Guides: HIS 5369 The Historian's Craft: Biographical Sources

National Biographies (Deceased Individuals)

American national biography online This link opens in a new window
Discover biographies of more than 19,000 men and women — from all eras and walks of life — whose lives have shaped American history and culture.
Australian dictionary of biography This link opens in a new window
Presents concise biographical articles on significant and representative persons in Australian history.
Dictionary of Irish biography This link opens in a new window
Covers Irish men and women from the earliest times until 2001, providing biographies and a sense of their influence on Irish history, culture, and life.
Oxford dictionary of national biography This link opens in a new window
Provides authoritative biographies of deceased individuals who influenced British history, including colonial British-Americans. Biographies include a listing of major works written by the individual (if any) and a reference list of full-length biographies and critical articles. Each biography also includes a "Reputation" section which describes the individual's standing in his or her time period and how that has changed since then. Very helpfully will indicate where the individual's archives are, if they exist. Also provides links to major themed articles (on the American Founding Fathers, for instance), entries to related individuals, and to other online resources produced by Oxford University Press (which we may or may not have access to). Oxford University Press.

Dictionary of Literary Biography

Dictionary of literary biography This link opens in a new window
Presents career biographies and criticisms of writers from all eras and all genres through volumes dedicated to specific types of literature and time periods. Contains articles on literary authors from throughout the world.

Living Individuals

Searching for information on living individuals can be difficult. Your best hope is that there is a curriculm vitae (CV) on your scholar or scholars. Search Google for your scholar's name plus the term CV and you should be able to find a CV.

Other areas to check are a recent article your scholar wrote which will often include his/her institution. Then see if that person has a website at that institution.

Academia.edu
Social network for academics and academic administrators.
Google Scholar
Web search engine with results limited to scholarly content.
LinkedIn
Professional social networking sites.

HIS 5369 The Historian's Craft

National Biographies (Deceased Individuals)

Dictionary of Literary Biography

Living Individuals

University Libraries