Cardiff Western Mail, 1966-69, and Liverpool Echo, 1967. Awards: Authors Club award, 1969; Winifred Holtby prize, 1974; Welsh Arts Council bursary, …
1945(?)– Business executive From the start of his business career, when he helped integrate a Cleveland factory, Lloyd Trotter was a forerunner. Later, as president and CEO of GE Industrial, a branch of General Electric, he continued helping to open doors for other minorities and women. Despite his busy work schedule, Trotter also gives selflessly of his time and resources by volunteering w…
Nationality: South African. Born: Doornfontein, Transvaal. Education: University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Career: Co-founder, Staffrider magazine; board member, Skotaville Press. Miriam Tlali was brought up in Sophiatown, that legendary community within Johannesburg which was razed because it was the sole area where Africans were permitted to take permanent title to land. She successfu…
1927–2005 Activist C. DeLores Tucker never shied away from sensitive political issues. A longtime civil rights activist who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and raised funds for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Tucker spent her life guided by her deep convictions. Her strong will and organizing skills brought her to the attention of those in po…
Nationality: British (emigrated from South Africa, 1963; granted British citizenship, 1968). Born: Barbara Schuddeboom, Capetown, South Africa, 1941. Education: University of Natal, South Africa, B.A. 1963; University of London, diploma in education, 1967. Career: English teacher, Greenwich Park School, London, 1964-67, and Sunderland College of Further Education, 1967-70. Since 1970, full-time wr…
Nationality: British. Born: Rose Thomson in London, 1943. Education: Frances Holland School, 1949-54; Crofton Grange School, 1954-60; the Sorbonne, Paris, 1960-61, diploma in literature 1962; University of East Anglia, Norwich, 1964-67, B.A. (honors) in English 1967. Career: Teacher, Lynhurst House School, London, 1968-70; assistant editor, British Printing Corporation, London, 1970-72; part-time …
Nationality: Irish. Born: Mitchelstown, County Cork, 1928. Education: St. Columba's College, Dublin, 1942-46; Trinity College, Dublin, B.A. 1950. Career: History teacher, Armagh, Northern Ireland, 1951-53; art teacher, Rugby, England, 1953-55; sculptor in Somerset, 1955-60; advertising copywriter, Notley's, London, 1960-64. Lives in Devon, England. Awards: Transatlantic Review prize,…
1934— Philanthropist, administrator, lawyer Thomas, Franklin A., photograph. © Bettmann/Corbis. Franklin A. Thomas made a name for himself as an inspiring leader in America. For seventeen years Thomas was president of the Ford Foundation, a vast and self-perpetuating trust originally endowed by car manufacturer Henry Ford and his son Edsel. With a reported $7.7 billion in assets…
Also writes as Caroline Harvey. Nationality: English. Born: England, 1943. Education: Oxford University, M.A. 1965. Career: Associated with Foreign Office, London, 1965-67; worked as an English teacher for twelve years and in the children's clothing business. Lives in Hampshire, England. Awards: Historical Novel of the Year Award (Romantic Novelists Association), 1979; Elizabeth Goudge Hist…
1952— Pastor Stephen John Thurston is the third generation to pastor the New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church. Like his grandfather and father before him, Thurston preaches every Sunday to his Southside Chicago congregation. A charismatic leader and dynamic preacher, his church has grown to over 2,000 members. He is also the president of the National Baptist Convention of America. Thursto…
1942— Educator, non-profit administrator When William E. Trueheart became the first African American to lead a private New England college in 1989, his appointment made national headlines. However, he had long been a prominent figure in higher education. As a decorated Harvard scholar, doctoral graduate, and college administrator, Trueheart had made his mark in the world of educational theo…
Nationality: British. Born: John Francis Tuohy in Uckfield, Sussex, 1925. Education: Stowe School, Buckinghamshire; King's College, Cambridge, 1943-46, B.A. (honours) 1946. Career: Lecturer, Turku University, Finland, 1947-48; professor of English language and literature, University of São Paulo, Brazil, 1950-56; contract professor, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland, 1958-60; vis…
Born 1894, in Zittau, Germany; immigrated to Switzerland, 1933; naturalized Swiss citizen, 1948; died July 2, 1963, in Corona, Switzerland; father a physician; Education: Attended Social Women's School (Berlin, Germany); studied acting with Max Reinhardt. Writer and broadcaster. Berlin Broadcasting Service, Berlin, Germany, founder and producer of Children's Hour, beginning 1924. Im …
Born 1977 (divorced, 1997); Education: Bachelor's degree (education). Politics: "Green." Religion: Roman Catholic. Agent—Rosemary Canter, P.F.D., 34-43 Russell St., London WC2B 5HA, England. Writer and editor. Volunteer in Zimbabwe and South Africa, c. 1990–92, 1997; community worker and educator. Who Made Me?, illustrated by Cathie Felstead, Augsburg (Minneapoli…
Born 1955, in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada; Education: Graduated from Ontario College of Art, 1977. Hobbies and other interests: Organic gardening, traveling, wild-mushrooming, camping, canoeing, birding, herbalism. Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators, and Performers; Canadian Children's Book Centre. The Wildlife A-B-C: A Nature Alphabet, Greey de Pencier (Toronto, Ontar…
1951— International fraternity president, attorney, activist Arthur Ray Thomas, Esq. is the thirty-first International President of the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, a 125,000 member black fraternity with chapters in the United States, St. Thomas, Japan, Germany, and the Bahamas. He is an accomplished attorney who has worked tirelessly on behalf of political and social issues affecting young A…
1978— Actor Kenan Thompson has been making people laugh ever since he was a school boy impersonating Bill Cosby. Since then he has spent nearly half his life entertaining people—from wacky sitcom antics on Nickelodeon to grown up gags on Saturday Night Live to a real-life portrayal of cartoon biggie Fat Albert. Is there a secret to his hilarious success? "I'm a happy pe…
1969— Actress Torres, Gina, photograph. Vince Bucci/Getty Images. Learning her craft through appearances in high-quality live theater, New York City-born actress Gina Torres became known for the well-crafted characterizations she brought to a series of television and film roles in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Those roles brought Torres before the public in some of the most stylish…
1949— National Chair of Girl Scouts USA, business owner, executive On October 19, 2002, Cynthia Bramlett Thompson was elected chair of the National Board of Directors of Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA)—the highest volunteer position in the world's largest female organization, with more than 3.7 million members nationwide. Thompson's business career as a company owner and…
1964— Musician Tinsley, Boyd, photograph. Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images. A member of the acclaimed Dave Matthews Band, Boyd Tinsley has earned accolades for his innovative work on the violin. Critics have marveled at his ability to move from the traditional to the avant-garde, stretching the limits of an instrument not often associated with contemporary rock music. Tinsley has also re…
1964— Professional basketball player, musician Tisdale, Wayman, photograph. Kent Horner/NBAE via Getty Images. Bass player Wayman Tisdale played twelve years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a power forward before turning his undivided attention to his first love: music. Releasing his first solo album in 1995 while still playing in the NBA, the six-foot, nine-inch tall…
Born 1960, in Dalby, Queensland, Australia; partner of Allan Sheather; Education: Diploma of Teaching; Certificate of Design. Politics: "Green." Hobbies and other interests: Collecting glasses and crockery, cooking and dining out, swimming, astrology, live music, walking on the beach. Office—P.O. Box 693, Ballina, New South Wales 2478, Australia. Agent—Rod Hare, Unit 4/…
Benicio Del Toro: 1967—: Actor, writer. Puerto Rican-born Benicio Del Toro has been called the Marlon Brando of his generation, a label he eschewed. "Everybody's like Brando," he told Harper's Bazaar. His own opinion notwithstanding, the tall, dark, somewhat mysterious actor has made his mark by fully inhabiting his various film roles, to critical and popular…
Born 1966, in New York, NY; Education: Parsons School of Design, B.F.A., 1988. Hobbies and other interests: Languages, history, gardening, horseback riding. Agent—Andrea Cascardi, Transatlantic Literary Agency Inc., P.O. Box 349, Rockville Centre, NY 11571-0349. Illustrator and author. Golf Digest, assistant art director, 1988-93; freelance illustrator, 1993—. Society of Children&#x…
Born 1927, in New York, NY; Education: Princeton University, A.B., 1949; Columbia University, M.A., 1955. Hobbies and other interests: Sculpture, gardening, cooking, sports, reading, movies, dance. Agent— Curtis Brown Ltd., 575 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022. Lawrenceville School, Lawrenceville, NJ, history teacher, athletic coach, and director of a lower school house, 1949-62, 1965-67; C…
Born 1960, in Bogotá, Colombia; Education: Universidad de la Sabana, B.A. (arts and education); studied at Art Students League of New York. Author and illustrator. Editor and translator of educational materials. Authors Guild, Authors League, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, OrigamiUSA. Honor Book in K-6 category, Society of School Librarians International Book Aw…
(Michael Tunnell) Offıce— 210K McKay Building, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602. International Reading Association, American Library Association (member of Newbery Award committee, 1990), National Council of Teachers of English (board member and treasurer, Children's Literature Assembly, 1992-94; member of board of directors and chair of Poetry Award committee, 1995-…
Formerly wrote as James T. Ngugi. Nationality: Kenyan. Born: Kamiriithu, near Limuru, Kiambu District, 1938. Education: Kamaandũra School, Limuru; Karing'a School, Maanguũ; Alliance High School, Kikuyu; University College, Kampala, Uganda (editor, Penpoint), 1959-63, B.A. 1963; Leeds University, Yorkshire, 1964-67, B.A. 1964. Career: Columnist ("As I See It"), ea…
1970— Country-rap vocalist Cowboy Troy, photograph. CBS/Landov. "I think of myself as a pretty unique dude," self-styled "hick-hop" rapper Cowboy Troy told Josh Tyrangiel of Time. And he was right to think so–except for superstar Charley Pride, blacks have been rare in country music. But Cowboy Troy set out to change that with his major-label debut,…
Surname is pronounced "T-zing"; born 1958, in New York, NY; Education: Parsons School of Design, B.F.A., 1980. Politics: "Independent." Religion: "Non-sectarian Christian." Hobbies and other interests: Dogs, horses, ballet and musicals. Family School, New York, NY, Montessori teacher, 1982-84; freelance illustrator, 1989—. Notable Children's …
Born 1942, in London, England; third (second marriage) Hannah, Alice. Education: Attended art school in London, England. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Lothian Books, Level 5, 132-136 Albert Rd., South Melbourne, Victoria 3205, Australia. Writer and illustrator of children's books, beginning 1990. Worked as a silkscreen printer, graphic designer, stage manager, documentary filmmaker for Bri…
Born 1965, in New York, NY; Education: Fordham University, B.A., 1987. Politics: "Independent." Religion: Roman Catholic. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Enslow Publishers, Box 398, 40 Industrial Road, Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922-0398. Writer. Little league coach. (With Michael J. Sullivan) Sports Great Darryl Strawberry, Enslow Publishers (Springfield, NJ), 1990. (Self-illustrated) Ho…
1978(?)— Gospel singer, songwriter, producer Tonex, photograph. Vince Bucci/Getty Images. Among the most exciting figures to emerge in contemporary gospel music in the early 2000s was Tonex, pronounced, as the title of his first nationally distributed album announced, Toe-Nay. Tonex's music was compared to that of Prince and Michael Jackson, and even to that of the imaginative…
1925-1975 Professional football player Tunnell, Emlen, photograph. AP/Wide World Photos. Emlen Tunnell was, as he himself pointed out to Maury White of the Des Moines Register, the "first black everything" with the New York Giants of the National Football League—"player, scout, talent scout, assistant coach, and first full-time black assistant in the whole league…
1976— Actor Thomason, Marsha, photograph. Vince Bucci/Getty Images. Actress Marsha Thomason began her career in British television, and moved quickly into starring roles opposite such Hollywood heavyweights as Eddie Murphy and James Caan. In 2003 she began appearing in the NBC series Las Vegas, which starred her opposite Caan's Las Vegas casino-surveillance chief in what quick…
1964— Religious leader The Rev. Conrad Tillard is both a charismatic religious leader and a man on a quest. As one of the central figures in the New York City branch of the Nation of Islam, in the 1990s he took the name Conrad Muhammad. He later broke with the leaders of the Nation of Islam and returned to his birth name and his Christian roots. Along the way, he plunged into the controvers…
1938— Poet, editor, activist Askia Muhammad Abu Bakr el Touré is one of the founding members of the black arts movement of the 1960s and 1970s. As a poet, editor, and activist, Touré helped define a new generation of black consciousness that sought to affirm through the arts the community's African heritage as a means to create an uplifting and triumphal identity for the mo…
Female. Education: University of Illinois at Chicago, M.A. (creative writing). Agent—c/o Author Mail, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 19 Union Square W., New York, NY 10001. Writer. University of Illinois, Chicago, former instructor in English composition; Hand Workshop Art Center, Richmond, VA, writing teacher; Virginia Commission for the Arts, public information officer; has also worked …
Born 1915, in Boston, MA; name legally changed; Education: Studied at Boston Museum Fine Arts School. Religion: "Stillwater." Hobbies and other interests: Antique collecting, including more than 500 eighteenth-and nineteenth-century children's costumes. Office—Tasha Tudor and Family, P.O. Box 503, Marlboro, VT 05344. Author and illustrator of children's books, 1…
(Ann Nicol) Born 1943, in Hertford, England; Education: Attended Bexley Technical School, 1956-60, and Balls Park College of Education, 1971-73. Hobbies and other interests: Folklore, folk-singing, archaeology, ancient history, reading, dancing, singing, walking in the countryside. Agent—Caroline Walsh, David Higham Associates Ltd., 5-8 Lower John St., Golden Square, London W1F 9HA, England…
(Lucille Wood-Trost) Office—Northwest Indian College, 2522 Kwina Rd., Bellingham, WA 98226. Agent—Sharene Martin, Wylie-Merrick Literary Agency, 1138 South Webster St., Kokomo, IN 46902. University of Florida, Gainesville, research associate in biology, 1962-64; freelance writer, 1964—; Westminster College, Salt Lake City, Utah, assistant professor of behavioral science and d…
Born 1963, in the Bronx, NY; Education: University of Maryland, B.S., 1985. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Pebble Books, 151 Good Counsel Dr., P.O. Box 669, Mankato, MN 56002. Editor for educational publishers in New York, NY, 1988-94; writer. Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. …
Born 1963, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; Education: Northern Alberta Institute of Technology, Diploma in Civil Engineering Technology, 1983; University of Alberta, B.A. (English), 1988. Writer. Prospects Literacy Association, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, special projects coordinator, 1988–. Morinville Mirror, Morinville, Alberta, Canada, reporter, photographer, and editor, 1988–90. Wo…
Born 1951, in Mount Kisco, NY; Education: Yale University, B.A. (with honors), 1973; Harvard University, M.Ed., 1981. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, hiking, conversation. Little, Brown (publisher), Boston, MA, staff member, 1973; Addison-Wesley, Menlo Park, CA, writer in language-arts program, 1974–80; freelance writer, 1981–. Lecturer. Children's Choice Award, Internat…
(Garretson Beekman Trudeau, Garry Trudeau, Garry B. Trudeau) Born 1948, in New York, NY; Education: Yale University, B.A., 1970, M.F.A. (graphic design), c. 1972. Office—c/o Universal Press Syndicate, 4400 Johnson Dr., Fairway, KS 66205. Cartoonist and writer. Cartoonist for Yale Daily News, 1969–70; operator of graphic arts studio in New Haven, CT; writer and illustrator of syndicat…
1926– Ambassador During a diplomatic career that spanned four decades, Terence A. Todman served in nearly a dozen countries—six as a United States ambassador. Along the way he rose to the rank of career ambassador, the state department's highest position. Todman achieved this at a time when few African Americans could break into the American diplomatic ranks. "Of the le…
