Biography Databases 


Subscription Databases Available Only to the WSU Community:

• Biography in Context. Huge collection of biographies on over 525,000 people worldwide. Includes full text articles from hundreds of periodicals, including the full text of standard reference titles such as: Webster's Biographical Dictionary, Encyclopedia of World Biography (28 vols.), Dictionary of American Biography (20 vols.), Newsmakers, and more. 
    Note: Access to the Gale/Cengage databases is made possible by the Massachusetts Regional Library System. 
• Current Biography – Entire contents of the printed monthly issues, since 1940 a trusted source in libraries. Contains carefully researched profiles of people in the news including politicians, sports figures, businesspeople, writers, actors, scientists and celebrities. Substantial profiles between 2,000-5,000 words; short bibliography follows each entry.
• Encyclopedia Britannica - information from the encyclopedia, plus links to selected web sites.
• Lexis-Nexis - People Search - Best for recent personalities; full-text biographical articles culled from journals, magazines and newspapers.
• Literature Resource Center - full text biographies of literary figures
• Master File Premier - [Ebsco] This database provides full-text access to over 84,000 biographies on people from all professions, countries, and time periods. Click on Advanced Search and enter the person's name in the search box - then scroll down and limit the Publication Type to Biography.
• Oxford Art Online - This database includes the full text of the Grove Dictionary of Art, which includes biographies of artists from antiquity through the present. To find biographies, go to the Advanced Search, click on the Biography Search tab, and search the artist's name.
• Oxford Reference Online - [Premium Collection] This collection includes biographies taken from several hundred reference sources. It is strongest in history and the humanities. After running a Quick Search on a person's name, click the Subject Reference: Longer Entries tab [upper left corner of the screen] to view more the more substantive entries.

 

Other Web Resources - selective list of free sites

• Awesome Library - great site for kids; categories such as heroes, composers, ethnic groups, politicians, scientists etc.
• American President - This website offers in-depth biographies of all US presidents. For each president, the biography starts with a Life in Brief profile, then proceeds to sections about Campaigns and Elections, Foreign Affairs, Impact and Legacy, and other topics.
• The Biographical Dictionary - covers more than 28,000 notable men and women who have shaped our world from ancient times to the present day
• Biographical Guide to Congress - standard in most library reference collections in print form; online edition covers 1774 - present. Search by name, state, party, year or Congressional session. Also guide to research collections where presidential papers are housed.
• Biography Center - multi-lingual biographical dictionary; 11,011 biographies - also links to other sites
• Biography.com - 25,000 of the greatest lives past and present. Presented by A & E Television Networks
• Dictionary of Canadian Biography - Available in English or French
• Distinguished Women of the Past and Present - search by name or subject (chronological before the 20th century). Profiles of women who contributed to our culture in many different ways
• Encyclopedia of World Biography - This website offers lengthy biographies of thousands of people from around the world, with an emphasis on famous people of the 20th century.
• From Revolution to Reconstruction - historical persons related to American history from the colonial period until modern times.
• History of Mathematics -Biographies - University of St. Andrews, Scotland, School of Mathematics and Statistics. Alphabetical and chronological indexes; also search just female mathematicians 
• In the First Person - Index to Letters, Diaries, Oral Histories, and Other Personal Narratives. Access scholarly material freely available on the Web. Ordinary people from all walks of life alongside those of the well-published and famous.
• Info Please - 30,000 biographical profiles and special features about newsworthy people around the world; searchable by name or subject category
• Noble Prize Winners - Nobel Prize winners, by date or category; full biographies
• Presidents of the U. S. - from the White House history site
• POTUS: Presidents of the United States - background information, election results, cabinet members, notable events, and some points of interest on each of the presidents. Links to biographies, historical documents, audio and video files, and other presidential sites are also included to enrich this site from the Internet Public Library
• Well Known People Who Happen to Be Canadian - actors, artists, journalists, etc.
• Women's International Center - brief biographies, most with color picture
• World of Scientific Biography - search by branch of science, gender, nationality, historical periods.

Links to Other Biography Sites on the Web

• BUBL Link - annotated catalogue of Internet Resources
• Biography Search Engines -  links to a multitude of sites; useful for specific categories such as Americans only, presidents, celebrities, deceased, women, British monarchs etc.
• Internet Public Library - annotated links to 91 biography sites around the Web
• Library Spot - general biographies, by type (artists, authors, etc.) or ethnicity
• Ref Desk - links to 34 of the best biographical sites, including many sites specifically by subject categories
  

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