biography source of information

Biographical Information

What is a biography, general suggestion for finding biographical information, general sources - biography databases, general sources - reference books, biographical master indexes.

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• A biography is an account of the special and important events in a person's life
• Not to be confused with bibliography , which is a listing of books and articles on a topic
• Biographies may be brief and cover only basic information about a person's life such as dates of birth and death, education and vocation
• A biography may also be very detailed, and cover the cultural background, outstanding accomplishments, and historical significance of an individual.
• Biographical sources cover living and deceased persons, notable persons in particular countries, persons in specific occupations, celebrities, and civil and government leaders
• The person's full name and correct spelling (for example: Smith, Smyth or Smythe)
• date of birth
• date of death (when applicable)
• nationality or country of residence
• occupation or profession

For basic facts about a person (e.g.,"When was Napoleon born?"):

• General encyclopedias

Can’t find biographical information in general encyclopedias or need more information? Check:

• One of the general sources listed on this page
• The specialized biographical reference books listed on the other tabs in this guide

Can’t find the person you are looking for or get enough information from a biographical reference book? Check:

• One of the biographical master indexes listed on this page. These guide you to books, periodical articles or other reference sources. Please note that sometimes you will be referred to another index.

For highly detailed information :

• Search UToledo’s online library catalog for books on the person:
• Perform a subject search by typing the person's last name followed by their first name, e.g., Whitman, Walt
• Execute the search and look for the subheading --Biography. The complete heading in this example is: Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892 – Biography
• You can also use the UToledo catalog to search for the titles of books and periodicals found in the biographical master indexes

If UToledo does not own a title you want :

• Use the OhioLINK Library Catalog to directly borrow books from other college libraries in Ohio. Books arrive within three to five business days
• There is generally no charge for this service
• The library may need two to three weeks to get the item you need
• For assistance with the library catalog, OhioLINK, or interlibrary loan forms, consult a reference librarian at the Information/Reference Desk.

Biographical information may not be available for all individuals. In these cases:

• Information about an author can sometimes be found by checking the preface or introduction of an author's work for scholarly background and academic achievements
• Perform an author search in the library catalog by typing in the last name followed by the first name

Master Indexes provide a name index to books, periodical articles, and other references where you might find a biography or obituary of someone.  Usually, you can search by name (last, first) and then be given a code for a title, volume, and page number.  Consult the key at the beginning of the book to decipher the title you need.  Search by Title in the UToledo Library Catalog to see if we have the book or periodical, or order it from another OhioLINK library.

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• Last Updated: Mar 23, 2023 4:21 PM
• URL: https://libguides.utoledo.edu/biography

• Harvard Library
• Research Guides
• Faculty of Arts & Sciences Libraries

Finding Biographical Information

• Introduction and Resources of First Resort

Introduction

Resources of first resort.

• Research Approaches
• Biographical Dictionaries
• Book-length Biographies
• Periodical Articles/Obituaries
• Diaries/Autobiographies
• College/University Alumni/ae Biography
• Festschrifts
• Archival Sources
• Government Directories
• Local Histories
• Genealogical Sources
• Boston-Area Biography
• Asia, South & Central
• Asia, Southeast
• Australia/Pacific
• Europe: Regional & by Country, A-F
• Europe: H-N
• Europe: P-Z
• Mexico/Central America
• South America
• Russia/Central Asia
• Middle East
• North America/Canada

Please feel free to email us with questions. We can make an appointment for you to come in, and we can talk at length about your project.

• Fred Burchsted , ([email protected]) Research Librarian and Liaison to the Department of the History, Widener Library
• Anna Assogba , ([email protected]) Research Librarian, Lamont Library.

Book-length biographies are easily found in the HOLLIS Catalog , but short biographical articles are scattered widely in biographical dictionaries, subject encyclopedias and periodicals. 

Try the Resources of First Resort . If you don’t find what you need:

Numerous other biographical sources exist  We have listed some major examples, general and by gender, ethnicity, and occupation, on the Biographical Dictionaries page.

Many other specialized sources are listed on the pages of this guide.

Other Guides

Introductory Library Research Guide for History

Library Research Guide for Finding Manuscripts and Archival Collections

United States

Other Countries

To find individual encyclopedia articles in  HOLLIS : use Everything Advanced Search, do a Title search on your name and in the results list look for Resource Type under Refine Your Results in the right-hand column. Choose  Reference entries .  Example .

Current Biography Illustrated  (1946- ) includes biographical sketches and obituaries, with portraits, of persons deceased since 1946.

Gale In Context: Biography  (formerly Biography in Context) includes full text of many reference books, including Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Black Biography, Directory of American Scholars (10th (2002) ed.), Dictionary of American Biography, Marquis Who’s Who on the Web since 1985. The Biographical Facts Search allows search by occupation, nationality, ethnicity (African-American, Asian- American, Hispanic- American, Native- American only), gender, birth/death year, and place. Available to Massachusetts residents via the State Library of Massachusetts.

Marquis Who’s Who  includes all biographies in the 24 Marquis Who's Who print titles since 1985, together with all biographies from  Who Was Who in America, 1607–1985 .

Notable American women . Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1971-2004. 5 v. LOCATION: Widener: RR 1711. 34 --Covers women deceased before 1999. Articles include extensive source lists giving particular attention to unpublished sources. Classified index (by field) in each vol. Vols. 1-4 indexed in Biography and genealogy master index. Full text in  Women and Social Movements in the United States: 1600-2000

World Biographical Information System  includes full text of thousands of biographical dictionaries accessible by name of biographee. Largely online full text, partly microfiche or print.  What to do if a biographical article is not available online and further information .

World Who’s Who

Thousands of works of collective biography and many biographical periodical articles are indexed in a few general biographical indexes which are listed below. These are not full text; one must do HOLLIS searches for retrieved sources.

Biography and Genealogy Master Index  indexes thousands of English-language biographical dictionaries and other compendia, many more than Biography Resource Center. Includes  Biography Index , which indexes biographical periodical articles as well as collective biography.  Indexes Contemporary Authors and Dictionary of Literary Biography .

IBN: Index bio-bibliographicus notorum hominum . Online Version LOCATION: Widener: RR 1501.15 --Indexes 2000 biographical dictionaries and related works, including non-European publications, published through the 1960s. Gives names, dates, nationalities, and occupations in addition to references to the indexed biographical works, listed in volumes labeled "Key to Sources". Currently extends only to Reulbach, Bernhard. -- ​The online version does not include well-known persons with numerous entries and book-length biographies.

Internationale Personalbibliographie , by Max Arnim. 2nd ed. Stuttgart, Anton Hiersemann, 1952-1987. LOCATION: Widener: RR 1501.7 Library has: 5 Bd. --v. 1-2: 1800-1943; v. 3-5: 1944-1959. --Indexes biographical dictionaries and many scholarly/scientific journals.

American National Biography

African American national biography , ed. by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Evelyn Brooks-Higginbotham. NY: Oxford University Press, 2013, 12 v. Andover-Harv. Theol | Ref. | E185.96 .A4466 2008 (1st ed.) Lamont | REFERENCE | E185.96 .A4466 2008 (1st ed.) Widener RR 4781.60 (2nd ed.; 2013) Online version  (Continuously updated)

Canadian biography , part of the Library and Archives Canada site, contains the  Dictionary of Canadian Biography

Biography Literature (1962-2016) China. In Chinese

Germany and German-speaking

Deutsche biographie

Deutsche biographische Enzyklopädie online  Online version is more up-to-date than print. Print version: Widener: RR 1786.5

English version: Dictionary of German biography . München: K.G. Saur, 2001-2006. 10 v. Widener: WID-LC CT759 .D4813 2001x

Datenbank Schriftstellerinnen in Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz 1945-2008

Biographische Nachschlagewerke . List of sources with links to full text

Women writers of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland : an annotated bio-bibliographical guide , ed. by Elke Frederiksen. NY: Greenwood Press, 1989, 323 p. Schlesinger | Harvard Depository | 016.83 F852w Widener | Harvard Depository | PT167.Z99 W66 x, 1989

Dictionary of Irish biography  

Netherlands

Biografisch Portaal van Nederland

Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland (BWN)

Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland (DVN) (Online Dictionary of Dutch Women)

South Africa

Dictionary of South African biography . Cape Town: Published for the National Council for Social Research, Dept. of Higher Education by Nasionale Boekhandel, 1968-1987. 5 v. Widener | Afr 8055.50 103554

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography  (UK)

A biographical encyclopedia of early modern Englishwomen: exemplary lives and memorable acts, 1500-1650 , ed. by Carole Levin, Anna Riehl Bertolet, and Jo Eldridge Carney. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2017, 630 pages : HOLLIS Record

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• Last Updated: Aug 25, 2023 10:09 PM
• URL: https://guides.library.harvard.edu/biography

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