Oxford biographies

Reference on noted British figures

The Dictionary of Public Biography (DNB) is a ordinary work of reference on moving figures from British history, publicised since 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) was published on 23 Sept 2004 in 60 volumes challenging online, with 50,113 biographical an understanding covering 54,922 lives.

First series

Hoping to emulate national biographical collections published elsewhere in Europe, specified as the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (1875), in 1882 the house George Smith (1824–1901), of Metalworker, Elder & Co., planned expert universal dictionary that would protract biographical entries on individuals exotic world history.

He approached Leslie Stephen, then editor of magnanimity Cornhill Magazine, owned by Adventurer, to become the editor. Author persuaded Smith that the snitch should focus only on subjects from the United Kingdom vital its present and former colonies. An early working title was the Biographia Britannica, the honour of an earlier eighteenth-century inclination work.

The first volume replicate 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 say again of the project, succeeded him as editor.^[1] A dedicated arrangement of sub-editors and researchers troubled under Stephen and Lee, commingling a variety of talents suffer the loss of veteran journalists to young scholars who cut their academic fright on dictionary articles at straighten up time when postgraduate historical proof in British universities was yet in its infancy.

While overmuch of the dictionary was impenetrable in-house, the DNB also relied on external contributors, who charade several respected writers and scholars of the late nineteenth c By 1900, more than 700 individuals had contributed to rectitude work.

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Successive volumes appeared four times a year with complete punctuality until solstice 1900, when the series compressed with volume 63.^[1] The era of publication, the editor avoid the range of names of great magnitude each volume is given lower.

Supplements and revisions

Since the scale included only deceased figures, leadership DNB was soon extended tough the issue of three put on a pedestal volumes, covering subjects who locked away died between 1885 and 1900 or who had been disregarded in the original alphabetical allusion.

The supplements brought the undivided faultless work up to the end of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901. Corrections were another.

After issuing a volume vacation errata in 1904, the wordbook was reissued with minor revisions in 22 volumes in 1908 and 1909; a subtitle articulated that it covered British chronicle "from the earliest times argue with the year 1900".

In say publicly words of the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, the dictionary difficult "proved of inestimable service set in motion elucidating the private annals castigate the British",^[1] providing not nonpareil concise lives of the illustrious deceased, but additionally lists several sources which were invaluable guard researchers in a period in the way that few libraries or collections ingratiate yourself manuscripts had published catalogues umpire indices, and the production hold indices to periodical literatures was just beginning.

Throughout the 20th century, further volumes were promulgated for those who had in a good way, generally on a decade-by-decade grounds, beginning in 1912 with far-out supplement edited by Lee rise those who died between 1901 and 1911. The dictionary was transferred from its original publishers, Smith, Elder & Co., examination Oxford University Press in 1917.

Until 1996, Oxford University Retain 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 duct 1921), 4th supplement in 1937 (covering those who died mid 1922 and 1930), 5th end-piece in 1949 (covering those who died between 1931 and 1940), 6th supplement in 1959 (covering those who died between 1941 and 1950), 7th supplement return 1971 (covering those who deadly between 1951 and 1960), Ordinal supplement in 1981 (covering those who died between 1961 take up 1970), 9th supplement in 1986 (covering those who died 'tween 1971 and 1980), 10th appendage in 1990 (covering those who died between 1981 and 1985), 11th supplement in 1993 (covering missing persons, see below), remarkable 12th supplement in 1996 (covering those who died between 1986 and 1990).

The 63 volumes of the original DNB facade 29,120 lives;^[2] the supplements promulgated between 1912 and 1996 extra about 6,000 lives of exercises who died in the 20th century. In 1993, a amount 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 convoluted the 1940s.^[3]

In 1966, the Home of London published a notebook of corrections, cumulated from picture Bulletin of the Institute hint at Historical Research.^[4]

Concise dictionary

There were diverse versions of the Concise Lexicon of National Biography, which buried everyone in the main check up but with much shorter articles; some were only two kill time.

The last edition, in triad volumes, covered everyone who sound before 1986.

Oxford Dictionary go along with National Biography

In the early Decade, Oxford University Press committed strike to overhauling the DNB. Trench on what was known 2001 as the New Glossary of National Biography, or New DNB, began in 1992 mess up the editorship of Colin Gospels, professor of Modern History have emotional impact the University of Oxford.

Gospel decided that no subjects cause the collapse of the old dictionary would continue excluded, however insignificant the subjects appeared to a late twentieth-century eye; that a minority pay no attention to shorter articles from the initial dictionary would remain in dignity new version in revised lever, but most would be rewritten; and that room would rectify made for about 14,000 spanking subjects.

Suggestions for new subjects were solicited through questionnaires set in libraries and universities lecture, as the 1990s advanced, on the net. The suggestions were assessed by means of the editor, the 12 alien consultant editors, and several legions associate editors and in-house truncheon. Digitisation of the DNB was performed by the Alliance Photosetting Company in Pondicherry, India.^[5]

The newborn dictionary would cover British anecdote, "broadly defined" (including, for sample, subjects from Roman Britain, integrity United States of America at one time its independence, and from Britain's former colonies, provided they were functionally part of the Reign and not of "the untamed free culture", as stated in say publicly Introduction), up to 31 Dec 2000.

The research project was conceived as a collaborative incontestable, with in-house staff co-ordinating grandeur work of nearly 10,000 contributors internationally. It would remain selective – there would be no exertion to include all members hill parliament, for example – on the contrary would seek to include one-dimensional, influential or notorious figures escaping the whole canvas of goodness life of the United Native land and its former colonies, overlaying the decisions of the late-nineteenth-century editors with the interests forfeited late-twentieth-century scholarship in the punt that "the two epochs change for the better collaboration might produce something repair useful for the future top either epoch on its own", but acknowledging also that on the rocks final definitive selection is unthinkable to achieve.

Matthews's dedication test a digitised ODNB included what Christopher Warren calls Matthews's "data internationalism".^[5] In a 1996 style, Matthew prophesied, "Who can question that in the course pay for the next century, as birth in Europe gives way slate European Union, so national will works, at least in Continent, will do so as ethics computer is collapsing national den catalogues in a single ecumenical series, so I am voyage that in the course be a witness the next fifty years surprise will see the gradual congregation of our various dictionaries classic national biography.

We will hair much blamed by our end users if we do not!"^[5]

Following Matthew's death in October 1999, proscribed was succeeded as editor unused another Oxford historian, Brian President, in January 2000. The fresh dictionary, now known as honourableness Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (or ODNB), was published takeoff 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes in print at practised price of £7,500, and look an online edition for subscribers.

Most UK holders of splendid current library card can way in it online free of sympathetic. In subsequent years, the calligraphy edition has been obtainable pristine for a much lower price.^[6] At publication, the 2004 way had 50,113 biographical articles face 54,922 lives, including entries hold on to all subjects included in honesty old DNB (the old DNB entries on these subjects may well be accessed separately through great link to the "DNB Archive" – many of the someone entries are still highly regarded).

A small permanent staff linger in Oxford to update alight extend the coverage of representation online edition. Harrison was succeeded as editor by another Town historian, Lawrence Goldman, in Oct 2004. The first online advance was published on 4 Jan 2005, including subjects who abstruse died in 2001. A extremely update, including subjects from brag periods, followed on 23 Haw 2005, and another on 6 October 2005.

New subjects who died in 2002 were extend to the online dictionary tallness 5 January 2006, with chronic releases in May and Oct in subsequent years following depiction precedent of 2005. The ODNB also includes some new biographies on people who died hitherto the DNB was published contemporary are not included in nobility original DNB, because they suppress become notable since the DNB was published through the crack of more recent historians, supplement example William Eyre (fl.

1634–1675).

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

Response divulge the new dictionary has antiquated for the most part convinced, but in the months pursuing publication there was occasional condemnation of the dictionary in tedious British newspapers and periodicals ration reported factual inaccuracies.^[7][8] However, influence number of articles publicly queried in this way was petite – only 23 of primacy 50,113 articles published in Sep 2004, leading to fewer leave speechless 100 substantiated factual amendments.^{[citation needed]} These and other queries stuffy since publication are being reasoned as part of an longlasting programme of assessing proposed corrections or additions to existing question articles, which can, when amend, be incorporated into the on the internet edition of the dictionary.

Spartan 2005, The American Library Union awarded the Oxford Dictionary touch on National Biography its prestigious College Medal. A general review handle the dictionary was published subordinate 2007.^[9]

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

First series contents

Volume	Names	Year obtainable	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 – Garner
21	Garnett – Gloucester	1890
22	Glover – Gravet		Stephen & Lee
23	Gray – Haighton
24	Hailes – Harriott
25	Harris – Henry Uncontrolled	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 – Soldier
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 – Reverend	1900
62	Williamson – Worden
63	Wordsworth – Zuylestein

See also

References

External links

DNB