Biographical Information Guide
Overview
Biographical sources cover both living and dead people. Some sources cover people in general, but most are limited by some criterion, such as nationality, occupation, fame, gender, etc. If you need only geographical addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses consult consult Finding an Address or Phone Number. In searching biographical sources it is helpful to know:
- The person's full name and correct spelling
- Dates of birth and death (if deceased)
- Occupation or profession
- Whether you want brief identifying information or more extensive information
How to Guide
This guide provides only selected reference sources. Please ask at the various Reference Desks for further help or go to Ask a Librarian and email or phone us.
Biographical sources cover both living and dead people. Some sources include people in general, but most are limited by some criterion, such as nationality, occupation, fame, gender, religion, etc. In searching biographical sources it is helpful to know:
- The person's full name and correct spelling
- Dates of birth and death (if deceased)
- Occupation or profession
How much information do you want to find about the person?
- For book or chapter length biographies and autobiographies look for Books.
- For articles and essays about a person, see the Biographical Indexes.
- For brief identification and basic facts see directories or encyclopedias.
- For an address, phone number or email address see Finding an Address of Phone Number.
What do you know about the person?
- Are they living or dead? If they have died, see one of the Historical Sources.
- Are they likely to be covered in newspapers or other News Sources?
- Are they famous? Biographical articles are sometimes included in a General Article Index.
- Do you know their occupation or profession? There are separate sources for authors, lawyers, business leaders, etc.
- Are they a minority or a woman? There are many specialized sources devoted to biographies of ethnic, religious, and national groups as well as books restricted to gender or sexual orientation.
Biographical Indexes
Over 600,000 biographies on more than 500,000 people, also including full-text articles from more than 300 magazines and newspapers.
Contains more than 145,000 biographies and more than 36,000 photographs. Includes full text articles from Current Biography and other biographical sources. Many of the biographies have links to other sources and citations to articles.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
An illustrated collection of 50,000 specially written biographies of the men and women who shaped all aspects of Britain's past, from the fourth century BC to the year 2000. This database excludes living people but includes the infamous and the legendary (Richard III and Robin Hood) as well as famous and documented people (Churchill and Shakespeare). Click
on "Subscribers enter here."
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Print: DA 28 .D47 (Ref)
Provides brief biographical information about more than 1.3 million people across a variety of occupations. Entries focus on frequently needed facts, such as birthdates, education, career, publications, and other objective data supplied by the individual to the editors.
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Authoritative biographical essays on more than 17,400 deceased Americans from all eras and walks of life published by Oxford University Press. Some of these entries are for literary figures.
Z 5301 .B5 (Reference Collection)
Indexes biographical information from thousands of periodicals and books. Coverage from 1984. Updated weekly.
Z 1224 .C6 (Ref)
Part of the Literature Resource Center, this directory provides brief biographical information about more than 120,000 authors from the US and elsewhere. Includes writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, journalism, and many other fields.
Biography and Genealogy Master Index
Indexes numerous printed reference sources that include usually short biograhical information on multiple persons. Covers living and deceased people all over the world in all occupations.
Includes brief biographical sketches of over 25,000 people, both living and deceased. A good place to do quick verification.
Currently the largest and most popular search engine for the web. Return set is ranked by relevancy. Advanced ways of searching available.
A multi-language free-content online encyclopedia project. Since many people have created the content of the Wikipedia, it has a wide range of information, but the articles are often not edited, it is not always reliable and some instructors may not allow its use for academic work. Cross reference Wikipedia information with other reliable sources and check the entry footnotes.
Books
WMU's Classic online catalog (also known as WestCat), is used to identify books (including electronic books), government documents, journals, audio and video, slides, music scores, and other items in the University Libraries' collections. The catalog can be searched by title, author, subject heading, keyword, call number, and more.
Librarian's Comment: In the Basic Search enter the last name first (example: dickinson, emily) and choose to Search by Subject Headings. This works best for well know people about whom we own more than one book. You may get more results from an Advanced search. Example: Emily Dickinson (as a phrase) AND biography.
Comprehensive catalog of books and other materials in libraries around the world. Contains millions of records in hundreds of languages. Non-book materials include (among other publication formats) the titles of journals and magazines, manuscripts, maps, electronic resources, websites, computer programs, music scores, films, slides, sound recordings, conference proceedings, and videotapes. Items located through WorldCat must be requested through Interlibrary Loan unless they are also listed in the WMU Libraries catalog.
General Article Indexes
Sometimes you may find a magazine, journal, or newspaper article of interest by simply entering the person's name for whom you want information in one of the partial full-text indexes below.
Indexes popular magazines, scholarly journals, newspapers and trade publications in a wide range of subject areas, including business, education, humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Full-text available for over 2,500 journals. Coverage from 1971.
Indexes news and periodical articles on a wide variety of topics. Millions of articles are full-text. Coverage: 1980-present.
Historical Sources
Use these for information about famous deceased people.
Authoritative biographical essays on more than 17,400 deceased Americans from all eras and walks of life published by Oxford University Press. Some of these entries are for literary figures.
Dictionary of American Biography
E 176 .D56 (Ref)
1928-present.
This set, which is over 30 volumes, is the most authoritative of the major biographical dictionaries of American history, and provides biographies of over 13,600 Americans, none of whom are living today. Use this in addition to the ANB because different points of view are represented in each set. Many other people besides authors are included in both sets.
Dictionary of National Biography
DA 28 .D47 (Ref)
This is the largest and oldest scholarly biographical dictionary in the English language, and contains over 36,400 biographies of significant people from all walks of life, who are all deceased, in all areas of activity from the British Isles and their colonies.
Encyclopedia of World Biography
CT 103 .E56 1998
A multi-volume set containing thousands of essays about famous living and dead people from all over the world. Each article is illustrated and contains a bibliography.
News Sources
Comprehensive full text database covering national and regional newspapers, wire services, broadcast transcripts, and international news, including non-English language sources.
Provides the Access World News Research Collection with full text articles from over 4500 U.S. and international newspapers, wire services, and broadcasts. There is access to America's Historical Newspapers, as well as Hot Topics and Special Reports on current issues in the news.
Search all of these newspapers at once or individually for full-text articles in this index:
Atlanta Constitution (1868 - 1945)
Atlanta Daily World (1931-2003)
The Chicago Defender (1905 - 1975)
Chicago Tribune (1849 - 1987)
Christian Science Monitor (1908 - 1997)
Detroit Free Press (1831-1922)
Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005)
Los Angeles Times (1881 - 1987)
New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993)
The New York Times (1851 - 2006), w/ Index (1851-1993)
Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002)
The Wall Street Journal (1889 - 1993)
The Washington Post (1877 - 1994)
By Occupation or Profession
Consult the Subject Guides or ask one of the Library Liaisons for recommendations of biographical resources related to specific professions, disciplines or subjects. Here are a few examples.
American Men and Women of Science
Profiles prominent living North American and Canadian Scientists with particular emphasis on the physical and biological sciences. References to earlier editions are given for previous entrants now known to be deceased. Print editions have the call number Q 141 .A471x (latest in Sci.R.)
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Short biographies of past and present members of the U.S. congress.
Z 1224 .C6 (Ref)
Part of the Literature Resource Center, this directory provides brief biographical information about more than 120,000 authors from the US and elsewhere. Includes writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, journalism, and many other fields.
Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete Online
Search and Browse the Dictionary of Literary Biography, containing more than 16,000 biographical and critical essays on the lives, works, and careers of the world's most influential literary figures from all eras and genres . Includes the DLB main series, the DLB Documentary Series, and the DLB Yearbook Series.
Compiled by the University of Chicago Library information system.
The Presidents of the United States
Biographies and portraits of the presidents and First Ladies from the White House site.
Minorities and Women
Numerous electronic and print resources provide biographical information about minorities and women. Ask at one of the Reference desks for assistance. Below are just a few examples:African American Biographical Database
Biographical profiles, full-text sketches and photographs of prominent African Americans from all walks of life between 1790-1950.
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Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences
Biographical profiles of African Americans in the sciences, math and engineering.
North American Indian Thought and Culture
This digital collection of texts and images contains more than 119,000 pages of personal stories, many previously unpublished or rare. Virtually all Indian nations (approximately 500) are covered. This database now contains the WPA’s Indian-Pioneer History Collection which includes information, collected mostly through oral history interviews, on American Indian life.
Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary
CT 3260 .N57 (Ref)
A classic, 3-volume set that provides biographical articles on over 1,800 deceased women from the United States, many of whom are not represented in the standard biographical source, The Dictionary of American Biography. A fourth volume covering the modern period was added in 1980. Signed scholarly articles with bibliographies.
Notable Black American Women
E 185.96 .N68 1992 (Reference Desk Collection)
This 2-volume set includes signed articles on over 500 women born between 1730 and 1958. Each entry discusses the individual's contributions to American life and includes bibliographic references. There are also useful indexes by subject and area of endeavor.
Notable Hispanic American Women
E 184 .S75 N68 1998 (Ref)
Includes over 300 individuals, most of whom are living; bibliographies provided; subject and occupational and nationality indexes.
Web Resources
Contains information on over 33,000 notable people from ancient times to the present.
Biographical Resources: Finding Information on the Famous, Infamous and Obscure.
List of free biographical resources from the Internet, compiled by librarians from the Association of College & Research Libraries.
Includes brief biographical sketches of over 25,000 people, both living and deceased. A good place to do quick verification.
Helps keep track of which famous people have died and which are still alive. Listed by category (acting, politics, sports, etc.) and alphabet.
Librarian's Comment: By putting the name of the person in quotes, you can often find a website about people active today, though there are also many websites on historical people.