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Biographical Information  Tags: biography reference  

Databases, books, Web sites, and other resources for finding biographies of people.
Last update: Mar 02nd, 2009 URL: http://researchguides.library.wisc.edu/biographicalinformation  Print Guide  RSS Updates

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MadCat Search Tips

MadCat Library Catalog

1. Click Basic Search.

2. Click Set Limits and choose Memorial Reference next to Location.

3. Type Biography and choose Subject Words under Search By.

4. Add another word (e.g., dramatists, poets, authors, women, Asian Americans (name of ethnic group), etc.) to further limit your search.

 

E-Resource Gateway

At-a-glance listing of Biography resources in the E-Resource Gateway:

Reference > Biography

 
 

About this Guide

This guide provides resources for finding biographies of people. It groups resources in categories, General Resources, Professions, Places, Populations, and Time Periods. Some resources include only deceased or only living persons and some include both deceased and living persons.

Start with the general online resources below. When choosing a resource, it may be helpful to consider the person's profession, place of origin, and population group.

The Memorial Library Reference Collection has many more resources for finding information about persons. These can be found by searching MadCat library catalog. See MadCat Search Tips.

 

Online Reference Resources

Start with these online resources for locating brief biographical profiles.

  • American National Biography  
    Online version of the print edition (Memorial Reference Stacks, CT213 A68 1999) contains approximately 19,000 biographies of well-known deceased Americans. Search full text or by birthplace, gender, birth/death dates, and collections.
  • Biography and Genealogy Master Index  
    13.6 million current and historical persons from all areas of the world and all fields. 1000+ English-language biographical dictionaries, handbooks, and directories. Includes name, birth and death dates, and source titles. Citations only.
  • Current Biography  
    15,000+ biographies and 9,400 obituaries that have appeared in Current Biography Yearbook since 1940. Profiles and obituaries are searchable by name, profession, place of origin, gender, race/ethnicity, date of birth or death, and keyword.
  • International Who’s Who  
    18,500+ biographies of men and women from around the globe. Nationality, date and place of birth, education, marital and family details, past career and current position, honors and awards, publications, leisure interests, contact information included.
  • Marquis Who’s Who on the Web  
    1.3 million+ biographies in all fields of endeavor including government, business, entertainment, science, sports, and more from Marquis print titles since 1985. Birth and death data, education, and personal and professional histories included.
  • Oxford Dictionary of National Biography  
    50,000+ illustrated biographies of people who were noteworthy or influential in shaping Britain's past. Updates include those who have died since 2000. Sources for biography, person's archives, illustrations, and wealth at death included.
 

Other Formats in the Reference Collection

A few of the general resources in the Memorial Library Reference Collection.

  • American National Biography - John A. Garraty, Mark C. Carnes
    Call Number: Memorial Library Reference Center Cases Room 262 (non-circulating), CT213 A68 1999
    ISBN/ISSN: 0195206355
    Contains 17,435 biographical articles on deceased Americans. It includes men and women that were significant in politics, scholarship, science, sports, business, theater, film, and activism. Entries include name, sphere of activity, birthplace, birth and death dates, and author/compiler. See online version above.
  • Biographical Archives (microfiche) - K.G. Saur
    Call Number: Memorial Library Reference Stacks, CT#### (varies)
    Microfiche housed in the cabinets in the back of the Reference Room. Fiche contains full text of historical biographical monographs arranged by country. Library has African; Arabian-Islamic; Baltic; British I & II; Chinese; Czech & Slovenian; European (Southeast); French I & II; German; German; Neue Folge; Indian (East); Italian I & II; Jewish; Russian; Scandinavian A & B; Spanish, Portugueuse, & Ibero-American I & II; Spanish, Portuguese, & Ibero-American 1960-95; Southeast Asian; and Southeast European (Balkan). Print indexes to microfiche in Memorial Library Reference Stacks, also World Biographical Index (Internationaler Biographischer Index) CD-ROM (See below.).
  • Biography Index
    Call Number: Memorial Lib. Reference Wall Cases Room 262 (non-circulating), Z5301 B5
    A cumulative index to biographical material in books and magazines.
  • Dictionary of American Biography
    Call Number: Memorial Library Reference Stacks Room 262 (non-circulating), E176 D56
    The Dictionary of American Biography was first published in 1928 and has been supplemented. It is a useful source for researching Americans of historical importance. Over 18,600 biographical essays are included, and it is indexed by name and topic in its original edition, and indexed by name in the supplementary editions.
  • World Biographical Index (Internationaler Biographischer Index) - K.G. Saur
    Call Number: Memorial Library Microforms/Media Center, Room 443, CT120 157
    Combined CD-ROM version of print indexes to national biographical archives: American biographical index, British biographical index, Deutscher biographischer Index, Index biographique francais, Indice biografico italiano, Indice biografico de Espana, Portugal e Iberoamerica, Scandinavian biographical index, Australiasian biographical index, Biograpfische index van de Benelux, and Polski indeks biograficzny. Print indexes (in Memorial Library Reference Stacks, CT (call number varies) and CD-ROM provide access to Biographical Archives (microfiche) in the cabinets in the back of the Reference Room. Fiche contains full text of hundreds of historical biographical monographs, arranged by country.
 

Web Sites

  • Biography.com  
    From A&E Television, this site includes short biographies of over 25,000 people. Entries also give links to related people and related Web sites.
  • Infoplease.com: Biography  
    Concise biographies of notable public figures. The site can be searched by name and browsed by topics like "American Indians" and "Supreme Court Justices."
  • Librarians' Internet Index: People  
    Lists biography sites in several categories. Click on Notable People.
 

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