What is the difference between a historian and a biographer?

Suetonius represents an example of an ancient biographer. While Suetonius was a Roman, the biographical tradition came from the Greeks and another example can also be found in Plutarch. Ancient biographies are not chronological (not written in time order), and focus more on the character of the individual than on major historical events. Suetonius in particular separates the good and bad aspects of his subject's character, and has a preoccupation with last words and physical appearance, believing that this can tell you more about a person than major events. Tacitus, writing around the same time as Suetonius, is an example of an ancient historian. In his Annals, he expresses the idea that history should be about major historical events, and stresses the importance of recording great battles. Historians, including Tacitus, write in a chronological order, unlike biographers, and Tacitus writes 'annalistically' - giving an account of each year in order.