Born: 4 April 1928 · Died: 28 May 2014 · Age at death: 86
How old was Maya Angelou when she died?
Maya Angelou died aged 86. She was born on 4 April 1928 and died on 28 May 2014.
American poet and memoirist of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings who read her poem at Bill Clinton's 1993 inauguration
Did you know?She was the first black female cable car conductor in San Francisco, a job she secured at the age of sixteen.
Quick facts
Date of birth4 April 1928
Date of death28 May 2014
Age at death86
NationalityAmerican
BirthplaceSt. Louis, United States
Occupationpolitician, dancer, film producer
Editor's Take:
Maya Angelou turned the hardest moments of her life into literature of great power. Her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings spoke openly about racism and trauma, and became a landmark of American writing. She was also a poet, dancer, singer, actor and civil rights activist who worked with Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Her reading at Bill Clinton's 1993 inauguration reached millions. Her words continue to inspire resilience.
Key Milestones
1969: Caged Bird – memoir
1971: Pulitzer nomination – poetry
1978: And Still I Rise – poems
1993: Inauguration – reads poem
Maya Angelou ( AN-jə-loh; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, essayist, poet, and civil rights activist.
