Major Biographical Resources: A Guide

We are purchasing online versions of major biographical reference sources all the time. In addition, most people are not familiar with the important biographical resources in print and on microfilm. This guide combines online titles with the selected microform and print biography titles in the Olin reference collection. Online databases are available to Cornell users only.

Biography is a branch of the study of history. The reliability of biographical sources varies widely and is subject to the usual vagaries of historical studies: lack of accurate information, too much conflicting information, too little information, psychological theorizing, etc. But a well-written biographical article in a reliable reference book or database can be a source of both pleasure and enlightenment. Enjoy!

For further information or to locate titles not listed here, always feel free to consult the reference staff.

National biographies cover persons no longer living who were prominent in the history of that country (often including its colonial extensions). For exact coverage dates and information on other criteria for inclusion, see the front matter of the individual title.

American National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2000- .

(Library Gateway); also in print, Olin Ref CT 213 .A68x 1999

The standard United States national biography. Profiles of more than 17,500 notable American men and women from all eras of U.S. history who are no longer alive. The ANB Online features thousands of illustrations, more than 80,000 hyperlinked cross-references, links to select web sites, and archival sources. Articles are updated and added regularly. The ANB supersedes the Dictionary of American Biography, the previous standard national biography of the United States.

For persons not listed in the ANB, check the less authoritative, older National Cyclopaedia of American Biography (Olin Reference CT 213 .N27) and the K. G. Saur index and microfiche collection of biographical dictionaries.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press.

(Library Gateway); also in print: Olin Ref DA 28 .D4 O95 2004.

The online version of the standard British national biography, orginally published from 1885-1901 in 66 volumes and updated with decennial supplements. Over 50,000 biographies of people who shaped the history of the British Isles and beyond, from the earliest times to the year 2000. Portraits and citations to archival collections and major biographies of the subject. See also K. G. Saur index and microfiche.

Dictionary of Canadian Biography. University of Toronto and Université Laval, 1966- .

(also in print: Olin Ref CT 283 .D55 +)

The standard Canadian national biography. The first phase presents individuals who played an important role in the formation of what is now Canada who died between the years 1000 and 1930 or whose last known date of activity falls within these years. Each biography in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online reproduces one that was originally commissioned by the Dictionary of Canadian Biography for its print version. The annotated bibliographies include substantial listings of archival collections on the subject.

Dictionary of German Biography. 10 volumes. München: K.G. Saur, 2001-2006.
Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie. 12 volumes. München: K.G. Saur, 1995-2000.

(Olin Ref CT 759 .D48 2001 (English); Olin Ref CT 759 .D48 1995 (German))

The standard German national biography. We have both the German-language and English-language editions. Print versions only. See also K. G. Saur index and microfiche.

OTHER NATIONAL BIOGRAPHIES

Australian Dictionary of Biography. 16 volumes so far.

(Olin Ref CT 2801 .A93) Covers up to 1980.

Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland. 4 volumes.

(Olin Ref CT 1143 .B61) Published 1979-1994.

Dictionnaire de Biographie Française. 20 volumes so far.

(Olin Ref CT 143 .D55) Covers through Lecompte-Boinet.

Dizionario Biografico degli Italiana. 67 volumes so far.

(Olin Ref CT 2801 .A93) Covers through Malaspina.

Polski Slownik Biograficzny. 40 volumes so far.

(Olin Ref CT1230 .P76) Covers through Songin.

Biography and Genealogy Master Index. Gale Group.

(Library Gateway)

Biography and Genealogy Master Index (BGMI) indexes current, readily available reference sources, as well as the most important retrospective works that cover individuals, both living and deceased, from every field of activity and from all areas of the world.

Biography Index. H. W. Wilson/OCLC FirstSearch, 1984 to date.

(Library Gateway)

Covers biographical information from English-language periodicals and books for all subject areas covered by H.W. Wilson indexes, including autobiographies, bibliographies, biographies, critical studies, fiction and drama, pictorial works, poetry, juvenile literature, obituaries, journals, collections of letters, book reviews and interviews.

K. G. Saur has published massive, indexed microfiche collections of biographical dictionaries. We own sets for the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Jewish people of all nationalities. We also have a Chadwyck-Healey set for the Soviet Union. Each article in the biographical dictionaries was individually reproduced on microfiche (filed near the newspaper microfilm on the B level of Olin) and is indexed in the corresponding multivolume printed index set shelved in Olin reference collection. The following table provides information on each title.

Note that some of the biographical dictionaries covered will also be available in the original print form in our stacks.

INDEX	MICROFICHE SETS	NOTES
American Biographical Index, 2nd ed (Olin Ref CT 213 .A511 1998)	American Biographical Archive I American Biographical Archive II (Olin Ref Microfiche CT 213 .A51)	ABA I: 1842 fiche ABA II: 730 fiche Covers U.S. & Canada
British Biographical Index, 2nd ed (Olin Ref CT 773 .B86 1998)	British Biographical Archive I British Biographical Archive, series 2 (Olin Ref Microfiche CT 773 .B86)	BBA I/II: 1601-1978 1862 fiche
Index Biographique Français, 2nd ed (Olin Ref CT 1003 .I53x 1998)	Archives Biographiques Françaises I Archives Biographiques Françaises II (Olin Ref Microfiche CT 1003 .I532)	ABF I: 400AD-1914 ABF II: 1800-1960s Includes Swiss, Belgian, & Canadian Francophones.
Deutscher Biographischer Index, 2nd ed (Olin Ref CT 1053 .D48 1998 index) Indexes DBA I & DBA Neue Folge only.	Deutsches Biographisches Archiv I Deutsches Biographisches Archiv. Neue Folge... Deutsches Biographisches Archiv, 1960-1999 (Olin Ref Microfiche CT 1053 .D48)	DBA I: 1707-1907 1431 fiche DBA II: 1900-1959 1457 fiche DBA III: 1960-1999 1058 fiche
Jüdisches Biographischer Index (Olin Ref DS 115 .J84x 1998)	Jüdisches Biographisches Archiv Jüdisches Biographisches Archiv Supplement (Olin Ref Microfiche DS 115 .J842)	JBA: 661 fiche Supplement: 120 fiche 1781-1958
Related Resource [published by Chadwyck-Healey]
No index; fiche in name order.	Soviet Biographic Archive (Olin Ref Microfiche CT 1203 .S72)	1954-1985 2812 fiche more information

Here are five online examples of the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of biographical reference titles in specific fields of study and disciplines available in CUL. A title search in the CUL catalog on "biographical dictionary of" yields over 200 hits, for example.

Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Detroit: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2008.

(available through Gale Virtual Reference Library)

Lengthy, readable, and signed essays on the major scientists in world history. The standard biographical reference in the history of science. Merges entries from the Dictionary of Scientific Biography (18 volumes, 1970) and the New Dictionary of Scientific Biography (8 volumes, 2008).

Dictionary of Political Biography. Oxford University Press, 1998 [updated 2003].

(available through Oxford Reference Online Premium)

Covers all the major figures in world politics of the twentieth century. It describes and assesses the lives of more than 1,000 men and women who have shaped political events across the world. Each entry includes an account of the background, career, and achievements of the individual concerned, balancing fact with critical appraisal.

International Directory of Medievalists. Brepols.

Click the "Enter databases" button and select this title from the Directories section. "The International Directory of Medievalists Online is the continuation of the printed editions [Répertoire international des médiévistes Library Annex D 116.5 .R42: 3.ed.-5.ed. (1965-1979) and 7.ed.-8.ed. (1990-1995)] and contains 15,000 names and addresses of specialists from over 70 different countries with for the majority their fields of study." [from IDM database INFO]

Literature Resource Center. Gale Group.

(Library Gateway)

The major online source of literary biography. Includes most of the content of the Dictionary of Literary Biography and Contemporary Authors.

The International Who’s Who. Europa.

For the annual print edition and earlier years, see Olin CT 120 .I61 +

"The print version of this internationally respected work is now in its seventieth edition. The online version builds on the quality of the book by providing a full range of sophisticated search and browse functions, and regular updates of content.

From heads of state, politicians, religious leaders and ambassadors, to the eminent and successful in business, finance, technology, film, music, fashion, sport, literature and the performing arts, The International Who's Who outlines the lives and achievements of more than 25,000 of the most distinguished men and women from almost every country in the world." [from the online title page]

While primarily about living persons, The International Who’s Who now includes an obituary section and access to entries of persons who originally appeared here and later died.

Marquis Who’s Who on the Web. 1985- .

Searching note: For the persons who were included in a Who's Who volume prior to 1985, search for the appropriate title, below, in the Library Classic Catalog and check Who Was Who (Olin Reference DA 28 .W621).

Profiles of over 1.4 million people are available online, including all entries in the following Marquis print titles since 1985: Who’s who in America -- Who’s who in American art -- Who’s Who in American history -- Who’s who in American politics -- Who’s who in the East -- Who’s Who in the World -- Who’s who in the Midwest -- Who’s who in Asia -- Who’s who in the South and Southwest --Who’s who of American women -- Who’s who in the West -- Who’s who in science and engineering -- Who’s who in media and communications -- Who’s who in American law -- Who’s who in entertainment -- Who’s who in medicine and healthcare -- Who’s who in American education -- Who’s who in finance and business (formerly Who’s who in finance & industry) -- Who’s who in American nursing -- Who’s who in religion -- Who’s who in 20th century America -- Who’s who among human services professionals -- Who’s who of emerging leaders in America.

Note also that online versions of Who's Who in American History, Who's Who in American Art, and Who's Who in American Politics may be searched individually from the left column of the interface.

Who's Who in the Twentieth Century. Abridged and revised edition. Oxford University Press.

(available through Oxford Reference Online Premium)

Not strictly a who's who of living persons, either, since it consists of persons prominent in the 2oth century, many of whom are no deceased. The title of the print version, A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century World Biography, was more accurate.

From Albert Einstein to the Marx Brothers, this authoritative reference book provides biographies of men and women from different countries and cultures who have contributed to the thought as well as the action of the twentieth century.

First published 1985 as The Longman Dictionary of 20th Century Biography. Revised edition published 1992 by Oxford University Press as A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century World Biography. This abridged and updated edition published as an Oxford University Press paperback in 1999.

Olin Reference Current Biography Titles.

Selected list of current biography titles in Olin Reference.

This web page lists the biography reference books that formerly constituted a separate Olin Reference Current Biography section. In 2001, they were dispersed into call number order in the reference collection. This list follows the order in which these titles were originally shelved. New titles have been added to this page since the Current Biography section was reshelved.