Finding Biographical Information
General
The Library Catalog is a good place to begin a search for biographies. Books about a person will be found by doing a subject search. Be sure to search the name as a subject e.g. "Paul Revere" in the web or telnet catalog.Books listed here are located in the Reference Area. Most of these books give biographical information. Some indicate other sources in which the information can be found.
- American National Biography (1999)
- Inclusive coverage of individuals of all social strata who left a biographical record and influenced the course of American history. Coverage is limited to subjects who died prior to 1996. [Ref./CT 213/.A68/1999]
- Current Biography
- Extensive profiles of actors, artists, athletes, politicians who are currently prominent on TV and in the popular press. [Ref./CT/100/C8]
- Dictionary of American Biography
- Contains signed scholarly articles with brief bibliographies of notable Americans who are no longer living. [Ref./E/176/D56]
- Dictionary of National Biography
- Covers English biography from earliest times through 1985. All the artists, statesmen, writers, etc. must be deceased to be included. [Ref./CT/773/D5]
- New York Times Obituaries Index
- Describes, often with some elegance, the lives and careers of over 390,000 famous people who have died between 1858-1978. [Ref./CT/213/N47]
SEE New York Times Index if date is known for deaths after 1978. [Abstr/Indexes/AI/21/N45] - Personal Name Index to the "New York Times Index"
- Covers 1851-1974. [Abstr/Indexes/AI/21/N44] and 1975-1989 [Abstr/Indexes/AI/21/N441].
- Merriam-Webster's New Biographical Dictionary
- Gives concise information on famous deceased people from all times and all places. [Ref./CT/103/W4/1983]
- Who's Who in America
- Includes living athletes, entertainers, politicians, scholars, and writers in the largest annual national cumulation of biographical information in the U.S. [Ref./E/663/W56]
- Who's Who of American Women
- Presents concise biographies of contemporary American women who have established successful careers as doctors, lawyers, scholars, writers, etc. [Ref./CT/3260/W5]
Biographies of Persons In Particular Fields
For collective biographies of demographic groups, occupations, etc., search the library catalog for the name of the group and biog* as a subject; e.g., mathematicians biog*, women biog*, athletes biog*
Authors
- Contemporary Authors; a bio-bibliographical guide . . ., 1962-
- Contains biographical information on authors. [Ref./Z/1224/C6]
- ATTENTION: Every other volume has a cumulative index for this AND for the following other indexes:
- AITN -- Authors in the News, vols. 1-2 [CT/220/A88]
- CLC -- Contemporary Literary Criticism, 1973- . [Ref./PN/771/C59]
- CLR -- Children's Literature Review, 1976- . [Ref./PN/1009/A1/C5139]
- DLB -- Dictionary of Literary Biography (series title) [Ref./PS/243/A54]
- DLBD -- Dictionary of Literary Biography Documentary Series, 1982- . [Ref./PS/243/A545]
- DLBY -- Dictionary of Literary Biography Yearbook, 1980- . [Ref./PS/243/A55]
- SATA -- Something About the Author, 1971- . [Ref./PN/451/S6]
- SSC -- Short Story Criticism, 1988- . [Abstr/Indexes/PN/3373/S56]
- YABC -- Yesterday's Authors of Books for Children (early times to 1960), vols. 1-2 [Ref./PN/451/Y4]
- ATTENTION: Every other volume has a cumulative index for this AND for the following other indexes:
Government and Politics
-- Search Library Catalog by subject: e.g. congress biog*- Almanac of American Politics, 1972- .
- Gives brief sketches each year of the president, senators, congressmen, and governors with indications of their conservative/liberal stance. [Ref./JK/1010/B26]
- Official Congressional Directory, 1904- .
- Organizes information not only about individuals but personnel of committees and governmental departments. [Ref./JK/1011/A43]
- Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America, 1990- .
- Outlines congressmen and senators' current political activity with information on key votes. [Ref./JK/1012/P65]
- New York Red Book, 1902- .
- Contains information on the State government with a section on legislators. [Ref./JK/3431/N4]
Prepared by Lauren Stiles 1/89 (rev. 10/92)
Revised by Mary Beilby 1/95; 10/98
Revised by Karen A. Coombs 6/2001