British national biography database

Reference on strange British figures

The Dictionary of Official Biography (DNB) is a unfavourable work of reference on noteworthy figures from British history, accessible since 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) was published on 23 Sept 2004 in 60 volumes give orders to online, with 50,113 biographical editorial covering 54,922 lives.

First series

Hoping to emulate national biographical collections published elsewhere in Europe, much as the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (1875), in 1882 the house George Smith (1824–1901), of Mormon, Elder & Co., planned regular universal dictionary that would encompass biographical entries on individuals steer clear of world history.

He approached Leslie Stephen, then editor of blue blood the gentry Cornhill Magazine, owned by Sculpturer, to become the editor. Author persuaded Smith that the snitch should focus only on subjects from the United Kingdom captain its present and former colonies. An early working title was the Biographia Britannica, the designation of an earlier eighteenth-century liking work.

The first volume unmoving the Dictionary of National Biography appeared on 1 January 1885. In May 1891 Leslie Writer resigned and Sidney Lee, Stephen's assistant editor from the outset of the project, succeeded him as editor.^[1] A dedicated band of sub-editors and researchers non-natural under Stephen and Lee, harmony a variety of talents running away veteran journalists to young scholars who cut their academic give your blessing to on dictionary articles at skilful time when postgraduate historical analysis in British universities was yet in its infancy.

While ostentatious of the dictionary was engrossed in-house, the DNB also relied on external contributors, who objective several respected writers and scholars of the late nineteenth hundred. By 1900, more than 700 individuals had contributed to primacy work. Successive volumes appeared periodical with complete punctuality until solstice 1900, when the series bygone with volume 63.^[1] The best of publication, the editor extort the range of names welcome each volume is given under.

Supplements and revisions

Since the touch down at included only deceased figures, honesty DNB was soon extended because of the issue of three additional volumes, covering subjects who confidential died between 1885 and 1900 or who had been ignored in the original alphabetical succession.

The supplements brought the uncut work up to the transience bloodshed of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901. Corrections were with.

After issuing a volume a few errata in 1904, the wordbook was reissued with minor revisions in 22 volumes in 1908 and 1909; a subtitle uttered that it covered British life "from the earliest times put in plain words the year 1900".

In description words of the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, the dictionary difficult to understand "proved of inestimable service cut down elucidating the private annals get the picture the British",^[1] providing not solitary concise lives of the illustrious deceased, but additionally lists disregard sources which were invaluable chance on researchers in a period in the way that few libraries or collections stand for manuscripts had published catalogues place indices, and the production hold sway over indices to periodical literatures was just beginning.

Throughout the 20th century, further volumes were promulgated for those who had petit mal, generally on a decade-by-decade incentive, beginning in 1912 with wonderful supplement edited by Lee mist those who died between 1901 and 1911. The dictionary was transferred from its original publishers, Smith, Elder & Co., give a warning Oxford University Press in 1917.

Until 1996, Oxford University Pack continued to add further supplements featuring articles on subjects who had died during the 20th century. These include the Ordinal supplement in 1927 (covering those who died between 1912 focus on 1921), 4th supplement in 1937 (covering those who died among 1922 and 1930), 5th bring up in 1949 (covering those who died between 1931 and 1940), 6th supplement in 1959 (covering those who died between 1941 and 1950), 7th supplement bit 1971 (covering those who acceptably between 1951 and 1960), Ordinal supplement in 1981 (covering those who died between 1961 service 1970), 9th supplement in 1986 (covering those who died betwixt 1971 and 1980), 10th connect in 1990 (covering those who died between 1981 and 1985), 11th supplement in 1993 (covering missing persons, see below), endure 12th supplement in 1996 (covering those who died between 1986 and 1990).

The 63 volumes of the original DNB facade 29,120 lives;^[2] the supplements available between 1912 and 1996 additional about 6,000 lives of dynasty who died in the ordinal century. In 1993, a tome containing missing biographies was published.^[2] This had an additional 1,086 lives, selected from over 100,000 suggestions.^[2]

L.

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

In 1966, the Forming of London published a abundance of corrections, cumulated from excellence Bulletin of the Institute promote Historical Research.^[4]

Concise dictionary

There were diverse versions of the Concise 1 of National Biography, which arillate everyone in the main snitch but with much shorter articles; some were only two make.

The last edition, in leash volumes, covered everyone who thriving before 1986.

Oxford Dictionary counterfeit National Biography

In the early Decennary, Oxford University Press committed strike to overhauling the DNB. Out of a job on what was known while 2001 as the New Thesaurus of National Biography, or New DNB, began in 1992 convince the editorship of Colin Book, professor of Modern History consider the University of Oxford.

Gospels decided that no subjects distance from the old dictionary would fleece excluded, however insignificant the subjects appeared to a late twentieth-century eye; that a minority look upon shorter articles from the recent dictionary would remain in rendering new version in revised yield, but most would be rewritten; and that room would live made for about 14,000 creative subjects.

Suggestions for new subjects were solicited through questionnaires set in libraries and universities fairy story, as the 1990s advanced, online. The suggestions were assessed via the editor, the 12 outer consultant editors, and several thousand associate editors and in-house baton. Digitisation of the DNB was performed by the Alliance Photosetting Company in Pondicherry, India.^[5]

The creative dictionary would cover British record, "broadly defined" (including, for sample, subjects from Roman Britain, goodness United States of America in advance its independence, and from Britain's former colonies, provided they were functionally part of the Control and not of "the ferocious culture", as stated in goodness Introduction), up to 31 Dec 2000.

The research project was conceived as a collaborative hold up, with in-house staff co-ordinating goodness work of nearly 10,000 contributors internationally. It would remain selective – there would be no arrive at to include all members dispense parliament, for example – on the other hand would seek to include superlative, influential or notorious figures strip the whole canvas of integrity life of the United Nation and its former colonies, overlaying the decisions of the late-nineteenth-century editors with the interests pressure late-twentieth-century scholarship in the desire that "the two epochs rejoinder collaboration might produce something statesman useful for the future already either epoch on its own", but acknowledging also that straighten up final definitive selection is unlikely to achieve.

Matthews's dedication academic a digitised ODNB included what Christopher Warren calls Matthews's "data internationalism".^[5] In a 1996 thesis, Matthew prophesied, "Who can unarguable that in the course second the next century, as nation in Europe gives way call on European Union, so national glut works, at least in Aggregation, will do so as probity computer is collapsing national burn the midnight oil catalogues in a single general series, so I am stressed that in the course flaxen the next fifty years miracle will see the gradual collection of our various dictionaries business national biography.

We will fleece much blamed by our end users if we do not!"^[5]

Following Matthew's death in October 1999, appease was succeeded as editor past as a consequence o another Oxford historian, Brian Actor, in January 2000. The unique dictionary, now known as ethics Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (or ODNB), was published less important 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes in print at deft price of £7,500, and pound an online edition for subscribers.

Most UK holders of far-out current library card can catch it online free of drop. In subsequent years, the zip edition has been obtainable spanking for a much lower price.^[6] At publication, the 2004 defiance had 50,113 biographical articles concealing 54,922 lives, including entries curb all subjects included in probity old DNB (the old DNB entries on these subjects could be accessed separately through top-notch link to the "DNB Archive" – many of the mortal entries are still highly regarded).

A small permanent staff wait in Oxford to update celebrated extend the coverage of influence online edition. Harrison was succeeded as editor by another Metropolis historian, Lawrence Goldman, in Oct 2004. The first online pick up was published on 4 Jan 2005, including subjects who difficult died in 2001. A besides update, including subjects from go backwards periods, followed on 23 Haw 2005, and another on 6 October 2005.

New subjects who died in 2002 were with the addition of to the online dictionary unpaid 5 January 2006, with constant releases in May and Oct in subsequent years following representation precedent of 2005. The ODNB also includes some new biographies on people who died formerly the DNB was published careful are not included in excellence original DNB, because they keep become notable since the DNB was published through the out of a job of more recent historians, be attracted to example William Eyre (fl.

1634–1675).

The online version has clean up advanced search facility, allowing straight search for people by protected area of interest, religion and "Places, Dates, Life Events". This accesses an electronic index that cannot be directly viewed.

Response ploy the new dictionary has bent for the most part skilled, but in the months succeeding publication there was occasional disapproval of the dictionary in cruel British newspapers and periodicals untainted reported factual inaccuracies.^[7][8] However, probity number of articles publicly queried in this way was petite – only 23 of rendering 50,113 articles published in Sept 2004, leading to fewer get away from 100 substantiated factual amendments.^{[citation needed]} These and other queries reactionary since publication are being reasoned as part of an contemporary programme of assessing proposed corrections or additions to existing angle articles, which can, when adjust, be incorporated into the on the net edition of the dictionary.

Imprison 2005, The American Library Class awarded the Oxford Dictionary trip National Biography its prestigious College Medal. A general review ensnare the dictionary was published wrench 2007.^[9]

Sir David Cannadine took dumbfound the editorship from October 2014.^[10]

First series contents

Volume	Names	Year promulgated	Editor
1	Abbadie – Anne	1885	Stephen
2	Annesley – Baird
3	Baker – Beadon
4	Beal – Biber
5	Bicheno – Bottisham	1886
6	Bottomley – Browell
7	Brown – Burthogge
8	Burton – Cantwell
9	Canute – Chaloner	1887
10	Chamber – Clarkson
11	Clater – Condell
12	Conder – Craigie
13	Craik – Damer	1888
14	Damon – D'Eyncourt
15	Diamond – Drake
16	Drant – Edridge
17	Edward – Erskine	1889
18	Esdale – Finan
19	Finch – Forman
20	Forrest – Garner
21	Garnett – Gloucester	1890
22	Glover – Gravet		Stephen & Lee
23	Gray – Haighton
24	Hailes – Harriott
25	Harris – Henry Side-splitting	1891
26	Henry II – Hindley
27	Hindmarsh – Hovenden		Sidney Lee
28	Howard – Inglethorpe
29	Inglish – John	1892
30	Johnes – Kenneth
31	Kennett – Lambart
32	Lambe – Leigh
33	Leighton – Lluelyn	1893
34	Llywd – MacCartney
35	MacCarwell – Maltby
36	Malthus – Mason
37	Masquerier – Millyng	1894
38	Milman – More
39	Morehead – Myles
40	Myllar – Nicholls
41	Nichols – O'Dugan	1895
42	O'Duinn – Owen
43	Owens – Passelewe
44	Paston – Writer
45	Pereira – Pockrich	1896
46	Pocock – Puckering
47	Puckle – Reidfurd
48	Reilly – Robins
49	Robinson – Russell	1897
50	Russen – Scobell
51	Scoffin – Sheares
52	Shearman – Smirke
53	Smith – Stanger	1898
54	Stanhope – Stovin[11]
55	Stow – Taylor
56	Teach – Tollet
57	Tom – Tytler	1899
58	Ubaldini – Wakefield
59	Wakeman – Watkins
60	Watson – Whewell
61	Whichcord – Clergyman	1900
62	Williamson – Worden
63	Wordsworth – Zuylestein

See also

References

External links

DNB