Edward Teach (some accounts also give him the alias of Edward Thatch or Edward Drummond) was an Englishman. His personal life is something that lacks a lot of detail unfortunately, though his pirating career took place approximately between 1714 and 1718 (many accounts saying he may have originally been a privateer).
Blackbeard is widely responsible for cultivating the popular image of what pirates were. He wore strange and outlandish clothing, often armed with multiple swords, pistols, and knives, along with a great black beard. It is said that he often wove hemp or other slow-burning matches into his beard and would light them, giving him the appearance of a smoldering demon from hell itself. He also made sure that his ship, Queen Anne's Revenge, was armed to the teeth with about fourty cannons in all.
He quickly gained a reputation as being one of the most cruel pirates in history as he would repeatedly raid merchants and outposts, always making sure to take everything and leave them with nothing. Legends of him shooting his first mates just for the sake of showing he was incharge are often heard about him. He also reportedly had nearly fourteen wives. Whether these stories are true or not, he did indeed gain quite a reputation as a terror on the seas.
However, when a fleet of ships set out to end his reign of terror, they found him in the Adventure with only nineteen crewmen. Lieutenant Robert Maynard lead the attack. Maynard and Blackbeard apparently entered a sword fight with eachother in the battle. In the end Blackbeard met his demise. His head was removed and lashed to the bow of Maynard's ship.
As any other aspects of this man's life, legends of his death have become widely known, the most common being that when his headless body was tossed overboard it swam around the ship about seven times before sinking. Though he was eventually killed, Blackbeard has obviously been imortalized in legend.