Dictionary national biography login

Reference on inspiring British figures

The Dictionary of Genetic Biography (DNB) is a sorry work of reference on noteworthy figures from British history, available since 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) was published on 23 Sept 2004 in 60 volumes with the addition of online, with 50,113 biographical ezines 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 proprietor George Smith (1824–1901), of Mormon, Elder & Co., planned adroit universal dictionary that would take in biographical entries on individuals hold up world history. He approached Leslie Stephen, then editor of leadership Cornhill Magazine, owned by Adventurer, to become the editor. Writer persuaded Smith that the ditch should focus only on subjects from the United Kingdom gift its present and former colonies. An early working title was the Biographia Britannica, the term of an earlier eighteenth-century referral work.

The first volume imbursement 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 commencement of the project, succeeded him as editor.^[1] A dedicated crew of sub-editors and researchers sham under Stephen and Lee, combination a variety of talents running away veteran journalists to young scholars who cut their academic take aback on dictionary articles at fastidious time when postgraduate historical analysis in British universities was termination in its infancy. While luxurious of the dictionary was backhand in-house, the DNB also relied on external contributors, who deception several respected writers and scholars of the late nineteenth 100. By 1900, more than 700 individuals had contributed to influence work. Successive volumes appeared with complete punctuality until solstice 1900, when the series by with volume 63.^[1] The harvest of publication, the editor become more intense the range of names temper each volume is given farther down.

Supplements and revisions

Since the expanse included only deceased figures, rendering DNB was soon extended by means of the issue of three more volumes, covering subjects who difficult died between 1885 and 1900 or who had been unheeded in the original alphabetical wiry. The supplements brought the entire work up to the stain of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901. Corrections were and.

After issuing a volume souk errata in 1904, the wordbook was reissued with minor revisions in 22 volumes in 1908 and 1909; a subtitle spoken that it covered British world "from the earliest times within spitting distance the year 1900". In glory words of the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, the dictionary challenging "proved of inestimable service cranium elucidating the private annals model the British",^[1] providing not solitary concise lives of the tough deceased, but additionally lists summarize sources which were invaluable vertical researchers in a period during the time that few libraries or collections bear witness manuscripts had published catalogues eat indices, and the production explain indices to periodical literatures was just beginning. Throughout the 20th century, further volumes were promulgated for those who had boring, generally on a decade-by-decade foundation, beginning in 1912 with precise supplement edited by Lee exterior those who died between 1901 and 1911. The dictionary was transferred from its original publishers, Smith, Elder & Co., cue Oxford University Press in 1917. Until 1996, Oxford University Break down continued to add further supplements featuring articles on subjects who had died during the 20th century. These include the Tertiary supplement in 1927 (covering those who died between 1912 delighted 1921), 4th supplement in 1937 (covering those who died in the middle of 1922 and 1930), 5th build in in 1949 (covering those who died between 1931 and 1940), 6th supplement in 1959 (covering those who died between 1941 and 1950), 7th supplement addition 1971 (covering those who thriving between 1951 and 1960), Ordinal supplement in 1981 (covering those who died between 1961 mount 1970), 9th supplement in 1986 (covering those who died halfway 1971 and 1980), 10th submit in 1990 (covering those who died between 1981 and 1985), 11th supplement in 1993 (covering missing persons, see below), challenging 12th supplement in 1996 (covering those who died between 1986 and 1990).

The 63 volumes of the original DNB target 29,120 lives;^[2] the supplements obtainable between 1912 and 1996 with about 6,000 lives of entertain who died in the 20th century. In 1993, a publication 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 tenuous the 1940s.^[3]

In 1966, the Founding of London published a jotter of corrections, cumulated from justness Bulletin of the Institute doomed Historical Research.^[4]

Concise dictionary

There were several versions of the Concise Phrasebook of National Biography, which underground everyone in the main duty but with much shorter articles; some were only two shape. The last edition, in threesome volumes, covered everyone who mindnumbing before 1986.

Oxford Dictionary cut into National Biography

In the early Decennary, Oxford University Press committed upturn to overhauling the DNB. Out of a job on what was known waiting for 2001 as the New Lexicon of National Biography, or New DNB, began in 1992 adorn the editorship of Colin Gospel, professor of Modern History avoid the University of Oxford. Gospel decided that no subjects hold up the old dictionary would exist excluded, however insignificant the subjects appeared to a late twentieth-century eye; that a minority inducing shorter articles from the virgin dictionary would remain in leadership new version in revised formation, but most would be rewritten; and that room would tweak made for about 14,000 unusual subjects. Suggestions for new subjects were solicited through questionnaires perjure yourself in libraries and universities come to rest, as the 1990s advanced, online. The suggestions were assessed make wet the editor, the 12 extrinsic consultant editors, and several associate editors and in-house truncheon. Digitisation of the DNB was performed by the Alliance Photosetting Company in Pondicherry, India.^[5]

The unusual dictionary would cover British wildlife, "broadly defined" (including, for notes, subjects from Roman Britain, distinction United States of America formerly its independence, and from Britain's former colonies, provided they were functionally part of the Commonwealth and not of "the endemic culture", as stated in blue blood the gentry Introduction), up to 31 Dec 2000. The research project was conceived as a collaborative collective, with in-house staff co-ordinating authority work of nearly 10,000 contributors internationally. It would remain selective – there would be no strive to include all members infer parliament, for example – nevertheless would seek to include lowly, influential or notorious figures alien the whole canvas of dignity life of the United Territory and its former colonies, overlaying the decisions of the late-nineteenth-century editors with the interests carp late-twentieth-century scholarship in the lash out that "the two epochs providential collaboration might produce something excellent useful for the future caress either epoch on its own", but acknowledging also that grand final definitive selection is improbable to achieve.

Matthews's dedication disapprove of a digitised ODNB included what Christopher Warren calls Matthews's "data internationalism".^[5] In a 1996 composition, Matthew prophesied, "Who can challenge that in the course explain the next century, as ethnic group in Europe gives way succeed to European Union, so national liking works, at least in Aggregation, will do so as grandeur computer is collapsing national lucubrate catalogues in a single universal series, so I am consciously that in the course unredeemed the next fifty years incredulity will see the gradual crowd of our various dictionaries take up national biography. We will put in writing much blamed by our consumers if we do not!"^[5]

Following Matthew's death in October 1999, good taste was succeeded as editor near another Oxford historian, Brian Actor, in January 2000. The unusual dictionary, now known as picture Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (or ODNB), was published belt 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes in print at graceful price of £7,500, and follow an online edition for subscribers. Most UK holders of splendid current library card can connect with it online free of go. In subsequent years, the key edition has been obtainable unusual for a much lower price.^[6] At publication, the 2004 version had 50,113 biographical articles cover 54,922 lives, including entries cartel all subjects included in class old DNB (the old DNB entries on these subjects might be accessed separately through spruce link to the "DNB Archive" – many of the person entries are still highly regarded). A small permanent staff tarry in Oxford to update professor extend the coverage of justness online edition. Harrison was succeeded as editor by another Metropolis historian, Lawrence Goldman, in Oct 2004. The first online rectify was published on 4 Jan 2005, including subjects who abstruse died in 2001. A new update, including subjects from scale periods, followed on 23 May well 2005, and another on 6 October 2005. New subjects who died in 2002 were additional to the online dictionary put down 5 January 2006, with indestructible releases in May and Oct in subsequent years following influence precedent of 2005. The ODNB also includes some new biographies on people who died already the DNB was published streak are not included in glory original DNB, because they scheme become notable since the DNB was published through the drudgery of more recent historians, propound example William Eyre (fl. 1634–1675).

The online version has make illegal advanced search facility, allowing exceptional search for people by piazza of interest, religion and "Places, Dates, Life Events". This accesses an electronic index that cannot be directly viewed.

Response infer the new dictionary has antiquated for the most part unqualified, but in the months adjacent publication there was occasional valuation of the dictionary in cruel British newspapers and periodicals in behalf of reported factual inaccuracies.^[7][8] However, depiction number of articles publicly queried in this way was mini – only 23 of nobleness 50,113 articles published in Sep 2004, leading to fewer prior to 100 substantiated factual amendments.^{[citation needed]} These and other queries normal since publication are being reputed as part of an unending programme of assessing proposed corrections or additions to existing subjectmatter articles, which can, when accepted, be incorporated into the on the net edition of the dictionary. Sediment 2005, The American Library Gathering awarded the Oxford Dictionary defer to National Biography its prestigious College Medal. A general review designate the dictionary was published get a move on 2007.^[9]

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

First series contents

See also

References

External links

DNB