Biographical Information
Biographical information can be found in many places. This guide indicates some of the sources that may serve as starting points for your research. Be sure to ask a reference librarian if you would like more help.
Indices
Biography and Genealogy Master Index.
Contains citations to useful information in standard biographical sources. It is a great place to begin searching for biographical information about anyone.
Biography Index. 1946-1994.
This index contains citations for biographical articles in books
and periodicals. The print version of this index is arranged
alphabetically by the last names of individuals.
Reference Indexes
Top
Directories
Who's Who directories provide the following information for most entries: full name, present position, birth date, names of family members, career highlights, titles of publications, current address, and sometimes telephone and/or fax numbers. These sources usually only list individuals who were living when the books were published. Who's Who on the Web is an online version of Who's Who in America as well as several other versions, including Who’s Who in American Education and Who’s Who in the World. Additional specialized directories are available; ask a Reference Librarian for information.
International Who's Who. 2007.
In this directory, there is concise biographical information for over 20,000 persons representing diverse activities from various countries. The volume includes information on reigning royal families from around the world.
Ref. CT 120. I5
Who's Who. 2006.
Entries on over 32,000 persons are included in this British
published volume. It includes prominent women and men from all
over the world and all varieties of professions.
Ref. DA 28 .W8
Who's Who in America. 2003. 3 vols.
These volumes offer information on over 128,000 significantly
accomplished women and men from various areas including
government, the arts, education and the sciences. Geographic,
professional and retiree indices are included.
RRef. [q.] E 663 .W56
Who's Who in the Midwest. 2003.
In this work, there are entries on over 23,000 persons from all
fields of endeavor who live in the Midwest, including portions of
Manitoba and western Ontario. Other volumes offer coverage of
women and men in other parts of the United States and Canada.
Ref [q.] E 176 .W644
Who Was Who in America, 1607-2002
Persons who were listed in Who's Who in America are included in
this source after they die. This book is useful when looking for
basic information about persons who do not remain famous after
their lifetimes.
Ref. E 176 .W64
Top
Encyclopedias and Other Reference Works
American National Biography. 1999. 24 vols. plus supplement.
The major national biography covering persons important in the history of the United States. The online American National Biography includes biographical information on more 17,400 men and women.
Ref. CT 213 .A68 1999
Current Biography. 1940-
These volumes offer substantial essays about international
personalities although American men and women are featured most
frequently. Photographs of the individuals often are included.
Ref. CT 100 .C8
Dictionary of American Biography. 1928-1980. 20 vols. plus index and supplements.
This work provides essays with short bibliographies about
deceased individuals who made major contributions to American life.
E 176. D56
Dictionary of National Biography. Leslie Stephen and Sidney
Lee, eds. 22 vols. plus decennial supplements.
The essays in this dictionary are about deceased persons of
British or Irish origins who played major roles in British
history. Bibliographies are included in many of the entries. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is the online version of the DNB, and provides multiple search options for nearly 56,000 biographies.
DA 28 .D4
Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2002. 32 vols.
Provides a general introduction for many subjects.
Ref. [q.] AE 5 .E363 and on the Web
Notable American Women, 1607 - 1950.
The essays in this source are about prominent women who died
prior to 1950; a supplemental volume covers women who died
between 1951 and 1975. The volume subtitled completeing the Twentieth Century profiles women who died between 1976 and 1999. Although First Ladies are included
because of their marriages to important men, all the other
subjects are included because of their own significant
contributions to American society.
Ref CT 3260 .N57
Ref. CT 3260 .N573 (Supplement)
Ref. CT 3260 .N5725 2004
Top
Specialized Directories
American Men and Women of Science. 2005. 8 vols.
This multi volume set contains brief entries for current leaders
in the physical, biological and related sciences.
Ref. [q.] Q 141 q. A47
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians. 6 vols.
This source covers important composers and performers from
various countries, past and present. Entries vary in size but
include brief personal data and information about compositions
and performances.
Ref. [q.] ML 105 .B16 2001
Contemporary Authors. Available through the Literature Resource Center
Provides personal data, career highlights, lists of writings, and works in progress on contemporary authors. The individuals included range from newspaper and television reporters to editors and columnists to novelists and screenwriters.
CQ's Politics in America. 2006.
Published by Congressional Quarterly, this work includes brief biographies of members of Congress, including
records of key votes. Arranged by state.
RRef. JK 1012 .C63
Directory of American Scholars. 1999. 5 vols.
This directory of current scholars is divided into four volumes
by subject areas. The brief entries include birth dates,
personal and career data, names of publications and mailing
addresses.
Ref. [q.] LA 2311 .C32
World Authors, 1900 - 1950.
In this four volume set, you will find substantial essays about
major poets, novelists, dramatists, historians, biographers,
theologians and journalists. The essays cover their lives and
writings. In addition, lists of works and bibliographies are
included. Updated by several subsequent volumes up to 2000.
Ref. PN 451 .W3
Top
Books
To find items owned by the library, search LUCIA. To find biographical books about a certain person, try a search in LUCIA using the Subject begins with option, i.e. lincoln abraham. Browse through the subject headings to find the subheading which corresponds to your specific interests.
For autobiographical books by and about a certain person, use the Author search in LUCIA.
To combine terms for a different kind of search, try a Keyword Anywhere search. In keyword searching, LUCIA will look for the terms you specify anywhere in the important areas of the cataloging records, and display a list of those records. Try a search like biograph* and dictionar* or try a Subject Keyword search for biograph* and encycloped*. The asterisk acts as a truncation symbol and tells LUCIA to search for all words starting with biograph: biography, biographical, etc. The Subject Keyword search tells LUCIA to look for the word or phrase anywhere in the subject fields of the catalog records.
Books are arranged on the library's shelves by Library of Congress Classification. This is a system which organizes materials by general subjects. Once you have a call number from searching LUCIA, see this guide to call number locations at Mudd and the library floor maps to find out where a book might be on the shelves.
Search LUCIA for materials in our library; try WorldCat to find materials beyond the Mudd. Make sure you've thoroughly searched our library before going to WorldCat. See a reference librarian if you need help.
Top
Articles
The best index to use will depend on your topic. Be sure to check the Electronic Resources page for other options. Two of our resources, JSTOR and Project MUSE provide complete full text. Some of our indexes include:
Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life.
The essential indexes to the scholarly literature of history, in books and
proceedings as well as journals. Include short summaries of the works indexed.
Historical Abstracts includes citations of articles on African, Asian,
Latin American and European history. America: History and Life includes material on all of North America, Canada and the United States combined. The two indexes are not mutually
exclusive--some material is indexed in both, and both should be consulted when
you're searching on historical topics of international scope. Both will allow
you to allow you to search for biographies and articles about biographies. Also, both are available
on the Web
Bibliography of the History of Art.
"Covers visual arts in all media including traditional fine arts (painting, sculpture, drawing, prints, architecture); decorative and applied arts; material culture; photography and contemporary new media; visual arts aspects of performing arts." An excellent source of citations for biographical information on artists.
Academic OneFile
Broad coverage of academic periodicals going back to 1980. Includes full text of many articles.
EBSCOhost.
Follow the link for EBSCOhost Web. EBSCOhost provides a single Web source for multiple databases; you might want to select the Academic Search Elite. Contains broad and specialized coverage of academic and general periodicals.
RILM
RILM is the premiere periodical index to use for music. It contains not only citations and abstracts of journal articles, but also citations and abstracts for books, book reviews, book chapters, dissertations, and more. Material included dates from 1967 to the near present.
Newspapers:
Obituaries can be good sources of biographical information.
New York Times. 1851-current.
Considered to be the American paper of record. The New York Times
is on microfilm and on the web. Search for the person's name and the term obituary, i.e. may sarton and obituary.
New York Times Index--Reference Indexes/Microform Area
New York Times (1851-2004)
Current issues available from many sources: see BESS
ProQuest Newspapers
Provides access to over 300 local, national, and international newspapers, most in full-text. Dates for backfiles vary by title.
Times (London, England). 1941-current.
The leading British paper. The Times itself is held
on microfilm in the Reference area. The index to the Times is shelved with the indexes.
Other sources are available for newspapers; In addition to the sources mentioned above, many papers also post current and recent issues on their own Websites. Be sure to ask a reference librarian about access to papers.
Once you have a citation for an article on your topic, try Citation Linker first to see if that particular article is available. If you don't find it there, look in LUCIA for the title of the journal or newspaper to see if the library owns it. You should also search BESS, an automated search of the library's full text databases, for electronic copies of articles.
Top
Web Resources
Biography.com
From the Arts and Entertainment network.
Internet Public Library: Biographies
A list of good general sources on the Web.
Librarians' Internet Index: People
The People category includes several sub-categories, including Biography and Notable People.
The WWW Virtual Library: Biographical Sources
Provides access to selected online sources. Some require subscriptions for full access, but these are indicated in the accompanying notes.
Yahoo! -- Society and Culture - People
Search by the various categories listed (i.e. AUTHORS OR PHILOSOPHERS) or by specific names (i.e. ABRAHAM LINCOLN).
One successful technique for finding biographical information on the Internet is to search for the artist's name as a phrase within quotation marks, for example, "Marcel Duchamp". This technique will not work in every search tool; you might want to consult the help screens offered by the various tools. It will work in Google, which would be good starting points.
Of course, there are many more web resources available that might be useful in your research. You might want to try looking at sources that select the best of the Web, like these:
It's important to think carefully about any information you find in any format, and to evaluate resources for their accuracy, applicability, and so forth. Evaluation of web resources is especially important. You may want to consult this guide to Evaluating Internet Resources. The library's Web Wise Guide to Searching give some helpful inside tips. You can often learn a lot about a page (and a site) by parsing the URL.
Top
Style Manuals
Academic Citation and Writing
Style manuals of the humanities, physical sciences, and the social sciences in the Seeley G. Mudd Library.
The Chicago Manual of Style.
A standard source for bibliographic format.
RRef. Z253 .U69 2003
Citing Electronic Documents
This page provides guidance on citing electronic documents and links to other guides, some on specific styles of documentation.
Top
Definitions of terms and abbreviations:
Ref. = Reference collection, first floor
RRef.= Ready reference, shelves behind the reference desk
Periodicals = Level A
GovDoc = U.S. Government Documents, second floor
Reference Indexes = Alphabetically arranged at the end of the reference collection
Microform Area = Reading room east of the reference desk, near microform drawers
q. = Oversized books: interfiled in reference and in M class scores; at end of classes in other collections
Top