Biography


Select a category from the list below to view the related biographical resources.

General African-Americans Artists Authors Musicians Politicians Scientists Women

General

Dictionary of National Biography
50,000 biographies of people who shaped the history of the British Isles and beyond, from the earliest times to the year 2001.
Encyclopedia Britannica
This site includes the complete encyclopedia, with related Internet sites.
~Restricted to Union College
American National Biography
A massive and authoritative source of biographical information about Americans. Each article includes a bibliography and, if relevant, cross-references to other names in the set as well as to related Internet sites.
~Restricted to Union College
Columbia Encyclopedia
This is the latest edition of the largest one-volume general encyclopedia available, with more than 50,000 articles, 40,000 bibliographic citations, and 80,000 cross-reference entries.
See also: The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia.
The Catholic Encyclopedia
This site represents a full online transcription of the original 1917 publication. Useful for biographical information related to the Catholic Church and general ecclesiastical history.
World Biographical Index
This database is based on the 5th edition of the World Biographical Index containing about 3.6 million short biographical entries for eminent individuals who lived in North and South America, Western and Central Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania. This edition is also a compiled index to many biographical archives. The entry for each person contains the name, variations of the name, pseudonyms, the years of birth and death or years mentioned, occupation, source quoted and bibliographic information about the sources used.
Lives: the biography resource
Describing itself as "the largest guide to biography sites on the Web", this site may well justify the hyperbole. If you can't find something about an individual here, you probably can't find it anywhere. See also the biography section of About.com.
Dictionary of Canadian Biography
A joint project of the University of Toronto and the University Laval, it represents persons who died or were active between 1000 and 1920. It is fully searchable by keyword and may be limited by date range of death, geography, gender, or identification.
Who's Who in the Twentieth Century
Available via Oxford Reference Online, this reference source includes more than 2,000 entries providing 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.
~Restricted to Union College
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African-Americans
African-American History
This site, along with general information about the African-American experience, includes brief biographies of a number of African-Americans.
The Faces of Science: African-Americans in the Sciences
This site profiles past and present African-American men and women who have made, or are making, important contributions to general science, engineering, and technology. See also the Special Collection of biographical resources about African-Americans in Lives and in About.com.
African-American History
This site, along with general information about the African-American experience, includes brief biographies of a number of African-Americans.
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Artists
Artists Biographies
Choose from more than 16,000 biographies of painters, sculptors, photographers, designers, architects, ceramics, graphic artists and more, including some 15,000 articles from the award winning Grove Dictionary of Art. Additional links to the Dictionary not available.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists
Available via Oxford Reference Online. Edited by Ian Chilvers, this dictionary includes more than 2500 entries. "Based on the highly praised Oxford Dictionary of Art, this is an authoritative and up-to-date guide to Western Art from ancient Greece to the present day." Includes periods and movements, such as the Classical period, the Renaissance, Impressionism, the Ashcan School, and Cubism, as well as techniques and styles such as encaustic painting, encarnado, lithography, cabinet painting, and blot drawing.
~Restricted to Union College
Masters of Photography
From Adams to Weegee, this site contains biographical information about famous photographers, samples of their work, and references to other online resources and exhibits.
Union List of Artist Names (ULAN)
This very large, and highly specialized, database attempts to nail down the most correct name for each of around 220,000 artists, and to provide additional bibliographical and biographical references from the Getty project files about each of the artists included. The coverage of the ULAN is from antiquity to the present, and the scope is global.
Women Artists in History
This site is a comprehensive and sensitive guide to all manner of resources about women artists, from the Middle Ages to the present. There are also links to other sites with information about women artists. See also the biography section of About.com.
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Authors
Literature Resource Center
Literature Resource Center provides access to biographies, bibliographies, and critical analayses of authors from every age and literary discipline. Covers more than 120,000 novelists, essayist, poets, journalists, and other writers, with in-depth coverage of 2,500 of the most-studied authors.
Literary Index
This site offers an index to a wide variety of printed biographical directories and dictionaries, such as the Concise Dictionary of American Literary Biography and the Dictionary of Literary Biography. You still have to look up the references in the printed sources, but the comprehensive indexing provided here will save you a great deal of time. Also included are citations to critical reviews of individual works by each author.
Literature Online
Use the "Find Authors" section of this site to find biographical information about authors, along with other secondary sources and bibliographic citations.
~Restricted to Union College
Online Literary Criticism Collection
Sponsored by the Internet Public Library, this excellent site is a guide to biographical and critical information about writers in all time periods. The database can be searched by author, title, nationality, and literary period. See also the biography section of About.com.
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Musicians
All Classical Guide
This site allows users to access brief biographies of composers/performers, along with links to information on specific compositions and performances.
Classical Net
This site offers biographical information about individual composers, as well as links to individual compositions and recommended performances.
DW3 Classical Music Resources
In addition to links to websites for a variety of composers, this site also provides links to significant electronic resources for all aspects of classical music.
Oxford Music Online
A research tool combining the full text of the 29-volume print edition of the Grove Dictionary of American Music and Musicians, with the added benefit of sophisticated search capabilities, one-click cross-referencing, and an ever increasing network of web-links to musical sites around the world." Now includes Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Oxford Dictionary of Music, Oxford Companion to Music, the complete New Grove Dictionary of Opera and New Grove Dictionary of Jazz as extra value-added features.
~Restricted to Union College
Garland Encyclopedia of World Music
More than 9,000 pages of material, combined with entries by more than 700 expert contributors from all over the world, make this the most complete body of work focused on world music.
~Restricted to Union College
Oxford Referece Online:Performing Arts
Browse this subject or search individual Oxford titles within the Performing Arts area, including Grove Book of Opera Singers, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera.
~Restricted to Union College
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Politicians
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
This site provides brief biographies of all members of the U.S. Congress since 1774, along with bibliographical references and guides to relevant research collections.
De Imperatoribus Romanis
This site is an online encyclopedia on the rulers of the Roman empire from Augustus (27 BC - AD 14) to Constantine XI Palaeologus (1449 - 1453).
A Dictionary of Political Biography
Available via Oxford Reference Online. Edited by Dennis Kavanagh, this dictionary includes more than 1000 entries and covers all the major figures in world politics of the twentieth century. Authoritative and wide-ranging, it describes and assesses the lives of more than 1000 men and women who have shaped political events across the world.
~Restricted to Union College
Kings and Queens of Britain
Available via Oxford Reference Online. "This dictionary presents English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish monarchs, from mythical and Romano-British rulers to the House of Windsor. Extended entries give information on themes such as Coronations and Regalia, and on significant royal residences or traditions like Sandringham House and touching for the King's Evil."
~Restricted to Union College
Presidents of the United States
A comprehensive biographical collection sponsored by the Internet Public Library, this site provides biographical, political, and personal information about each President, together with links to other useful Internet sites.
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Scientists
4000 Years of Women in Science
This site includes biographical information about more than 125 women inventors, scholars, writers, mathematicians, and astronomers.
Biographies of Women Mathematicians
This site is part of an on-going project by students in mathematics classes at Agnes Scott College to illustrate the numerous achievements of women in the field of mathematics. The database is searchable by name or period.
A Dictionary of Scientists
Available via Oxford Reference Online. An authoritative and up-to-date biographical dictionary of scientists spanning over 2,500 years. It covers all areas of science, from physics and astronomy to medicine and ecology, including key figures in the fields of mathematics and technology. The dictionary includes coverage of all Nobel Laureates in physics, chemistry, physiology, and medicine.
~Restricted to Union College
The Faces of Science: African-Americans in the Sciencesbr /> This site profiles past and present African-American men and women who have made, or are making, important contributions to general science, engineering, and technology.
MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive
Sponsored by the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of St. Andrews, this site provides biographical information about more than 1,000 mathematicians together with other information about the history of mathematics (including a "famous curves" index).
Past Notable Women of Computing and Mathematics
This is an omnibus site of biographical and other information about women mathematicians and computer scientists, including references to other Internet sites. See also the biography section of About.com.
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Women
4000 Years of Women in Science
This site includes biographical information about more than 125 women inventors, scholars, writers, mathematicians, and astronomers.
Biographies of Women Mathematicians
This site is part of an on-going project by students in mathematics classes at Agnes Scott College to illustrate the numerous achievements of women in the field of mathematics. The database is searchable by name or period.
Distinguished Women of Past and Present
Searchable by subject and name, this database of biographical information about well-known, and many not so well-known, women includes bibliographic references and links (when applicable) for each subject.
National Women's Hall of Fame
This is the home page of the National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York. In addition to information about the Hall of Fame, the site includes biographical information about all of the members.
Past Notable Women of Computing and Mathematics
This is an omnibus site of biographical and other information about women mathematicians and computer scientists, including references to other Internet sites.
Women Artists in History
This site is a comprehensive and sensitive guide to all manner of resources about women artists, from the Middle Ages to the present. There are also links to other sites with information about women artists.

See also the Special Collection of biographical resources on women in Lives and in About.com.

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