Maya Angelou: Poet, Author and Civil Rights Activist Dies at 86

Maya Angelou was an American poet, memoirist and activist. Born Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, she spent part of her childhood in Stamps, Arkansas.

Her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969) was a landmark of American literature. She read her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Clinton's 1993 inauguration. She worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X and won three Grammy Awards for spoken word.

She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011. Angelou died at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on May 28, 2014, at age 86.

Achievements: Presidential Medal of Freedom (2011), three Grammys.

Birth: April 4, 1928 - St. Louis, Missouri.

Profession: Poet and author.

Interesting Facts: She was also a dancer and singer.