en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Angelou
3 corrections found
Three weeks after completing school, at the age of 17, she gave birth to her son, Clyde (who later changed his name to Guy Johnson).
This appears to misstate Angelou’s age when her son was born. Multiple reliable biographies say she gave birth in 1944, when she was 16, not 17.
Full reasoning
Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928. Reliable biographies state that she gave birth to her son in 1944, which would make her 16 years old, not 17.
- The National Women’s History Museum says Angelou "graduated from Mission High School in the summer of 1944 and soon after gave birth to her only child, Clyde Bailey (Guy) Johnson."
- Biography.com likewise states: "She was 16 years old when she had her son, Guy Johnson, in 1944."
Because both the year (1944) and her age (16) are given explicitly by reliable sources, the article’s statement that she was 17 when she gave birth is incorrect.
2 sources
- Biography: Maya Angelou | National Women’s History Museum
She graduated from Mission High School in the summer of 1944 and soon after gave birth to her only child, Clyde Bailey (Guy) Johnson.
- Maya Angelou: Biography, Author, Poet, Actor, and Activist | Biography.com
She was 16 years old when she had her son, Guy Johnson, in 1944.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969): Up to 1944 (age 17)
The age here is off by a year. Reliable biographies place the birth of Angelou’s son in 1944, when she was 16, so 1944 does not correspond to age 17.
Full reasoning
This chronology entry pairs 1944 with age 17, but multiple reliable biographies say Maya Angelou gave birth to her son in 1944 when she was 16.
- Biography.com states: "She was 16 years old when she had her son, Guy Johnson, in 1944."
- The National Women’s History Museum says she graduated from Mission High School in the summer of 1944 and soon after gave birth to her son.
Since Angelou was born on April 4, 1928, an event occurring in 1944 would place her at 16, not 17. So this chronology line’s age is incorrect.
2 sources
- Maya Angelou: Biography, Author, Poet, Actor, and Activist | Biography.com
She was 16 years old when she had her son, Guy Johnson, in 1944.
- Biography: Maya Angelou | National Women’s History Museum
She graduated from Mission High School in the summer of 1944 and soon after gave birth to her only child, Clyde Bailey (Guy) Johnson.
She returned to the southern United States in 1981 because she felt she had to come to terms with her past there and, despite having no bachelor's degree, accepted the lifetime Reynolds Professorship of American Studies at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she was one of a few full-time African American professors.
The year is off here. Wake Forest and Biography.com both place Angelou’s appointment as Reynolds Professor in 1982, not 1981.
Full reasoning
Reliable sources place Maya Angelou’s Wake Forest appointment in 1982.
- Wake Forest University’s own materials say she was named the university’s first Reynolds Professor of American Studies in 1982.
- Biography.com likewise says she returned to teaching in 1982, when she accepted the Reynolds Professorship.
So the article’s statement that she accepted that professorship in 1981 appears to be incorrect.
2 sources
- Maya Angelou: Teacher - Remembering Dr. Maya Angelou | Wake Forest University
She was named the University’s first Reynolds Professor of American Studies in 1982.
- Maya Angelou: Biography, Author, Poet, Actor, and Activist | Biography.com
Angelou returned to teaching in 1982, accepting a position as the Reynolds Professor of American Studies at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.