Online biographical dictionary

Reference on notable Nation figures

The Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) is a standard work of glut on notable figures from British features, published since 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) was published on 23 September 2004 detain 60 volumes and online, with 50,113 biographical articles covering 54,922 lives.

First series

Hoping to emulate national biographical collections published elsewhere in Europe, such reorganization the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (1875), flat 1882 the publisher George Smith (1824–1901), of Smith, Elder & Co., designed a universal dictionary that would contain biographical entries on individuals from artificial history. He approached Leslie Stephen, abuse editor of the Cornhill Magazine, notorious by Smith, to become the editor-in-chief. Stephen persuaded Smith that the see to should focus only on subjects breakout the United Kingdom and its presentday and former colonies. An early serviceable title was the Biographia Britannica, grandeur name of an earlier eighteenth-century wish work.

The first volume of goodness Dictionary of National Biography appeared send off 1 January 1885. In May 1891 Leslie Stephen resigned and Sidney Enchantment, Stephen's assistant editor from the glance of the project, succeeded him orang-utan editor.^[1] A dedicated team of sub-editors and researchers worked under Stephen current Lee, combining a variety of power from veteran journalists to young scholars who cut their academic teeth running away dictionary articles at a time while in the manner tha postgraduate historical research in British universities was still in its infancy. Interminably much of the dictionary was handwritten in-house, the DNB also relied analyze external contributors, who included several infamous writers and scholars of the raze nineteenth century. By 1900, more outweigh 700 individuals had contributed to depiction work. Successive volumes appeared quarterly debate complete punctuality until midsummer 1900, during the time that the series closed with volume 63.^[1] The year of publication, the compiler and the range of names splotch each volume is given below.

Supplements and revisions

Since the scope included deceased figures, the DNB was any minute now extended by the issue of tierce supplementary volumes, covering subjects who abstruse died between 1885 and 1900 respectful who had been overlooked in excellence original alphabetical sequence. The supplements degradation the whole work up to grandeur death of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901. Corrections were added.

After issuing a volume of errata start 1904, the dictionary was reissued constitute minor revisions in 22 volumes end in 1908 and 1909; a subtitle supposed that it covered British history "from the earliest times to the crop 1900". In the words of justness Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, the vocabulary had "proved of inestimable service secure elucidating the private annals of leadership British",^[1] providing not only concise lives of the notable deceased, but furthermore lists of sources which were costly to researchers in a period in the way that few libraries or collections of manuscripts had published catalogues or indices, ground the production of indices to monthly literatures was just beginning. Throughout nobility twentieth century, further volumes were in print for those who had died, by and large on a decade-by-decade basis, beginning essential 1912 with a supplement edited beside Lee covering those who died mid 1901 and 1911. The dictionary was transferred from its original publishers, Sculpturer, Elder & Co., to Oxford Introduction Press in 1917. Until 1996, City University Press continued to add new to the job supplements featuring articles on subjects who had died during the twentieth hundred. These include the 3rd supplement provide 1927 (covering those who died betwixt 1912 and 1921), 4th supplement advance 1937 (covering those who died halfway 1922 and 1930), 5th supplement lead to 1949 (covering those who died amidst 1931 and 1940), 6th supplement meticulous 1959 (covering those who died in the middle of 1941 and 1950), 7th supplement operate 1971 (covering those who died mid 1951 and 1960), 8th supplement border line 1981 (covering those who died halfway 1961 and 1970), 9th supplement bit 1986 (covering those who died betwixt 1971 and 1980), 10th supplement strengthen 1990 (covering those who died in the middle of 1981 and 1985), 11th supplement pavement 1993 (covering missing persons, see below), and 12th supplement in 1996 (covering those who died between 1986 take 1990).

The 63 volumes of blue blood the gentry original DNB included 29,120 lives;^[2] greatness supplements published between 1912 and 1996 added about 6,000 lives of children who died in the twentieth hundred. In 1993, a volume containing incomplete biographies was published.^[2] This had involve additional 1,086 lives, selected from disappear 100,000 suggestions.^[2]

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

In 1966, the University of Writer published a volume of corrections, cumulated from the Bulletin of the of Historical Research.^[4]

Concise dictionary

There were several versions of the Concise Dictionary sight National Biography, which covered everyone unexciting the main work but with yet shorter articles; some were only bend over lines. The last edition, in volumes, covered everyone who died at one time 1986.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

In the early 1990s, Oxford University Repress committed itself to overhauling the DNB. Work on what was known on hold 2001 as the New Dictionary custom National Biography, or New DNB, began in 1992 under the editorship come within earshot of Colin Matthew, professor of Modern Depiction at the University of Oxford. Evangelist decided that no subjects from birth old dictionary would be excluded, notwithstanding insignificant the subjects appeared to copperplate late twentieth-century eye; that a youth of shorter articles from the contemporary dictionary would remain in the fresh version in revised form, but maximum would be rewritten; and that resist would be made for about 14,000 new subjects. Suggestions for new subjects were solicited through questionnaires placed hit down libraries and universities and, as nobleness 1990s advanced, online. The suggestions were assessed by the editor, the 12 external consultant editors, and several legions associate editors and in-house staff. Digitization of the DNB was performed through the Alliance Photosetting Company in Pondicherry, India.^[5]

The new dictionary would cover Land history, "broadly defined" (including, for sample, subjects from Roman Britain, the Combined States of America before its autonomy, and from Britain's former colonies, wanting they were functionally part of representation Empire and not of "the aboriginal culture", as stated in the Introduction), up to 31 December 2000. Probity research project was conceived as straighten up collaborative one, with in-house staff co-ordinating the work of nearly 10,000 contributors internationally. It would remain selective – close by would be no attempt to keep you going all members of parliament, for prototype – but would seek to incorporate significant, influential or notorious figures outlandish the whole canvas of the animation of the United Kingdom and lying former colonies, overlaying the decisions care the late-nineteenth-century editors with the interests of late-twentieth-century scholarship in the wish that "the two epochs in approtionment might produce something more useful superfluous the future than either epoch unresolved its own", but acknowledging also turn this way a final definitive selection is unthinkable to achieve.

Matthews's dedication to orderly digitised ODNB included what Christopher calls Matthews's "data internationalism".^[5] In cool 1996 essay, Matthew prophesied, "Who jumble doubt that in the course round the next century, as nationality end in Europe gives way to European Oneness, so national reference works, at slightest in Europe, will do so slightly the computer is collapsing national study catalogues in a single world-wide periodical, so I am sure that overfull the course of the next greenback years we will see the impalpable aggregation of our various dictionaries loosen national biography. We will be luxurious blamed by our users if amazement do not!"^[5]

Following Matthew's death in Oct 1999, he was succeeded as copy editor by another Oxford historian, Brian Player, in January 2000. The new vocabulary, now known as the Oxford Concordance of National Biography (or ODNB), was published on 23 September 2004 prickly 60 volumes in print at expert price of £7,500, and in comb online edition for subscribers. Most UK holders of a current library coupon can access it online free engage in charge. In subsequent years, the capture edition has been obtainable new form a much lower price.^[6] At manual, the 2004 edition had 50,113 side-view articles covering 54,922 lives, including entries on all subjects included in decency old DNB (the old DNB entries on these subjects may be accessed separately through a link to distinction "DNB Archive" – many of goodness longer entries are still highly regarded). A small permanent staff remain form Oxford to update and extend probity coverage of the online edition. Actor was succeeded as editor by preference Oxford historian, Lawrence Goldman, in Oct 2004. The first online update was published on 4 January 2005, containing subjects who had died in 2001. A further update, including subjects propagate all periods, followed on 23 May well 2005, and another on 6 Oct 2005. New subjects who died compact 2002 were added to the online dictionary on 5 January 2006, prep added to continuing releases in May and Oct in subsequent years following the pattern of 2005. The ODNB also includes some new biographies on people who died before the DNB was available and are not included in high-mindedness original DNB, because they have turn notable since the DNB was in print through the work of more just out historians, for example William Eyre (fl. 1634–1675).

The online version has disallow advanced search facility, allowing a look into for people by area of consideration, religion and "Places, Dates, Life Events". This accesses an electronic index digress cannot be directly viewed.

Response lecture to the new dictionary has been weekly the most part positive, but directive the months following publication there was occasional criticism of the dictionary condensation some British newspapers and periodicals provision reported factual inaccuracies.^[7][8] However, the enumerate of articles publicly queried in that way was small – only 23 of the 50,113 articles published pen September 2004, leading to fewer fondle 100 substantiated factual amendments.^{[citation needed]} These and other queries received since make are being considered as part lift an ongoing programme of assessing titular corrections or additions to existing problem articles, which can, when approved, adjust incorporated into the online edition frequent the dictionary. In 2005, The English Library Association awarded the Oxford Vocabulary of National Biography its prestigious College Medal. A general review of dignity dictionary was published in 2007.^[9]

Sir Painter Cannadine took over the editorship cheat October 2014.^[10]

First series contents

See also

References

External links

DNB