Katherine D. Ortega: 1934—: Former government official, banker, accountant. In the summer of 1983, Angela Marie Buchanan stepped down from her post as the 38th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, leaving the post vacant for then president Ronald Reagan to fill. Reagan said to the New York Times that he was looking to appoint someone who "reflects the goals and ideals for which the pe…
Born in Oakland, CA; children: a son. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Dial, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. Barbara Olsen Day declared in San Francisco, CA, 1991; first and second prize in graphic arts, Crosby Festival of Arts (Toledo, OH), 2002. Suzanne Williams, The Witch Casts a Spell, Dial Books for Young Readers (New York, NY), 2002. Artwork is represented in books, including In the Spirit …
Born 1931, in Huntington, NY; Education: Princeton University, B.A., 1953; Columbia Law School, LL.B., 1959. Agent—Amy Berkower, Writers House, 21 West 26th St., New York, NY 10010. Lawyer, 1959-78. Writer, 1975—. Military service: U.S. Navy, 1953-56. Jeremiah Ludington Award, 1986; Best Science Books of the Year selections, National Public Radio and Scientific American, both for Im…
1945–2005 Activist, Nigerian first lady Obasanjo, Stella, photograph. Nic Bothma/EPA/Landov. Stella Obasanjo became famous not only for being the first lady of Nigeria, married to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, but also for being a political activist in her own right, supporting such causes as women's liberation, youth as leaders of tomorrow, and the rehabilitation of a war torn Nigeria. S…
1947– Executive Packer, Daniel, photograph. Oscar Sosa/Bloomberg News/Landov. From a humble beginning in segregated Alabama, Daniel Packer rose to become the first African American to manage a nuclear power plant. Packer went on to serve as CEO of Entergy New Orleans and landed on Black Enterprise's 2005 list of most powerful African-American executives. During his ascent up the corp…
1961— Politician, attorney Obama, Barack, photograph. AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission. Elected to represent Illinois in the United States Senate in November of 2004, Barack Obama had already become the subject of speculation as to his future on the national political stage. The speculation had grown exponentially in August of that year, when Obama delivered an electrif…
Born 1950, in Greenville, SC; Education: University of South Carolina, B.A., 1972. Agent—Barbara Markowitz, P.O. Box 41709, Los Angeles, CA 90041-0709. Children's book author. Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Best books citation, Family Fun magazine, 1997, summer reading showcase citation, Children's Book Council, and popular paperbacks for young ad…
Born 1943, in Philadelphia, PA; Education: West Virginia University, B.A., 1966; University of Kentucky, M.L.S., 1969. Hobbies and other interests: Drawing, gardening, sewing, travel, grandchildren, photography. Office—Harford County Public Library, 1221-A Brass Mill Rd., Belcamp, MD 21017. Baltimore County Public Library, MD, children's librarian, 1969-77 and 1989—, part-tim…
Born 1943; Female; three Education: Attended North Carolina State University. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Houghton Mifflin, 222 Berkeley St., Boston, MA 02116-3764. Graphic designer; illustrator and author. Caldecott Honor book designation (with Steve Jenkins), 2004, for What Do You Do with a Tail like This? (With husband, Steve Jenkins) Animals in Flight, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 2001. (W…
Born 1947, in New York, NY; Education: Smith College, B.A., 1969. Agent—c/o Author Correspondence, Penguin USA, 345 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014. Hastings House Publishers, New York, NY, editorial staff member, beginning 1971; Scholastic, Inc., New York, NY, editor, 1977-83; Random House, New York, NY, 1983-89, became editor-in-chief of children's books; Penguin Putnam, Books for Y…
1968-2004 Rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, photograph. AP/Wide World Photos. After rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard died of cardiac arrest in a Manhattan recording studio in 2004, an autopsy revealed a dangerous mixture of cocaine and prescription drugs in his system. To some who had followed career the career of a man often known as ODB, his death seemed an unsurprising outcome to a notorio…
1975— Baseball player Ortiz, David, photograph. AP/Wide World Photos. Lots of baseball players shine early, struggle a bit as they make the transition to the majors, then blossom and lead their teams to World Series glory. Few, however, do it with the charisma and drama of David Ortiz. Known almost as much for his appealing personality as for his lethal bat, Ortiz played a key role i…
Born 1960, in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia; mother an art teacher; Education: B.Ed. (printmaking and design). Hobbies and other interests: Nature, conservation. Author and illustrator. Queensland School for the Deaf, Queensland, Australia, former teacher; University of Southern Queensland, former tutor for faculty of education; University of Melbourne, May Gibbs Children's Literature Tr…
Education: University of North Carolina, B.A. (English and philosophy); Denver Publishing Institute, degree, 1981. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Houghton Mifflin, 222 Berkeley St., Boston, MA 02116-3764. William Morrow and Company, New York, NY, worked in sales; Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, New York, NY, managing editor, then editor; Blue Cliff Editions (book packager), managing editor, then associ…
Born 1936, in Ainsdale, Lancashire, England; died May 4, 2002, in Cardiff, Wales; Education: Attended Wakefield and Goldsmiths' College, London. Politics: "Left of center." Hobbies and other interests: Reading, soccer, music, theatre, film. Writer, actor, and director. Worked variously as a factory worker, gardener, bookseller, and laborer; secondary school teacher in Ilford, …
(Carmel O'Mara-Horwitz) Born 1965, in San Diego, CA; Education: Long Beach State University, B.F.A., 1991. Office—2630 Bentley Ave., W. Los Angeles, CA 90064. Freelance artist and illustrator. Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles, CA, part-time teacher; freelance toy designer for Small World Toys, Lakeshore Learning Materials, and Mattel. Volunteer elementary school teac…
(Patrick Joseph) Born 1961; children: Connor, Noah. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Walker & Company, 104 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10011. Author and illustrator. Joanne Oppenheim, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Bantam (New York, NY), 1993. John Schindel, What's for Lunch?, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard (New York, NY), 1994. Ellen B. Jackson, Cinder Edna, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard (New Y…
Name is pronounced "Ee-for-ma Oh-yefulu"; born 1959, in Onitsha, Nigeria; Education: London College of Higher Education, Higher National Diploma, 1984. Religion: Church of England. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Frances Lincoln, 4 Torriano Mews, Torriano Ave., London NW5 2RZ, England. Photographer and author. Caribbean Times, London, England, staff photographer, 1986-87; freelance wri…
Born 1950, in New York, NY; one child. Education: Bennington College, B.A., 1972; Brown University, M.A., 1973. Offıce— American University, Department of Literature, 237 Battelle-Tompkins, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20016-8047. Distinguished Faculty Award, American University Office of Multicultural Affairs, 2003; Outstanding Teacher Award, American University, 20…
Born 1976. Ethnicity: "Puerto Rican and Jewish." Education: College graduate. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, running, watching inappropriate quantities of bad TV. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Writer and editor. Simon & Schuster, New York, NY, editor in trade nonfiction, then young-adu…
1973- Professional football player Owens, Terrell, photograph. Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images. Known as one of the National Football League's top wide receivers, Terrell Owens has made his mark in football history, not just for his talent as an athlete, but for his controversial behavior both on and off the field that gained him the label of football's most misunderstood star. Born …
(Lauren Kelly, Rosamond Smith) Born 1938, in Lockport, NY; Education: Syracuse University, B.A., 1960; University of Wisconsin, M.A., 1961. Office—Council of the Humanities, 223 185 Nassau St., Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544. Agent—John Hawkins, 71 West 23rd St., New York, NY 10010; (for plays) Peter Franklin, c/o William Morris Agency, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New Yor…
Born in Long Beach, California; Hobbies and other interests: Skateboarding. Agent—c/o Author Mail, G. P. Putnam, 375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014. Journalist and author. Los Angeles Times, former sports reporter; freelance writer. Has appeared on television programs, including Good Morning America and The Early Show. International Society of Skateboarding Moms (founder). Skateboard Mom, …
Pseudonym: Rosamond Smith. Nationality: American. Born: Millersport, New York, 1938. Education: Syracuse University, New York, 1956-60, B.A. in English 1960 (Phi Beta Kappa); University of Wisconsin, Madison, M.A. in English 1961; Rice University, Houston, 1961. Career: Instructor, 1961-65, and assistant professor of English, 1965-67, University of Detroit; member of the Department of English, Uni…
Nationality: Irish. Born: Tuamgraney, County Clare, 1932. Education: National School, Scariff; Convent of Mercy, Loughrea; Pharmaceutical College of Dublin: licentiate, Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland. Career: practiced pharmacy briefly; novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. Awards: Kingsley Amis award, 1962; Yorkshire Post award, 1971. Agent: Robert Lescher, 155 East 71st St., New York, NY 10…
Nationality: American. Born: William Timothy O'Brien in Austin, Minnesota, 1946. Education: Macalaster College, St. Paul, Minnesota, B.A. in political science (summa cum laude) 1968; Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1970-76. Military Service: Served in the United States Army during the Vietnam war; discharged wounded 1970: Purple Heart. Career: Reporter, Washington Post, 1971-7…
Nationality: Irish. Born: Dublin, Ireland, 1963. Education: University College, Dublin, B.A. 1986; briefly attended Oxford University. Career: Worked with British Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, 1980s; journalist, screenwriter, writer for television, and author. Lives in Dublin. Awards: Sunday Tribune First Fiction Award, 1989; New Irish Writer of the Year Award, 1989; Time Out Magazine Writing Pri…
Nationality: Irish. Born: London, England, 1932; daughter of the writer Sean O'Faolain. Education: The Sacred Heart Convent, Dublin; University College, Dublin, B.A. in French and Italian 1952, M.A. 1953; University of Rome; the Sorbonne, Paris. Career: Translator for Council of Europe, and worked as supply teacher and cook in London, 1955-57; instructor in French, Reed College, Portland, O…
Nationality: Scottish. Born: Glasgow, Scotland, 1969. Career: Former assistant editor, London Review of Books; writes for London Daily Telegraph. Lives in London. With one novel and one nonfiction book to his credit, Andrew O'Hagan has already established himself as a writer of some achievement and considerable promise. O'Hagan had begun to make a name for himself as a journalist and…
Nationality: Nigerian. Born: Minna, 1959. Education: In Nigeria; at University of Essex, Colchester, B.A. in comparative literature. Career: Broadcaster, "Network Africa," BBC World Service, 1984-85; poetry editor, West Africa, 1981-87. Full-time writer and reviewer for the Guardian, the Observer, and the New Statesman, all London. Awards: Commonwealth Prize for Africa, 1987; Paris R…
Nationality: American. Born: Tillie Lerner, Omaha, Nebraska, 1912 or 1913. Education: Some high school. Career: Has worked in the service, warehouse, and food processing industries, and as an office typist. Writer-in-residence, Amherst College, Massachusetts, 1969-70; visiting professor, Stanford University, California, Spring 1971; writer-in-residence, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambr…
Nationality: American. Born: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1961. Education: Boston University, B.S. 1983; Cornell University, M.F.A. 1992. Career: Test engineer, Grummann Aerospace Corporation, Bethpage, New York, 1984-88; writer. Awards: Ascent Fiction prize, 1988; Columbia Fiction award, 1989; Drue Heinz Prize for Literature, 1993; William Faulkner prize, 1993; named one of America's Best You…
Nationality: Canadian. Born: Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), 1943. Education: St. Thomas' College, Colombo; Dulwich College, London; Bishop's University, Lennoxville, Quebec, 1962-64; University of Toronto, B.A. 1965; Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, M.A. 1967. Career: Taught at the University of Western Ontario, London, 1967-71. Since 1971 member of the Department of E…
Nationality: New Zealander. Born: Auckland, 1937. Education: University of Auckland, M.A. 1959; Lincoln College, Oxford, B. Litt. 1962. Career: Editor, Comment, Wellington, 1963-66; lecturer, Victoria University of Wellington; senior lecturer, Waikato University, Hamilton. Literary editor, New Zealand Listener, 1978-79. Awards: Commonwealth scholarship, 1960; Macmillan Brown prize, 1961; Jessie Ma…
Nationality: American. Born: New York City, 1928. Education: New York University, B.A. (cum laude) in English 1949 (Phi Beta Kappa); Ohio State University, Columbus, M.A. 1951. Career: Instructor in English, New York University, 1964-65; Distinguished Artist-in-Residence, City University, New York, 1982; Phi Beta Kappa Orator, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1985. Lives in New Rochel…
Nationality: American. Born: Grace Goodside in New York City, 1922. Education: Evander Childs High School, New York; Hunter College, New York, 1938-39. Career: Has taught at Columbia University, New York, and Syracuse University, New York. Since 1966 has taught at Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York, and since 1983 at City College, New York. New York State Author, 1986-88. Awards: Guggenh…
Nationality: American and Irish. Born: the United States in December 1947. Education: Exeter College, Oxford, 1967-70, B.A. (honors) in English 1970; Wolfson College, Oxford, 1971-75, B. Litt. 1975. Career: Lecturer, Huddersfield Polytechnic, Yorkshire, 1972-74, and University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 1974-90; visiting teacher in creative writing, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 198…
1961— Sports reporter and anchorwoman For a young African American woman to succeed in the male-dominated field of sports journalism, it takes an exceptional blend of hard work, expertise, confidence, and tact. Throughout her rapidly advancing career, Pam Oliver has demonstrated all these qualities, earning the respect of athletes and fellow journalists alike. She has met the challenges of …
1974— Environmental scientist, activist Atlanta-based activist Na'Taki Osborne is a one-woman phenomenon, a dynamo who devotes both career and spare time to improving the environment in the neighborhoods where she lives and works. Osborne has been active in organizing children's environmental groups, created green space out of industrial wastelands, studied environmental scien…
1952— Lawyer Charles Ogletree, Jr., is considered one of the most tenacious and successful trial lawyers in the United States. The Harvard University professor is a passionate advocate of a defendant's right to a fair trial within the American justice system—a Constitutional right one might find it difficult to receive if a member of a minority group. For several years Ogletre…
Born 1938, in Suffolk, England; Education: Attended Ipswich School of Art and Central School of Arts and Crafts, London. Agent—Elaine Greene, Ltd., 37 Goldhawk Rd., London W12 8QQ, England. Writer and illustrator of children's books. Stage designer in Colchester, England, 1960, and Tel-Aviv, Israel, 1961; television designer in London, England, 1963. Kate Greenaway Award, British Lib…
(Lorraine Avery, a joint pseudonym, Michael McBrier, a joint pseudonym) Born 1940, in Baltimore, MD; Education: University of Vermont, B.A., 1962; New York University, Ph.D., 1970. Hobbies and other interests: Skiing, mountain biking, gardening. Agent—Sally Brady, Hartland Four Corners, VT 05049. Writer and editor-in-chief of Ski Press and Adventure Press. Worked variously as a ski instruc…
Born 1953, in Accra, Ghana; a homemaker) Oppong; Ethnicity: "African-American." Education: University of Ghana, B.A., 1982; University of Alberta, M.S., 1986, Ph.D., 1992. Politics: Republican. Religion: Evangelical Christian. Office—Department of Geography, University of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203-5279. University of Iowa, Iowa City, visiting geology instructor, 1990-91; …
OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for SATA sketch: Born May 20, 1949, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; died of cancer March 26, 2004, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Educator, artist, and author. Oberman, a diverse talent whose interests included creating found-art objects and song writing, composed books for all ages but was best known for his award-winning children's books, a number of which …
Born 1969, in Houston, TX; Education: University of Notre Dame, B.A., 1990; Christina Albrecht University (Kiel, Germany), M.A., 1994; University of Virginia, Ph.D., 2000. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Unitarian. Hobbies and other interests: "Running, writing, playing with my children." Office—University of Oklahoma, 4502 E. 41st St., Tulsa, OK 74135-2512. University of Tulsa…
Born 1967, in Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada; Education: University of Toronto, B.A. (English and cinema), 1989. Hobbies and other interests: Sailing, swimming, travel, airships, movies, theater. Office—HarperCollins Canada, 2 Bloor S. East, 20th Fl., Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8, Canada. Writer, 1985—; Scholastic Canada, Richmond Hill, Ontario, associate editor, 1989; Quill …
Soledad O'Brien: 1966—: Reporter. Television news anchor Soledad O'Brien generated a flurry of her own news stories after she began appearing on the cable network MSNBC in 1996. Hired as the host of its daily technology show, O'Brien and her dramatically exotic looks garnered a slew of fan mail and helped make her one of the news channel's rising stars. O�…
Ellen Ochoa: 1958—: Astronaut. Ellen Ochoa became the first Latina in space in 1993 when she served as the sole female crew member of Discovery space shuttle. By 1999, with three missions behind her, Ochoa had logged 720 hours of space time. An accomplished engineer and scientist who has served at Mission Control for other shuttle flights, the native Californian also likes to speak to s…
Nationality: St. Lucian. Born: Castries, St. Lucia. Education: The University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica, degree in French. Career: Has lived in France, Ghana, and England. Garth St. Omer creates characters filled with an unrest which they themselves cannot define or explain. It is a malaise of the islands which makes them hesitate even before opportunities which are apparently dazzlin…
Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill: 1921—2001: Composer, arranger, musician. One of the architects of Latin jazz, Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill made his mark by fusing jazz with Afro-Cuban music beginning in the late 1940s. Though he would write and arrange music for five more decades, he would receive the most recognition of his career in the last six years o…
Orman, Roscoe, photograph. AP/Wide World Photos. 1944– Actor Roscoe Orman is best known to most Americans as Gordon on the Sesame Street children's television program, a fixture of the Public Broadcasting System television network since the mid-1970s. With his shaved head, Orman seemed an almost ageless presence among the truly ageless Muppets in the show's regular cast. The s…
Edward James Olmos: 1947—: Actor. Edward James Olmos is one of the most influential voices of the Latino community in the United States. As an actor, he has produced a commendable body of work that has earned him numerous awards and unlimited accolades. But Olmos's life is more than a story of poor kid from the barrio who made it big in Hollywood. He is not only an actor but an a…
1956– Restaurant executive Otis, Clarence Jr., photograph. AP/Wide World Photos. In the 2000s African Americans remained rare as chief executives of "Fortune 500" companies—the 500 largest companies in the United States. When Clarence Otis Jr. was named CEO of Darden Restaurants in December of 2004, he was one of just seven. He reached his high-level post not only throu…
1923–2003 Cleric Otunga, Maurice Michael, photograph. © Grzegorz Galazka/Corbis. Maurice Michael Otunga was the first Roman Catholic cleric from Kenya to attain the status of cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. One of East Africa's most respected religious leaders, Otunga belonged to just a select number of men who would meet in a closed-door session known as the conclave u…
Adriana Ocampo, a senior research planetary scientist with the European Space Agency (ESA) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, is an expert on remote sensing. Geologists and geographers use remote-sens-ing instruments on Earth to study surface terrain. Ocampo used remote-sensing instruments mounted on spacecraft to study Earth and other planets, moons, comets, and asteroids. Ocampo and other planetary …
Eddie Alberto Pérez: 1957—: Political leader. In his first run for political office in 2001, Eddie Pérez made history as the first Hispanic–American to become mayor of a New England capital. A native of Puerto Rico, longtime Hartford, Connecticut resident Pérez also broke new political ground by forging a bipartisan coalition of community activists and corpor…
Tony Pérez: 1942—: Professional baseball player and manager. "If there's a runner on second base," former Cincinnati Reds manager Sparky Anderson told the National Baseball Hall of Fame on the occasion of Pérez's induction into that body, "there isn't anybody I'd rather see walk to the plate than Tony Pérez. He turns …
Tony Orlando: 1944—: Singer. 1970s phenomenon Tony Orlando made a name for himself churning out bubble-gum pop songs with a female duo called Dawn, performing such runaway hits as "Knock Three Times" and "Tie A Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree." The group sold nearly 30 million records, topped the Billboard charts three times, and had their own te…
1945– Newspaper publisher In the world of African-American newspaper publishing, John J. Oliver Jr. is both a figure rooted in tradition and an innovator who has revitalized a vital strand of black community discourse. The publisher and chief executive of Baltimore, Maryland's Afro-American newspapers, Oliver inherited the mantle of family tradition: his great-grandfather, a former s…
1937— Principal, educational consultant, community activist Although Helen Owens spent her first 12 years of life as the child of sharecroppers in Tennessee, she has since become an educated, caring, and committed professional well known for her devoted community service. The long list of honors and awards Owens has received indicate not only her achievements, but also her passion for impro…
Daniel Ortega: 1945—: Former Nicaragua president, revolutionary. Daniel Ortega joined the revolutionary Sandinista National Liberation Front (Frente Sandinista Liberación National—FSLN) in 1963, dedicating himself to the overthrow of the oppressive Somoza dictatorship, which had been governing Nicaragua since the 1930s. After years of imprisonment and exile for his revolut…
