How to Find Biographies

Look for Books: the Library Catalogue  | Read a Short Article  | Do Further Research

Look for books: the Library Catalogue

To find out whether the library has a book about a person, do a SUBJECT SEARCH under the person's last name. For example, in the Library Catalogue BROWSE SUBJECT:

HARDY THOMAS
BISMARCK OTTO FURST VON

There are also collections of biographical essays which you can find by doing SUBJECT SEARCH. For example, BROWSE SUBJECT:

BRITISH COLUMBIA BIOGRAPHY
CHINA BIOGRAPHY
HISTORIANS GREAT BRITAIN BIOGRAPHY
NOVELISTS ENGLISH 19TH CENTURY BIOGRAPHY
POETS AMERICAN 20TH CENTURY BIOGRAPHY
PRIME MINISTERS BIOGRAPHY
SCIENTISTS BIOGRAPHY

Read a Short Article

You may require only a brief introduction to a person. If so, some useful sources include:

Biographical Sources

Annual Obituary (1981-1993) QEII Ref CT 120 A56
Short articles on "distinguished individuals" indexed by profession.

Asimov's Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology QEII Ref Q 141 A74 1982

Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists QEII Ref Q 141 B53 1994

Current Biography (1940- ) QEII Ref CT 100 C8
Provides brief, well-documented biographical articles about living leaders in all fields of accomplishments.

Dictionary of American Biography QEII Ref E 176 D562
For Americans who died before 1965.

Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online		 QEII F 1005 D49
Internet
Organized according to the death date of the subject.

Dictionary of National Biography QEII Ref CT 773 D5
For British people who died before 1985.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Internet
For British people who died before 2001.

Dictionary of Scientific Biography QEII Ref Q 141 D5
Scientists from classical antiquity to modern times.

Encyclopedia of World Biography QEII Ref CT 103 M27 1973

Marquis Who's Who on the Web (1985- ) Internet

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians QEII Ref ML 100 N48
Includes composers, performers, scholars and patrons.

Obituaries from The Times QEII Ref CT 120 O14
Contains obituaries from The Times (London), 1951-1975.

Xreferplus biography titles Internet

Encyclopedias

The Canadian Encyclopedia QEII Ref F 1006 C37 1988
Internet
Encyclopaedia Britannica QEII Ref AE 5 E363 1991
Encyclopedia of Science and Technology QEII Ref Q 121 M3 1992

Do Further Research

The following books do not contain articles about people. Rather, they tell you where to find information.

Biography Almanac QEII Ref CT 104 B49 1987
Guide to over 24,000 famous and infamous newsmakers from Biblical times to the present.

Biography and Genealogy Master Index Internet
Lists names of people who are included in biographical dictionaries and directories such as Who's Who.

Biography Index QEII Ref CT 104 B55
Lists biographies in recent books and journals.

Chicorel Index to Biographies QEII Ref CT 104 1974
Lists book-length biographies, mostly published from 1950-1973.

New York Times Obituaries Index QEII Ref CT 213 N47
For locating obituaries in the New York Times 1858-1978.

Prominent Scientists QEII Ref Q 141 P76 1994
An index to collective biographies.

October 7, 2009