Bill Bryson

He had an older brother, Michael (1942–2012), and a sister, Mary Jane Elizabeth.

William McGuire Bryson (born 8 December 1951) is an American–British journalist and author.

Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science.

Bryson attended Drake University for two years before dropping out in 1972, deciding instead to backpack around Europe for four months.

He returned to Europe the following year with a high school friend, Matt Angerer (the pseudonymous Stephen Katz).

Bryson wrote about some of his experiences from the trip in his book Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe.

Bryson first visited Great Britain in 1973 during his tour of Europe and decided to stay after securing a job working in a psychiatric hospital, the now-defunct Holloway Sanatorium in Virginia Water, Surrey.

He met a nurse there, Cynthia Billen, whom he married in 1975.

They moved to Bryson's hometown of Des Moines, Iowa, in 1975 so Bryson could complete his degree at Drake University.

In 1977 they settled in Britain.

He worked as a journalist, first for the Bournemouth Evening Echo, eventually becoming chief copy editor of the business section of The Times and deputy national news editor of the business section of The Independent.

Bryson also wrote two popular works on the history of the English language, The Mother Tongue and Made in America—and, more recently, an update of his guide to usage, Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words (first published as The Penguin Dictionary of Troublesome Words in 1983).

While living in the U.S. in the 1990s, Bryson wrote a column for a British newspaper for several years, reflecting on humorous aspects of his repatriation in the United States.

These columns were selected and adapted to become his book I'm a Stranger Here Myself, alternatively titled Notes from a Big Country in Britain, Canada, and Australia.

During his time in the US, Bryson decided to walk the Appalachian Trail with his friend Stephen Katz (a pseudonym), about which he wrote the book A Walk in the Woods.

Born in the United States, he has been a resident of Britain for most of his adult life, returning to the U.S. between 1995 and 2003, and holds dual American and British citizenship.

In 1995, while in the United Kingdom, Bryson authored Notes from a Small Island, an exploration of Britain.

From 1995 to 2003 they lived in Hanover, New Hampshire.

In 2003, he authored A Short History of Nearly Everything.

The Brysons moved around the United Kingdom, living in Virginia Water (Surrey), Purewell (Dorset), Burton (Dorset), Kirkby Malham, and the Old Rectory in Wramplingham, Norfolk (2003–2013).

They currently live in rural Hampshire and maintain a small flat in South Kensington, London.

In 2003, in conjunction with World Book Day, British voters chose Bryson's book Notes from a Small Island as that which best summed up British identity and the state of the nation.

Also in 2003, he was appointed a Commissioner for English Heritage.

His popular science book, the 500-page A Short History of Nearly Everything, explores not only the histories and current statuses of the sciences, but also their humble and often humorous beginnings.

Although one "top scientist" is alleged to have jokingly described the book as "annoyingly free of mistakes", Bryson himself makes no such claim, and a list of some of its reported errors is available online.

He served as the chancellor of Durham University from 2005 to 2011.

In 2006, Bryson published The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, a humorous account of his childhood years in Des Moines.

In 2006 Frank Cownie, the mayor of Des Moines, awarded Bryson the key to the city and announced that 21 October 2006 would be "Bill Bryson, The Thunderbolt Kid, Day."

In November 2006, Bryson interviewed then British prime minister Tony Blair on the state of science and education.

Although able to apply for British citizenship, Bryson said in 2010 that he had declined a citizenship test, declaring himself "too cowardly" to take it.

In 2012, Bryson sued his agent, Jed Mattes Inc., in New York County Supreme Court, claiming it had "failed to perform some of the most fundamental duties of an agent".

However, in 2014, he said that he was preparing to take it and in the prologue to his 2015 book The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes From a Small Island he describes doing so, in Eastleigh.

His citizenship ceremony took place in Winchester and he now holds dual citizenship.

In the 2015 film adaptation of A Walk in the Woods, Bryson is portrayed by Academy Award winner Robert Redford, and Katz by Nick Nolte.

He also released a podcast, Bill Bryson's Appliance of Science, in 2017.

In October 2020, he announced that he had retired from writing books.

In 2022, he recorded an audiobook for Audible, The Secret History of Christmas.

He has sold over 16 million books worldwide.

Bryson was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, the son of Bill Bryson Sr.., a sports journalist who worked for 50 years at the Des Moines Register, and Agnes Mary (née McGuire), the home furnishings editor at the same newspaper.

His mother was of Irish descent.