Biographical dictionary

Biographical dictionaries – a type of encyclopedic dictionary limited to biographical information – have been written in many languages. Many attempt to cover the major personalities of a country (with limitations, such as living persons only, in Who's Who, or deceased people only, in the Dictionary of National Biography). Others are specialized, in that they cover important names in a subject field, such as architecture or engineering.

History

The first biographical dictionaries were written in the Muslim world from the 9th century onwards. ^{[citation needed]} They contain more social data for a large segment of the population than that found in any other pre-industrial society. The earliest biographical dictionaries initially focused on the lives of the prophets of Islam and the their companions, with one of the earliest examples being The Book of The Major Classes by Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi, and then began documenting the lives of many other historical figures (from rulers to scholars) who lived in the medieval Islamic world.^[1]

List of biographical dictionaries

International

• A Biographical Dictionary of Railway Engineers
• Al-Fihrist al-Nadim
• Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890
• Who's Who in the World
• World Biographical Information System Online
• Anderson, Gerald with Robert Coote, eds, Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1999. ISBN 0-8028-4680-7. ISBN 978-0-8028-4680-8.
• Anderson, Roger, Psychics, Sensitives, and Somnambules: A Biographical Dictionary with Bibliographies, Jefferson / London: McFarland, 2006. ISBN 0-7864-2770-1.
• Baker, Theodore & Alfred Remy, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians.
• Biographical Dictionary, http://www.s9.com
• Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals.
• Biographical Dictionary of Organists, Composers for Organ and Organ Builders, http://www.organ-biography.info/
• Biographical Dictionary 17th, 18th, and 19th century European Mennonite church leaders, The Mennonite Quarterly Review, http://www.goshen.edu/mqr/biograph.html
• Brown, Stuart, Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Philosophers, edited by Robert Wilkinson and Diane Collinson.
• Browning, D C .Everyman's Dictionary of Literary Biography: English & American. Compiled after John W Cousin. London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co. Inc. First published 1958. Revised edition. 1960.
• The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Biographical Dictionary, http://www2.fiu.edu/~mirandas/494-2012-a-z-all.htm
• Carey, Patrick & Joseph Lienhard, Biographical Dictionary of Christian Theologians.
• Chambers Biographical Dictionary, ISBN 978-0-550-10693-3.
• Cohn-Sherbok, Daniel, Dictionary of Jewish Biography.
• Cousin, John William, 1910, A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature, London: J. M. Dent & Sons; New York: E. P. Dutton.
• Crystal, David, ed, The Cambridge Biographical Dictionary.
• Dictionary of Art Historians: A Biographical Dictionary of Historic Scholars, Museum Professionals and Academic Historians of Art* Encyclopedia of World Biography, 17 volumes, Gale, 1997. ISBN 0-7876-2546-9. ISBN 978-0-7876-2546-7.

• Gordon, Irwin, Who Was Who: 5000 BC to Date.
• Harvey, Joy, The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science, edited by Marilyn Ogilvie and Joy Harvey. ISBN 0-415-92038-8. ISBN 978-0-415-92038-4.
• Hinnells, John, Who's Who of World Religions, Macmillan. ISBN 0-14-051349-3.
• Ibn Khallikān. Ibn Khallikan's Biographical dictionary, 1.  2.  3.  4.  M. de Slane trans. Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland, 1843.
• Ingamells, John (compiler). A Dictionary of British and Irish Travellers in Italy 1701 - 1800. Compiled from the Brinsley Ford Archive. Published for the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art by Yale University Press. New Haven and London. 1997. ISBN 0 300 07165 5.
• International Biographical Centre, Dictionary of International Biography.
• International Biographical Centre, 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century.
• International Biographical Centre, Who's Who of Women.
• Keene, Henry George, An oriental biographical dictionary: founded on materials collected by the late Thomas William Beale, W.H. Allen, 1894
• Kiernan, T, Who's Who in the History of Philosophy, New York, 1965.
• Lentz, Harris, Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling.
• Lewis, James, Peculiar Prophets: A Biographical Dictionary of New Religions, Paragon. ISBN 1-55778-768-9.
• McNeil, Ian, Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology, edited by Lance Day and Ian McNeil. ISBN 0-415-19399-0. ISBN 978-0-415-19399-3.
• Mitchell, Sarah, Elizabeth Tootill, Derek Gjertsen, and John Daintith, Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists, Taylor & Francis, 1994. ISBN 0-7503-0287-9. ISBN 978-0-7503-0287-6.
• Pleasants, Helene et al., eds, The Biographical Dictionary of Parapsychology, New York: Helix, Garrett, 1964.
• Porter, Roy, The Biographical Dictionary of Scientists, 1994. ISBN 0-19-521083-2 | ISBN 978-0-19-521083-5.
• Randel, Don Michael, ed, The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music, Harvard University Press.
• Saunders, J.W.W., A Biographical Dictionary of Renaissance Poets and Dramatists, 1520-1650.
• Saur, K.G., International Biographical Dictionary of Central European Emigres 1933-1945.
• Sheehy, Chapman, Conroy, eds, Biographical Dictionary of Psychology
• Simpson, A. W. B., ed., Biographical Dictionary of the Common Law, London: Butterworths, 1984.
• Slonimsky, Nicolas, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians.
• Slonimsky, Nicolas, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Classical Musicians, edited by Laura Kuhn.
• Taitz, Emily, Holocaust Survivors: A Biographical Dictionary, Greenwood, 2007. ISBN 978-0-313-33676-8. ISBN 978-0-313-06343-5
• Thomas, H, Biographical Encyclopedia of Philosophy, New York, 1965.
• Thomson, David, The New Biographical Dictionary of Film. ISBN 978-0-307-27174-7.
• Union of International Associations, ed, International Biographical Dictionary of Religion, Munich: KG Saur Verlag, 1994. ISBN 3-598-11100-2.
• Universal Biographical Dictionary, Hartford: S. Andrus & Son, 1850.
• Webster's New Biographical Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster Inc. ISBN 0-87779-543-6
• Weinberg, Robert, Biographical Dictionary of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists.
• Wheeler, Joseph Mazzini, A Biographical Dictionary of Freethinkers of All Ages and Nations.
• Wigoder, Geoffrey, Dictionary of Jewish Biography.
• Williams, Trevor I (editor). A Biographical Dictionary of Scientists. Adam & Charles Black. London. First Edition. 1969. Second Edition. 1974. ISBN 0 7136 1511 7.
• World War I Biographical Dictionary
• Wright, Jonathan, Shapers of the Great Debate on the Freedom of Religion: A Biographical Dictionary, Greenwood, 2005. ISBN 0-313-31889-1.

Australia

• Australian Dictionary of Biography
• Dictionary of Australian Biography
• Dictionary of Western Australians
• Dictionary of Australian Artists Online

Canada

• Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950, http://dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org
• Dictionary of Canadian Biography
• Canadian Who's Who, published by University of Toronto Press

China and Chinese

• Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity, http://www.bdcconline.net/en/.
• Howard L. Boorman, Richard C. Howard and Joseph K. H. Cheng, eds. Biographical Dictionary of Republican China. (New York: Columbia University Press, 4 Vols. 1967- ). ISBN 0231089570 (v. 3) 0231089589 (v. 4).
• Brown, Kerry et al., eds, Berkshire Dictionary of Chinese Biography, 4 volumes, Great Barrington, Massachusetts: Berkshire, 2012. ISBN 978-1-933782-66-9.
• De Crespigny, Rafe, A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD), Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-15605-0. ISBN 90-04-15605-4.
• Herbert Allen Giles. A Chinese Biographical Dictionary. (London, Shanghai,: B. Quaritch; Kelly & Walsh, 1898) rpr. Taipei: Chʻeng-Wen Publishing Company.
• Goodrich L. Carrington, Fang Zhaoying, eds. Dictionary of Ming Biography, 1368-1644. (New York: Columbia University Press, 2 vols. 1976). Vol I ISBN 0231038011 Vol II ISBN 9780231038331.
• Arthur W. Hummel, Sr., Eminent Chinese of the Ch'ing Period. Washington, D.C. 1943.
• Donald W. Klein and Anne B. Clark, eds. Biographic Dictionary of Chinese Communism 1921-1965. (Cambridge, Mass., 2 vols. 1971).
• Loewe, Michael, A Biographical Dictionary of the Qin, Former Han and Xin Periods (221 BC - AD 24), Leiden: Brill, 2000, ISBN 90-04-10364-3
• Lee Xiao Hong & A.D. Stefanowska, Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women.
• Zhang, Wenxian & Ilan Alon, eds, Biographical Dictionary of New Chinese Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders, 2009. ISBN 1-84720-636-0. ISBN 978-1-84720-636-7.
• Zhongguo renming dacidian. 1921–present

Denmark

• Engelstoft, Povl; Dahl, Svend, ed. (1979–84): Dansk biografisk leksikon (Danish Biographical Dictionary), 3rd edition in 16 volumes, Copenhagen, Gyldendal, ISBN 978-8700055513. Online access to the current updated version, is available from Gyldendal's Den Store Danske website. (Danish)
• Larsen, Jytte (ed) (2001), Dansk kvindebiografisk leksikon (Biographical Dictionary of Danish Women), Volumes 1-3, Copenhagen, Rosinante. ISBN 9788773574874. The searchable online edition contains over 1,900 biographies from the Middle Ages to the present. (Danish)

France

• Nouvelle Biographie Générale (1853 to 1866), 42 volumes.
• Dictionnaire de biographie des hommes célèbres de l'Alsace (1909–1910).
• Dictionnaire de biographie française (1932).
• Nouveau dictionnaire de biographie alsacienne (1982).

German-speaking Europe

• Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (1875)
• *Hockerts, Hans Günter; Brantl, Markus; Ebneth, Bernhard; Jordan, Stefan: Deutsche Biographie, providing online access to over 21,000 articles from Neue Deutsche Biographie (Hockertsand, Hans Günter, ed., Berlin, Duncker & Humblor, 1953-2010, cf Vol 1, ISBN 3-428-00181-8), 26,000 articles from Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (1912) as well as biographies from other sources. Internet access is coordinated by the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the Bavarian State Library. (German)
• Neue Deutsche Biographie (1953)
• Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (1990)
• Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie (1995)

Great Britain

• A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers.
• Boase, Frederic, Modern English Biography. First Edition. 1892 - 1921. 6 volumes. Second Impression. Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. 1965.
• British Biographical Index.
• Chambers Biographical Dictionary.
• Concise Dictionary of National Biography.
• Crawford et al., eds, The Europa Biographical Dictionary of British Women. Europa Publications Limited. 1983. ISBN 0 905118 77 4.
• Darby, Michael, A Biographical Dictionary of British Coleopterists, The Coleopterist.
• A Dictionary of Edwardian Biography. Reprint. Edinburgh. 1983 onwards. 36 vols.^[2]
• Dictionary of National Biography.
• Dictionary of Welsh Biography.
• Eccleshall, Robert & Graham Walker, eds, Biographical Dictionary of British Prime Ministers.
• Gardner, Juliet, ed, The History Today Who's Who in British History. Collins & Brown Limited. Cima Books. 2000. ISBN 1 85585 771 5.
• Gillow, Joseph. A Literary and Biographical History, or Biographical Dictionary of the English Catholics. From the Breach with Rome, in 1534, to the Present Time. Burns and Oates. London: Granville Mansions, 28 Orchard Street, W. New York: Catholic Publication Society Co. 9 Barclay Street. Preface is dated June 1885. 5 volumes.
• Gorton's Biographical Dictionary
• Greaves, Richard L & Robert Zaller, eds, Biographical Dictionary of British Radicals in the Seventeenth Century. The Harvester Press. Vol 1. 1982. ISBN 0 85527 133 7. Vol 2. 1983. ISBN 0 7108 0430 X. Vol 3. 1984. ISBN 0 7108 0486 5.
• New and General Biographical Dictionary (1761), became Chalmers' Biographical Dictionary (1812)
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• Who's Who, published by A & C Black.
• Who's Who in Catholic Life, Gabriel Communications, publishers of The Universe and the Catholic Times.

India

• Buckland, Charles Edward, Dictionary of Indian Biography.
• Chattopadhyay, Anjana, Biographical Dictionary of Indian Scientists, Rupa, 2002. ISBN 81-7167-669-3.
• Lethbridge, Roper, The Golden Book of India: A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary of the Ruling Princes, Chiefs, Nobles, and Other Personages, Titled or Decorated, of the Indian Empire.
• Nagar, Shantilal, Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Indian Rsis
•  Rao, C. Hayavando (1915). The Indian Biographical Dictionary. , complete at Internet Archive
• Rao, Hayavando, The Indian Biographical Dictionary, University of California Libraries, 2011. ISBN 978-1-125-24065-6.
• Riddick, John, Who Was Who in British India.
• Scholberg, Henry, Biographical Dictionary of Greater India.
• Sharma, Jagdish Saran, The National Biographical Dictionary of India, New Delhi: Sterling, 1972.

Ireland

• McGuire, James and James Quinn, Dictionary of Irish Biography. Cambridge University Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0-521-63331-4
• Ryan, Richard, Biographia Hibernica, a Biographical Dictionary of the Worthies of Ireland, from the earliest periods to the present time 2 vols, 1819-21.

Islamic world

• Beale, Thomas William & Henry George Keene, An Oriental Biographical Dictionary, Manohar Reprints, 1971.
• Bewley, Aisha, Muslim Women: A Biographical Dictionary, Ta-Ha, 2004. ISBN 1-84200-053-5.
• Frank, Allen, An Islamic Biographical Dictionary of the Eastern Kazakh Steppe 1770-1912, Brill, 2004. ISBN 90-04-14127-8
• Leaman, Oliver, Biographical Encyclopedia of Islamic Philosophy.
• Jenkins, Who's Who in Islam: A Biographical Dictionary of Persons and Groups from the Time of Muhammad to the Present, McFarland, 2007. ISBN 978-0-7864-2376-7.
• Khan, Mohammed Ishaq, Biographical Dictionary of Sufism, 2009. ISBN 978-81-7304-681-0.

Italy

• Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (1925)
• Enciclopedia Biografica Universale

Japan

• Bingenheimer, Marcus, A Biographical Dictionary of the Japanese Student-Monks of the Seventh and Early Eighth Centuries, 2001. ISBN 978-3-89129-693-6.
• Hisamatsu, Sen'ichi, Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Literature, Kodansha International Ltd. in collaboration with the International Society for Educational Information, 1976. ISBN 0 87011 253 8.
• Iwao, Seiichi (supervising editor) & Watson, Burton (trans.), Biographical Dictionary of Japanese History, Kodansha International Ltd. in collaboration with the International Society for Educational Information, 1978. ISBN 0 87011 274 0.

Mexico

• Biographical Dictionary of Mexican Film Performers

Native North American

• Bataille, Gretchen & Laurie Lisa, eds, Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary.
• Irvine, Biographical Dictionary of Indians of the Americas, 1990.
• Johansen, Bruce, 2010, Native Americans Today: A Biographical Dictionary, Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood.
• Waldman, Carl, Biographical Dictionary of American Indian History to 1900, 2001. ISBN 0-8160-4253-5.

New Zealand

• Dictionary of New Zealand Biography

Norway

• Arntzen, Jon Gunnar, ed. (2009). Norsk biografisk leksikon (Norwegian Biographical Dictionary). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. The print edition (1985) in 19 volumes contains 5,100 articles. ISBN 978-82-573-0734-9. The searchable online edition is a component of the Store norske leksikon. (Norwegian)

Poland

• Polski słownik biograficzny

Spain

• Real Academía de la Historia (2011), Diccionario Biográfico Español (Spanish Biographical Dictionary). ISBN 978-84-96849-56-3 (set of 20 volumes). (Spanish)

Sweden

• Karlsson, Åsa, ed. (2010) Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (Dictionary of Swedish National Biography), Stockholm, Riksarkivet. First published in 1917 (volume 1), today there are 33 volumes containing some 14,000 articles. Free searchable online access is available from Riksarkivet. (Swedish)

Switzerland

• Fondation DHS, ed. (2011) Dictionnaire Historique de la Suisse (Historical Dictionary of Switzerland), Editions Gilles Attinger, Hauterive, ISBN 2-88256-133-4. (French) Also published in German as Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz, Schwabe AG, Basel, ISBN 3-7965-1900-8 (German) and Italian as Dizionario storico della Svizzera, Armando Dadò editore, Locarno, ISBN 88-8281-100-X. (Italian). The work currently consists of 10 volumes (A-Sa) in each language and is expected to be completed in 2014 with the 13th volume. Free searchable online access is available. The work contains a large number of biographies.

Tibet

• Khetsun Sangpo, bod du sgrub brgyad shing rta mched brgyad las (Biographical Dictionary of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism), Dharmsala, Himachal Pradesh: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 12 volumes, 1973-1990.

United States

• African American National Biography Project
• American National Biography
• Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Blake's Biographical Dictionary
• Encyclopedia of American Biography
• Who's Who in America, published by Marquis Who's Who
• Who’s Who in Nebraska (1940)
• American Council of Learned Societies, Dictionary of American Biography, New York: Scribner. ISBN 0-684-80631-2. OCLC 4171403.
• Biographical Dictionary of American Architects.
• Biographical Dictionary of American Labor.
• Dictionary of Cleveland Biography.
• Hamilton, Neil & Ian Friedman, Presidents: Biographical Dictionary.
• Homans, James, The Cyclopædia of American Biography, 1918.
• Hudson, Bergman, Horton, Biographical Dictionary of Iowa, University of Iowa.
• Kim, Cordova, Fugita, Ng, Singh, eds, Distinguished Asian Americans: A Biographical Dictionary, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood, 1999.
• Kranz, Rachel, The Biographical Dictionary of Black Americans.
• Kranz, Rachel & Philip Koslow, The Biographical Dictionary of African Americans.
• McCartney, Martha, Virginia Immigrants and Adventurers, 1607-1635: A Biographical Dictionary
• Melton, John Gordon, Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders, New York/London: Garland, 1986.
• Moses, John, Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of the Representative Men of the United States.
• New Jersey Biographical Dictionary.
• Newman, Roger, ed, The Yale Biographical Dictionary of American Law, Yale University Press.
• New Perspectives on the West: People, http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people
• Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary, Harvard University Press.
• Ohles, Frederik, Shirley Ohles, and John Ramsay, Biographical Dictionary of Modern American Educators, 1997.
• Olitzky, Kerry, Lance Sussman, and Malcolm Stern, Reform Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook. ISBN 0-313-24628-9. ISBN 978-0-313-24628-9.
• Porter, David, ed, Basketball: A Biographical Dictionary, Greenwood Press, 2005. ISBN 0-313-30952-3
• Samuels, Peggy, The Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West, Doubleday.
• The United States Biographical Dictionary and Portrait Gallery of Eminent and Self-made Men, Chicago & New York: American Biographical Publishing Company, 1878.

References and sources

References

Sources

• "Biographical dictionaries" University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.