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Date of Birth
Maya was born on April 4th, 1928 -
High School Relationship
Maya gave birth to a son, Guy, at the age of sixteen after a short lived high school relationship. -
Marriage
In 1952, Maya married Anastasio Angelopulo, a Greek sailor from whom she took her professional name. -
Career Beginnings
She appeared in the off-Broadway production of "Calypso Heat Wave" and releasing her first album, "Miss Calypso". -
Living Abroad
She traveled to Egypt and then Ghana to work as an editor and a freelance writer. She also worked at the University of Ghana for a period of time. -
Friends Forever
Martin Luther King Jr. died on Maya Angelou's birthday, and she stopped celebrating her birthday years afterwards. Instead of celebrating, she sent flowers to Martin's wife, Coretta Scott King, for more than thirty years. -
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"
She wrote her very successful memoir about her childhood and adult years, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." It made literary history as the first nonfiction best-seller by an African American women. -
Poetry
Maya wrote a poem by the title, "Of the Pulse of Morning". This poem was so successful that she recited it at Bill Clinton's inaugural ceremony in January -
New York Times
Angelou was lauded for staying on the New York Times' paperback nonfiction best-seller list for two years. That was the longest running record in chart's history. -
Career Accolades
Angelou's movie, "Down in the Delta" was congratulated at the Chicago International Film Festival 1998 Audience Choice Award, and a nod from the Acapulco Black Film Festival in 1995. -
Film Director
Angelou made her directorial debut with her movie "Down in the Delta" starring Alfred Woodward. -
Date of Death
Maya died on May 28, 2014, at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.