Biography

Indexes

Biography and Genealogy Master Index. Comprehensive index of biography dictionaries and encyclopedias.
LexisNexis Academic. Provides a wide range of full-text news, business, legal, and reference information. Biographical Information is under Reference.
LexisNexis Congressional. Index from the 1970s and full text from the 1980s. Comprehensive US legislative information, including members biography and voting records.

Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, etc.

Biographical Sources on Living People

Current Biography. (1940- ) Ref CT 100 .C8
Each year covers about 170 to 200 international personalities who have recently gained prominence in their field. Essay length articles are objective and scholarly, and contain a list of biographical references and a picture of the individual. Issued monthly and culminated annually. A separate cumulative index covers 1940-1970; annual indexes cumulate from 1971. At the end of each yearly volume is an index by occupation.
International Who's Who Ref CT 120 .I5
Brief information on people of international importance. Published annually.
Who's Who Among Black Americans Ref DA 28 .W6
Contains factual data about a wide diversity of people not represented in any other single biographical source. Includes geographical and professional indexes.
Who's Who in America Ref E 633 .W56
Standard source for brief information on Americans of national prominence. Entries include name, date of birth, address, education, professional experience and publications. Supplemented by regional Who's Who (e.g., Who's Who in the Midwest). Marquis Who's Who Publications Index to All Books REF E 663 .W57 indexes all the Who's Who volumes by this publisher. Published annually.
Who's Who of American Women. (1958- ) Ref CT 3260 .W58 1995-6
Includes women who have earned recognition through occupational stature or demonstrated ability in a particular field such as business, fine arts, science, politics, entertainment or athletics.
Who's Who of Nobel Prize Winners, 1901-1990. Ref AS 911 .N9 W53 1991
Entries include biographical information, selected publications and commentary explaining why the laureate received his/her prize, as well as a summary of other important contributions made by the individual.

Biographical Sources on Deceased People

Dictionary of American Biography. Ref E 176 .D56
Scholarly essays on people who have lived in the United States and who have made a contribution to American life. Signed articles include bibliographies. A separate index gives subject, contributor, birthplace, topic and occupation entry to the basic set, volumes 1-20. Supplements bring the set up to date; name index at the back of the most recent supplement is a cumulative guide to them all.
Dictionary of National Biography. Ref DA 28 .D47
British model on which the Dictionary of American Biography is based. Contains scholarly signed articles which include bibliographies. Basic set covers people who died before 1901; supplements bring the set up to date. Cumulative index from 1901 provided at the end of the most recent supplement.
Dictionary of National Biography: Missing Persons. Ref DA 28 .D525
Record the lives of 1,086 persons not included in the earlier editions of Dictionary of National Biography from the beginning to 1985.
Merriam Webster's Biographic Dictionary. Ref CT 103 .M47 1995
Presents in a single volume biographical information on 30,000 important, celebrated, or notorious figures from the last five thousand years.
Notable American Women 1607-1950. Ref CT 3260 .N57
Scholarly essays with bibliographies. Covers 1,350 women, most of whom are not included in the Dictionary of American Biography.
Notable American Women: The Modern Period. Ref CT 3260 .N573
Supplements the source listed above. Covers women who died between January 1951 and December 1975.
Who Was Who. Ref DA 28 .W56
Brief information on prominent Britons who died between 1897 and 1970.
Who Was Who in America. Ref E 663 .W54
Short biographies on prominent Americans from 1607; most recent volumes also contain information on world notables. Included at the end of the latest volume is an index to the previous volumes.
Who Was Who in USSR. Ref CT 1212 .I57
It covers the period from 1917-1967, containing 5,015 biographies of prominent individuals who had made major contributions to the political, intellectual, scientific, social and economic development of the country.

Sources by Subject

Art

A Biographical Dictionary of Women Artist in Europe and America since 1850. Ref N 6757 .D86 1990
Entries include names, exhibitions, publications and literature.
Who's Who in American Art. Ref N 6536 .W5
Information about American and Canadian artists and people in related fields such as museum executives and collectors. Many entries include bibliographies of works by and about the subject. Includes a geographical index and an index by specialty.

Business

Standard and Poor's Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives Vol. 2. Ref HG 4057 .A4 S785 v.2
Lists individuals serving as officers, directors, trustees, and partners of the corporations included in vol. 1. Brief information provided includes principal business affiliations with official titles, business address, year and place of birth, college and year of graduation, and fraternal memberships. Published annually.
Corporate Yellow Book: Who's Who at the Leading U.S. Companies. Ref HG 4057 .A15 646a 1995
Who's Who in European Business. Ref HC 240 .W477 1993
Provides biographical details of senior executives from 4,000 leading businesses and organizations among 35 countries in Europe.
Who's Who in Consulting. Ref HD 69 .C6W5
Brief information on individuals who are involved in consulting for business, industry and government. Includes a subject index.
Who's Who in Finance and Industry. Ref HF 3023 .A2W5
Worldwide coverage. Also includes an index of firms with reference to personnel included in the directory. Published annually.

Cinema

Illustrated Who's Who of the Cinema, The. Ref PN 1998 .A2 I48 1983
Covers not only biographical information but also critical evaluation of the films and the characters within.

Education

Directory of American Scholars. Ref LA 2311 .C32 1978
Covers the fields of history (vol. 1), English, speech and drama (vol. 2), foreign languages, linguistics and philology (vol. 3), philosophy, religion and law (vol. 4). Brief entries provide date, discipline, education, career, association memberships, publications, and address. Includes alphabetical name and geographic indexes.
Leaders in Education. Ref LA 2311 .L4 1974
Provides brief data on 17,000 American educators included on the basis of their stature in the education field, research activity and/or position. Geographic and specialty indexes.
National Dean's List. Ref L901 .N333
Published every two years.
National Faculty Directory. Ref L 901 .N34
Brief information on American teachers, administrators and executives involved in higher education. Entries include name, department, institution, and address. Published annually.

History

Who's Who in Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England. Ref DA 145 .2 .F55 1989
The entries are in chronicle rather than alphabetical order.

Home Economics

Who's Who in Fashion. Ref TT 505 .A1S73 1980
Brief articles on designers, fashion writers and others in the fashion industry. Contains many drawings and photographs of the designers' work.

Literature

Contemporary Authors. Ref Z 1224 .C59
Excellent source of information on just about anyone who has published anything or who is in the media. Short sketches include personal facts, career data, bibliographies of works by and about the author, and insights into author's live and writings. A cumulative index is frequently published; check the most recent volume.
American Authors: 1600-1900. Ref PS 21 .K8
British Authors Before 1800. Ref PR 105 .K9
British Authors of the Nineteenth Century. Ref PR 541 .K8 1964
European Authors: 1000-1900. Ref PN 451 .K8S
Twentieth Century Authors. Ref PN 771 .K86
World Authors 1950-1970. Ref PN 451 .W3
Series of descriptive biographical information on authors of the period and nationality described in the individual titles. Includes bibliographies of works about the person.

Minorities

Who's Who Among Hispanic Americans. Ref E184 .S75 W36
Cover 5,000 most prominent Hispanic leaders, living or dead.

Music

Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. Ref ML 105 .B3 1978
Concise biographies of musicians of all ages and nationalities. Entries include dates, education and training, career, accomplishments; some entries include lists of works with dates and sometimes a bibliography of works about the person.
Composers on Record: An index to biographical Information on 14,000 composers whose music had been recorded. Ref ML 105 .G78 .A85
International Encyclopedia of women Composers, 2nd ed., 2v. Ref ML 105 .C7 1987
Includes biographical information, composition, publication, references and bibliography.
International Who's Who in Music and Musician's Directory. Ref ML 106 .G7 W4 1992-93
Includes 8,000 living musicians in classical and light classical field.
Rock On. 3v. Ref ML 105.N49
Provides biographical information and list of songs by each singer/musician.
Who's Who in Rock Music. Ref ML 102 .R6 B36
Although no biographical information included, this book does highlight what each musician is famous or best remembered for.

Health Science

International Medical Who's Who. Ref R 134 .I57 1980
Provides brief information on over 12,000 people from 120 countries. Entries include education, appointments and society memberships.
Who' s Who in American Nursing. Ref RT 25 .U5 W48 1993-94
The biographical data comes from the biographees themselves, nearly 27,000 of them, categorized by state and city within their specialties.

Photography

Contemporary Photographers. Ref TR 139 .C663 1988
Biographical information on 750 of the best and the most prominent of contemporary photographers, living or dead, are presented here. Entries also include bibliography of books and articles about and by the entrants as well as a critical essay at the end of each entry.
Illustrated Biographical Bio-Bibliography of Black Photographers 1940-1988, An. Ref TR 139 .W55 1989
In this book, one finds in addition to biographical information on the selected photographers, source information in their collections, exhibitions, publications and representative samples of their work.
Who's Who in Photography. Ref TR 139 .W488 1991-92
Biographical sketches of accomplished photographers, both professionals and amateurs.

Politics and Government

Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1971. Ref JK 1010 .A15
Short, objective sketches of all senators and representatives who served from 1774 to 1971. Also includes biographies of Presidents who never served in Congress, lists of officers of the executive branch, and a listing by state of the members of each Congress. Updated by the Omnifocal Congress Directory.
Facts About the Presidents. Ref E176 .1 .K3 1989
This classic biographical reference work contains biographical as well as comparative data from G. Washington to G. Bush.
Official Congress Directory. Ref JK 1011
Concise information about each member of the Senate and House, including home address and congressional office phone and room numbers. Provides a lot of extra information about Congress such as committee assignments, names of staff members, etc. New edition issued for each session of Congress.
Who's Who in American Politics. Ref E176.W6424 /1987-
Brief listing of 2.200 politically active people at many levels in each state, giving information about their education, vocation, positions held, memberships, regions , and addresses.
Who's Who in European Politics. Ref D 1070 .W49 1990
The biographical information on 6,000 politicians is approved by the entrants themselves. Part II of the book is a country-by-country political directory that covers all members of the executive, the legislatures and the party leadership, whether or not included as an entrant in Part I of the book.

Regional

Illinois Biographical Dictionary. Ref CT 232 .I45 1993
Brief biographical information about VIPs in Illinois.
Research Guide to European Historical Biography 1450-present. Ref CT 759 .R47 1992
This set of 4 volumes covers biographical information of explorers, monarchs, head of states, diplomats, political and military leaders and social reformers.

Science

American Men and Women of Science. Ref Q 141 .A47
Brief factual information on people in the physical and biological sciences. Includes discipline and geographical indexes.
Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Ref Q 141 .D5 1970
Scholarly articles on the lives and achievements of deceased scientists of all ages and nationalities. Includes bibliographies. Frequently this will be the most comprehensive summary and treatment of a person's total contribution to science.
McGraw-Hill's Modern Scientists and Engineers. 3v. Ref Q 141 .M15 1980
Articles and pictures are included.
Who's Who in Science and Engineering. Ref Q 141 .W576 1994-95
Brief biographical sketches of 26,000 scientists, doctors, and engineers. Entries include patents, inventions, discoveries, pioneering developments and current research interests.

Women Studies

Biographies of American Women. Ref CT 3260 .S88 1990
Annotated bibliography, intended for use by scholars in women studies.
Notable Black American Women. Ref E 185 .96 N68 1992
Include biographical information of 500 notable black American women, living or dead. Entries include references.
Notable Hispanic American Women. Ref E 184 .S75 N68 1993
Features nearly 300 historical and contemporary women from a broad range of professions, providing personal, family, career details.
Who's Who of Women in World Politics. Ref HQ 1236 .W455
Included here are prominent political women across the globe. Also a session on statistical survey of women in politics.

Free Internet Sites

Biography.com

Page updated: August 30, 2006