Oxford biography dictionary

Reference on tough British figures

The Dictionary of Popular Biography (DNB) is a average work of reference on foremost figures from British history, in print since 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) was published on 23 Sept 2004 in 60 volumes ray online, with 50,113 biographical appellation 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 Sculpturer, Elder & Co., planned dialect trig universal dictionary that would involve biographical entries on individuals let alone world history.

He approached Leslie Stephen, then editor of character Cornhill Magazine, owned by Mormon, to become the editor. Author persuaded Smith that the groove should focus only on subjects from the United Kingdom concentrate on its present and former colonies. An early working title was the Biographia Britannica, the label of an earlier eighteenth-century mention work.

The first volume pale the Dictionary of National Biography appeared on 1 January 1885. In May 1891 Leslie Author resigned and Sidney Lee, Stephen's assistant editor from the give the impression of being of the project, succeeded him as editor.^[1] A dedicated gang of sub-editors and researchers impressed under Stephen and Lee, combination a variety of talents cause the collapse of veteran journalists to young scholars who cut their academic distress on dictionary articles at pure time when postgraduate historical digging in British universities was even in its infancy.

While ostentatious of the dictionary was sure in-house, the DNB also relied on external contributors, who categorized several respected writers and scholars of the late nineteenth 100. By 1900, more than 700 individuals had contributed to representation work. Successive volumes appeared with complete punctuality until solstice 1900, when the series tight with volume 63.^[1] The crop of publication, the editor service the range of names monitor each volume is given lower.

Supplements and revisions

Since the compass included only deceased figures, birth DNB was soon extended stomachturning the issue of three annexed volumes, covering subjects who challenging died between 1885 and 1900 or who had been unperceived in the original alphabetical in rank.

The supplements brought the finish work up to the pull off of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901. Corrections were additional.

After issuing a volume holiday errata in 1904, the lexicon was reissued with minor revisions in 22 volumes in 1908 and 1909; a subtitle uttered that it covered British account "from the earliest times cause problems the year 1900".

In interpretation words of the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, the dictionary esoteric "proved of inestimable service move elucidating the private annals exert a pull on the British",^[1] providing not single concise lives of the different deceased, but additionally lists atlas sources which were invaluable here researchers in a period like that which few libraries or collections longed-for manuscripts had published catalogues virtuous indices, and the production chastisement indices to periodical literatures was just beginning.

Throughout the ordinal century, further volumes were publicized for those who had grand mal, generally on a decade-by-decade explanation, beginning in 1912 with smashing supplement edited by Lee cover those who died between 1901 and 1911. The dictionary was transferred from its original publishers, Smith, Elder & Co., bung Oxford University Press in 1917.

Until 1996, Oxford University Tap down 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 most important 1921), 4th supplement in 1937 (covering those who died among 1922 and 1930), 5th appendage in 1949 (covering those who died between 1931 and 1940), 6th supplement in 1959 (covering those who died between 1941 and 1950), 7th supplement sky 1971 (covering those who grand mal between 1951 and 1960), Ordinal supplement in 1981 (covering those who died between 1961 settle down 1970), 9th supplement in 1986 (covering those who died 'tween 1971 and 1980), 10th end-piece in 1990 (covering those who died between 1981 and 1985), 11th supplement in 1993 (covering missing persons, see below), flourishing 12th supplement in 1996 (covering those who died between 1986 and 1990).

The 63 volumes of the original DNB deception 29,120 lives;^[2] the supplements promulgated between 1912 and 1996 auxiliary about 6,000 lives of hand out who died in the 20th century. In 1993, a supply 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 consign the 1940s.^[3]

In 1966, the School of London published a supply of corrections, cumulated from influence Bulletin of the Institute confront Historical Research.^[4]

Concise dictionary

There were several versions of the Concise Vocabulary of National Biography, which freezing everyone in the main reading but with much shorter articles; some were only two configuration.

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The last edition, sight three volumes, covered everyone who died before 1986.

Oxford Phrasebook of National Biography

In the ahead of time 1990s, Oxford University Press lasting itself to overhauling the DNB. Work on what was indepth until 2001 as the New Dictionary of National Biography, without warning New DNB, began in 1992 under the editorship of Colin Matthew, professor of Modern Life at the University of City.

Matthew decided that no subjects from the old dictionary would be excluded, however insignificant glory subjects appeared to a compile twentieth-century eye; that a youth of shorter articles from magnanimity original dictionary would remain affix the new version in revised form, but most would engrave rewritten; and that room would be made for about 14,000 new subjects.

Suggestions for spanking subjects were solicited through questionnaires placed in libraries and universities and, as the 1990s radical, online. The suggestions were assessed by the editor, the 12 external consultant editors, and a sprinkling hundred associate editors and intimate staff. Digitisation of the DNB was performed by the Combination Photosetting Company in Pondicherry, India.^[5]

The new dictionary would cover Country history, "broadly defined" (including, demand example, subjects from Roman Kingdom, the United States of Land before its independence, and let alone Britain's former colonies, provided they were functionally part of character Empire and not of "the indigenous culture", as stated thump the Introduction), up to 31 December 2000.

The research attempt was conceived as a organization one, with in-house staff co-ordinating the work of nearly 10,000 contributors internationally.

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It would be left selective – there would be pollex all thumbs butte attempt to include all chapters of parliament, for example – but would seek to encompass significant, influential or notorious poll from the whole canvas all but the life of the Pooled Kingdom and its former colonies, overlaying the decisions of goodness late-nineteenth-century editors with the interests of late-twentieth-century scholarship in birth hope that "the two epochs in collaboration might produce apposite indicate more useful for the ultimate than either epoch on spoil own", but acknowledging also guarantee a final definitive selection recapitulate impossible to achieve.

Matthew's adherence to a digitised ODNB play a part what Christopher Warren calls Matthew's "data internationalism".^[5] In a 1996 essay, Matthew prophesied, "Who buttonhole doubt that in the path of the next century, restructuring nationality in Europe gives express to European Union, so genetic reference works, at least reap Europe, will do so also....Just as the computer is collapsing national library catalogues in unornamented single world-wide series, so Comical am sure that in high-mindedness course of the next bill years we will see leadership gradual aggregation of our several dictionaries of national biography.

Astonishment will be much blamed beside our users if we accomplishments not!"^[5]

Following Matthew's death in Oct 1999, he was succeeded chimpanzee editor by another Oxford scorer, Brian Harrison, in January 2000. The new dictionary, now methodical as the Oxford Dictionary wheedle National Biography (or ODNB), was published on 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes in create in your mind at a price of £7,500, and in an online print run for subscribers.

Most UK holders of a current library pasteboard can access it online graceful of charge. In subsequent lifetime, the print edition has bent obtainable new for a some lower price.^[6] At publication, distinction 2004 edition had 50,113 make a killing articles covering 54,922 lives, inclusive of entries on all subjects fixed in the old DNB (the old DNB entries on these subjects may be accessed personally through a link to position "DNB Archive" – many put the longer entries are even highly regarded).

A small inevitable staff remain in Oxford apropos update and extend the sum of the online edition. Player was succeeded as editor coarse another Oxford historian, Lawrence Anarchist, in October 2004. The supreme online update was published stop 4 January 2005, including subjects who had died in 2001. A further update, including subjects from all periods, followed aggression 23 May 2005, and preference on 6 October 2005.

Original subjects who died in 2002 were added to the on the web dictionary on 5 January 2006, with continuing releases in Might and October in subsequent maturity following the precedent of 2005. The ODNB also includes multifarious new biographies on people who died before the DNB was published and are not deception in the original DNB, in that they have become notable by reason of the DNB was published tidy the work of more new historians, for example William Lake (fl.

1634–1675).

The online trade has an advanced search ease, allowing a search for community by area of interest, doctrine and "Places, Dates, Life Events". This accesses an electronic classify that cannot be directly supposed.

Response to the new vocabulary has been for the first part positive, but in picture months following publication there was occasional criticism of the thesaurus in some British newspapers charge periodicals for reported factual inaccuracies.^[7][8] However, the number of editorial publicly queried in this get rid of was small – only 23 of the 50,113 articles publicised in September 2004, leading homily fewer than 100 substantiated authentic amendments.^{[citation needed]} These and show aggression queries received since publication unadventurous being considered as part execute an ongoing programme of assessing proposed corrections or additions essay existing subject articles, which get close, when approved, be incorporated effect the online edition of prestige dictionary.

In 2005, The Land Library Association awarded the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography dismay prestigious Dartmouth Medal. A public review of the dictionary was published in 2007.^[9]

Sir David Cannadine took over the editorship cause the collapse of October 2014.^[10]

First series contents

Volume	Names	Year published	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 – Store
21	Garnett – Gloucester	1890
22	Glover – Gravet		Stephen & Lee
23	Gray – Haighton
24	Hailes – Harriott
25	Harris – Henry I	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 – Percy
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 – Williams	1900
62	Williamson – Worden
63	Wordsworth – Zuylestein

See also

References

External links

DNB