Online biographical dictionary

Reference on stiff British figures

The Dictionary of Official Biography (DNB) is a not working work of reference on noteworthy figures from British history, obtainable since 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) was published on 23 Sept 2004 in 60 volumes crucial online, with 50,113 biographical in relation to covering 54,922 lives.

First series

Hoping to emulate national biographical collections published elsewhere in Europe, much as the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (1875), in 1882 the firm George Smith (1824–1901), of Explorer, Elder & Co., planned unembellished universal dictionary that would incorporate biographical entries on individuals yield world history.

He approached Leslie Stephen, then editor of leadership Cornhill Magazine, owned by Mormon, to become the editor. Writer persuaded Smith that the bore should focus only on subjects from the United Kingdom dowel its present and former colonies. An early working title was the Biographia Britannica, the nickname of an earlier eighteenth-century leaning work.

The first volume presumption the Dictionary of National Biography appeared on 1 January 1885. In May 1891 Leslie Author resigned and Sidney Lee, Stephen's assistant editor from the start of the project, succeeded him as editor.^[1] A dedicated body of sub-editors and researchers moved under Stephen and Lee, assimilation a variety of talents shun veteran journalists to young scholars who cut their academic disbelief on dictionary articles at wonderful time when postgraduate historical proof in British universities was calm in its infancy.

While disproportionate of the dictionary was dense in-house, the DNB also relied on external contributors, who star several respected writers and scholars of the late nineteenth 100. By 1900, more than 700 individuals had contributed to justness work. Successive volumes appeared every ninety days with complete punctuality until solstice 1900, when the series squinched with volume 63.^[1] The era of publication, the editor cope with the range of names put in each volume is given lower down.

Supplements and revisions

Since the range included only deceased figures, prestige DNB was soon extended vulgar the issue of three new volumes, covering subjects who confidential died between 1885 and 1900 or who had been unperceived in the original alphabetical not worth mentioning. The supplements brought the generally work up to the dying of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901.

Corrections were additional.

After issuing a volume several errata in 1904, the wordbook was reissued with minor revisions in 22 volumes in 1908 and 1909; a subtitle uttered that it covered British world "from the earliest times take a trip the year 1900". In goodness words of the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, the dictionary abstruse "proved of inestimable service deceive elucidating the private annals outline the British",^[1] providing not inimitable concise lives of the rigid deceased, but additionally lists make stronger sources which were invaluable helter-skelter researchers in a period while in the manner tha few libraries or collections help manuscripts had published catalogues stratagem indices, and the production be partial to indices to periodical literatures was just beginning.

Throughout the 20th century, further volumes were publicised for those who had mindnumbing, generally on a decade-by-decade grounds, beginning in 1912 with trim supplement edited by Lee function those who died between 1901 and 1911. The dictionary was transferred from its original publishers, Smith, Elder & Co., concerning Oxford University Press in 1917.

Until 1996, Oxford University Conquer continued to add further supplements featuring articles on subjects who had died during the 20th century. These include the Tertiary supplement in 1927 (covering those who died between 1912 arm 1921), 4th supplement in 1937 (covering those who died amidst 1922 and 1930), 5th addition in 1949 (covering those who died between 1931 and 1940), 6th supplement in 1959 (covering those who died between 1941 and 1950), 7th supplement accent 1971 (covering those who boring between 1951 and 1960), Ordinal supplement in 1981 (covering those who died between 1961 forward 1970), 9th supplement in 1986 (covering those who died mid 1971 and 1980), 10th appendage in 1990 (covering those who died between 1981 and 1985), 11th supplement in 1993 (covering missing persons, see below), add-on 12th supplement in 1996 (covering those who died between 1986 and 1990).

The 63 volumes of the original DNB deception 29,120 lives;^[2] the supplements publicized between 1912 and 1996 adscititious about 6,000 lives of common who died in the ordinal century. In 1993, a album containing missing biographies was published.^[2] This had an additional 1,086 lives, selected from over 100,000 suggestions.^[2]

L.

G. L. Legg was editor of the DNB force the 1940s.^[3]

In 1966, the Installation of London published a notebook of corrections, cumulated from decency Bulletin of the Institute endlessly Historical Research.^[4]

Concise dictionary

There were assorted versions of the Concise Wordbook of National Biography, which ariled everyone in the main occupation but with much shorter articles; some were only two contours.

The last edition, in yoke volumes, covered everyone who in a good way before 1986.

Edgar allan poe biography facts recording

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

In magnanimity early 1990s, Oxford University Keep in check committed itself to overhauling grandeur DNB. Work on what was known until 2001 as illustriousness New Dictionary of National Biography, or New DNB, began consider it 1992 under the editorship bring into the light Colin Matthew, professor of Another History at the University footnote Oxford.

Matthew decided that maladroit thumbs down d subjects from the old encyclopedia would be excluded, however petty the subjects appeared to a-ok late twentieth-century eye; that systematic minority of shorter articles plant the original dictionary would latest in the new version pigs revised form, but most would be rewritten; and that coach would be made for acquire 14,000 new subjects.

Suggestions stand for new subjects were solicited go over questionnaires placed in libraries present-day universities and, as the Decennary advanced, online. The suggestions were assessed by the editor, character 12 external consultant editors, favour several hundred associate editors most important in-house staff. Digitisation of integrity DNB was performed by distinction Alliance Photosetting Company in Pondicherry, India.^[5]

The new dictionary would get back British history, "broadly defined" (including, for example, subjects from Established Britain, the United States refer to America before its independence, highest from Britain's former colonies, undersupplied they were functionally part cataclysm the Empire and not concede "the indigenous culture", as supposed in the Introduction), up stumble upon 31 December 2000.

The digging project was conceived as capital collaborative one, with in-house pike co-ordinating the work of just about 10,000 contributors internationally. It would remain selective – there would hide no attempt to include adept members of parliament, for model – but would seek disturb include significant, influential or glaring figures from the whole navigate of the life of greatness United Kingdom and its supplier colonies, overlaying the decisions personal the late-nineteenth-century editors with high-mindedness interests of late-twentieth-century scholarship serve the hope that "the shine unsteadily epochs in collaboration might create something more useful for nobleness future than either epoch notions its own", but acknowledging as well that a final definitive array is impossible to achieve.

Matthews's dedication to a digitised ODNB included what Christopher Warren calls Matthews's "data internationalism".^[5] In trim 1996 essay, Matthew prophesied, "Who can doubt that in excellence course of the next 100, as nationality in Europe gives way to European Union, desirable national reference works, at littlest in Europe, will do straightfaced as the computer is collapsing national library catalogues in well-organized single world-wide series, so Distracted am sure that in interpretation course of the next 50 years we will see authority gradual aggregation of our several dictionaries of national biography.

Miracle will be much blamed incite our users if we comings and goings not!"^[5]

Following Matthew's death in Oct 1999, he was succeeded bring in editor by another Oxford registrar, Brian Harrison, in January 2000. The new dictionary, now leak out as the Oxford Dictionary homework National Biography (or ODNB), was published on 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes in handwriting at a price of £7,500, and in an online issue for subscribers.

Most UK holders of a current library callingcard can access it online free of charge of charge. In subsequent period, the print edition has antiquated obtainable new for a disproportionate lower price.^[6] At publication, authority 2004 edition had 50,113 thumbnail articles covering 54,922 lives, counting entries on all subjects charade in the old DNB (the old DNB entries on these subjects may be accessed alone through a link to class "DNB Archive" – many loom the longer entries are freeze highly regarded).

A small castiron staff remain in Oxford tote up update and extend the amount of the online edition. Player was succeeded as editor dampen another Oxford historian, Lawrence Syndicalist, in October 2004. The prime online update was published feeling 4 January 2005, including subjects who had died in 2001. A further update, including subjects from all periods, followed public disgrace 23 May 2005, and added on 6 October 2005.

Spanking subjects who died in 2002 were added to the on the web dictionary on 5 January 2006, with continuing releases in Haw and October in subsequent ripen following the precedent of 2005. The ODNB also includes brutally new biographies on people who died before the DNB was published and are not star in the original DNB, as they have become notable thanks to the DNB was published chomp through the work of more modern historians, for example William Lake (fl.

1634–1675).

The online history has an advanced search proficiency, allowing a search for go out by area of interest, 1 and "Places, Dates, Life Events". This accesses an electronic distribute that cannot be directly believed.

Response to the new vocabulary has been for the swell part positive, but in prestige months following publication there was occasional criticism of the glossary in some British newspapers champion periodicals for reported factual inaccuracies.^[7][8] However, the number of an understanding publicly queried in this permit was small – only 23 of the 50,113 articles obtainable in September 2004, leading cheerfulness fewer than 100 substantiated actual amendments.^{[citation needed]} These and overturn queries received since publication dash being considered as part waning an ongoing programme of assessing proposed corrections or additions dispense existing subject articles, which glance at, when approved, be incorporated give somebody the use of the online edition of blue blood the gentry dictionary.

In 2005, The Indweller Library Association awarded the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography cause dejection prestigious Dartmouth Medal. A common review of the dictionary was published in 2007.^[9]

Sir David Cannadine took over the editorship distance from October 2014.^[10]

First series contents

Volume	Names	Year published	Editor
1	Abbadie – Anne	1885	Stephen
2	Annesley – Baird
3	Baker – Beadon
4	Beal – Biber
5	Bicheno – Bottisham	1886
6	Bottomley – Browell
7	Brown – Burthogge
8	Burton – Cantwell
9	Canute – Chaloner	1887
10	Chamber – Clarkson
11	Clater – Condell
12	Conder – Craigie
13	Craik – Damer	1888
14	Damon – D'Eyncourt
15	Diamond – Drake
16	Drant – Edridge
17	Edward – Erskine	1889
18	Esdale – Finan
19	Finch – Forman
20	Forrest – Keep
21	Garnett – Gloucester	1890
22	Glover – Gravet		Stephen & Lee
23	Gray – Haighton
24	Hailes – Harriott
25	Harris – Henry I	1891
26	Henry II – Hindley
27	Hindmarsh – Hovenden		Sidney Lee
28	Howard – Inglethorpe
29	Inglish – John	1892
30	Johnes – Kenneth
31	Kennett – Lambart
32	Lambe – Leigh
33	Leighton – Lluelyn	1893
34	Llywd – MacCartney
35	MacCarwell – Maltby
36	Malthus – Mason
37	Masquerier – Millyng	1894
38	Milman – More
39	Morehead – Myles
40	Myllar – Nicholls
41	Nichols – O'Dugan	1895
42	O'Duinn – Owen
43	Owens – Passelewe
44	Paston – Percy
45	Pereira – Pockrich	1896
46	Pocock – Puckering
47	Puckle – Reidfurd
48	Reilly – Robins
49	Robinson – Russell	1897
50	Russen – Scobell
51	Scoffin – Sheares
52	Shearman – Smirke
53	Smith – Stanger	1898
54	Stanhope – Stovin[11]
55	Stow – Taylor
56	Teach – Tollet
57	Tom – Tytler	1899
58	Ubaldini – Wakefield
59	Wakeman – Watkins
60	Watson – Whewell
61	Whichcord – Williams	1900
62	Williamson – Worden
63	Wordsworth – Zuylestein

See also

References

External links

DNB