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Biographical Information

United States

American National Biography (ANB)
Main Library Reference CT 213 .A68 1999
Conceived as the successor to the Dictionary of American Biography (DAB) (below) and published under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies. Does not include living persons. The biographical sketches written by scholars on about 17,000 historical figures range from the time of the earliest recorded European explorations up to the very recent past. Most of the entries have a brief bibliography appended.
 
Dictionary of American Biography (DAB)
Main Library Reference E 176 .D563
Contains 18,110 lengthy, signed articles written by scholars on noteworthy Americans from Colonial times through 1970. Does not include living persons. Bibliographies, appended to all entries, frequently identify primary sources and the locations of biographees' personal papers. Use the index to locate individuals. See also the American National Biography (ANB) (above). The entries in the DAB are available in their entirety in the online database Biography in Context.
 
Dictionary of American Negro Biography
Main Library General Collection  E 185.96 .D53 1982
Includes only individuals who died prior to January 1, 1970. Signed articles with notes on sources, intended to meet the need for a comprehensive biographical dictionary of African Americans based on scholarly research. "Historical significance" was the principal criterion for inclusion.
 
Distinguished Asian Americans: A Biographical Dictionary
Main Library General Collection E 184.O6 D57 1999
Features biographical profiles of 166 distinguished Asian-Americans, both native and foreign-born, who have made significant contributions to American society. Appendixes list individuals by occupation and ethnic subgroup.
 
The Encyclopedia of Native American Biography: Six Hundred Life Stories of Important People from Powhatan to Wilma Mankiller
Main Library Reference E 89 .J69 1997
Approximately 600 biographical sketches of native Americans and some non-Native Americans important in Indian affairs, from the seventeenth century to the present.
 
Main Library Reference E 176 .N28
Subtitle: "Being the history of United States as illustrated in the lives of the founders, builders, and defenders of the republic, and of the men and women who are doing the work and moulding the thought of the present time, edited by distinguished biographers, selected from each state, revised and approved by the most eminent historians, scholars, and statesmen of the day." Because of the non-alphabetic organization, the cumulative Index is essential for locating entries.
 
Notable American Women: 1607-1950
Main Library General Collection CT 3260 .N57
Notable American Women: The Modern Period
Main Library General Collection CT 3260 .N573 1980
Notable American Women: Completing the Twentieth Century
Main Library General Collection CT 3260 .N5725 2004
This five-volume set offers biographical sketches of approximately 3,000 women not included in the Dictionary of American Biography (DAB). Covers women who died between 1607 and 1999. For each subject, there is "a substantial interpretive biographical essay by a distinguished authority that integrates the woman's personal life with her professional achievements set in the context of larger historical developments" (publisher's note).
 
Notable Asian Americans
Main Library Reference E 184.O6 N67 1995
Lengthy biographical essays on nearly 250 Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, with occupation and ethnicity indexes. The entries in the latest edition are available in the online database Biography in Context.
 
Notable Native Americans
Reference E 89 .N67 1995
Biographical essays on 265 native North American men and women, over three-quarters of whom are twentieth-century individuals. Includes occupational and tribal indexes. The entries in the latest edition are available in the online database Biography in Context.
 
Who Was Who in America
Online version (1607-1984 via Credo Reference)
Online version (1985+ via Credo Reference)
Main Library General Collection E 176 .W64
Brief biographical data on deceased prominent Americans. The historical volume covers 1607-1896; subsequent volumes cover individuals who have died since their listing in Who's Who in America (below). In the Marquis Biographies Online, entries from Who Was Who in America are in the segment Who's Who in American History.
 
Who's Who Among African Americans
Main Library General Collection E 185.96 W53
Originally titled Who's Who Among Black Americans until the 1998/99 edition. Biographical information on more than 20,000 African-Americans in elected or appointed office, or in careers of achievement in the arts, civil rights, business, education, religion, and sports. Entries from editions since 1998 are available in the online database Biography in Context.
 
Who's Who Among Hispanic Americans
Main Library General Collection E 184 .S75 W53
Includes biographical data, career profiles, and addresses of over 5,000 Hispanic-American leaders.
 
Who's Who in America
Online version (via Credo Reference)
Online version (via Biography Resource Center)
Reference E 663 .W56
Basic biographical data on prominent living Americans. The entries in the latest edition are available in the online databases Biography Resource Center and Credo Reference.
 
Who's Who in the East
Main Library General Collection E 747 .W59
Who's Who in the Midwest
Main Library General Collection E 747 .W63
Who's Who in the South and Southwest
Main Library General Collection E 176 .W645
Who's Who in the West
Main Library General Collection F 595 .W64
Regional biographical directories published by the same company that publishes Who's Who in America (above). Most of the biographies listed in one of the regional editions are not listed in Who's Who in America. The entries in the latest editions of all titles are available in the database  
Who's Who of American Women
Main Library General Collection CT 3260 .W5