Biographical Research Guide

CLU Databases Print/Video Resources Internet Resources

CLU Databases

Best starting point:

Biography Resource Center A comprehensive database of biographical information on more than one million people from throughout history, around the world, and across all disciplines and subject areas, it combines approximately 250,000 biographies from respected sources with nearly one million biographies from The Complete Marquis Who's Who®. The database also includes full-text articles from nearly 250 periodicals. Search for people based on one or more personal facts such as birth/death years and places, nationality, ethnicity, occupation or gender, or combine criteria to create a highly-targeted custom search path.

• Researchers needing a brief summary or description of personal information on a particular individual will find more than 950,000 "thumbnail" entries from sources like Who's Who Among African Americans
• Narrative biographies provide an in-depth overview of the subject's life and accomplishments (some include photos)
• Full text magazine articles from more than 250 periodicals bring coverage of the subject up-to-date and broaden the view of his or her place in history, society, a particular field of endeavor, or the news
• Latest News windows display a brief summary of recent news events, information which will be incorporated into the subject's biographies
• Researchers who need to continue their search for information beyond what is available in BioRC will find lists of Additional Resources for more than 30,000 of the most famous people included in the database
• Links to more than 4,000 relevant websites
• E-mail: users can e-mail biographies to selected computers
• Tips on biographical research
• Sources Used in Biography Resource Center

2nd Choice:

LEXIS-NEXIS Biographical Information Searches documents which contain biographical sources, people-related news sources, and selected biographical stories, obituaries and business-related stories covering company executives. Best for people who are alive today.

Subject-specific Databases:

AccessScience Biographies Brief biographies of scientists plus links to resources for further study. Includes Nobel Prize winners, Fields Medals winners (Mathematics), and scientists from the following fields: Agriculture, Forestry & Soils, Anthropology & Archaeology, Astronomy & Space Science, Biological & Biomedical Science, Chemistry, Computing & Information Technology, Earth Science, Engineering & Materials, Environmental Science, Food Science & Technology, General Science & Technology, Mathematics, Medicine, Military Science, Navigation, Paleontology, Physics, Psychiatry & Psychology, and Veterinary Medicine.

African American Biographical Database Biographies of thousands of African Americans including extended narratives of activists, business people, former slaves, performing artists, educators, lawyers, physicians, writers, church leaders, homemakers, religious workers, government workers, athletes, farmers, scientists, factory workers, and more -- both the famous and the everyday person. Their stories are pivotal to an understanding of the Black American experience over the last two centuries. AABD draws its initial content from Chadwyck-Healey’s acclaimed Black Biographical Dictionaries 1790-1950. Biographical portraits from newly uncovered dictionaries as well as from other published reference sources, obituary files, slave narrative collections, Internet sites, etc. will be added as the database expands. Before you start your research, check out the Search tips.

Literature Resource Center - LRC, Scribner, Twayne US, Twayne English, and Twayne World Authors Access to biographies, bibliographies and critical analysis of authors from every age and literary discipline.

• more than 90,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists and other writers, with in-depth coverage of 2,000 of the most-studied authors
• search by Author Name, Title, Genre, Literary Movement or Literary Themes, or combine criteria to create a highly-targeted custom search path
• before you start your research, check out the Guide to Conducting Literary Research.

Additional Databases (some Full text):

Biography Index (1984 to present) Check Limit to: Full text or use the citations to find Reference Books, books and articles. If these resources aren't available in Pearson Library, you can order them via Interlibrary Loan (ILL) by using the ILL icon and filling out the convenient online form.

Use Readers' Guide Abstracts (1983 to present) Check Limit to: Full text or use the citations to find journal articles. If these journals aren't available in Pearson Library, you can order them via Interlibrary Loan (ILL) by using the ILL icon and filling out the convenient online form.

Online Encyclopedia:

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online More than 72,000 encyclopedia articles and year-in-review articles from recent yearbooks. Be sure to use the Search for related Internet links feature for additional websites, reviewed by Britannica editors.

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Print/Video Resources

Books:

• To find a book about a person, search the Library Catalog. Search by keyword; examples of keyword Boolean searches: biography and Emma Goldman or biography and Voltaire.

• To find a book containing collective biographies of people in a field, search the Library Catalog by keyword, using the name of the field to which the person belongs. Examples of keyword Boolean searches: biography and psychology or biography and historians.

Reference Books:

• Abridged Biography and Genealogy Master Index: Look up the name of the individual to find citations under each entry. The citation provides abbreviations for the titles of biographical reference sources. Location: Reference Desk; ask the Information Specialist for help.

• Biography Index. (1946 to 1993) This index is a guide to biographical materials appearing in journals, as well as current books of individual and collective biography. Biographical material indexed includes obituaries, collections of letters, diaries, memoirs, juvenile literature, book reviews, and bibliographies. All biographies are American unless otherwise indicated. For citations from 1993, use the online version via Article Databases. Ref./INDEXES CT100 .B5

• Newsmakers. "The people behind today's headlines." Biography--20th Century. Reference CT120.C664

• For the Who's Who series, search the catalog by the title, Who's Who; you'll get a list of all the "who's who" in a variety of disciplines.

Videos:

• To find a video,search the PBS VIDEOdatabase and/or search the Library Catalog by keyword, using the name Luther and By material type: Audio/Visual.

Journal and Newspaper Articles:

• Journal Articles: Use Research Library Core and the Humanities Module via Proquest and/or General News via LEXIS-NEXIS; set drop-down Source: menu to Magazines & Journals.

• News Articles: Use Research Newspapers (New York Times, USA TODAY, Wall Street Journal, and Barron's), ProQuest Newspapers (Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, New York Times Book Review, New York Times Magazine, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post) and/or National Newspapers (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Christian Science Monitor) databases via Proquest and/or General News via LEXIS-NEXIS; set drop-down Source: menu to Major Newspapers.

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Internet Resources

Actors and Actresses from Yahoo.

American Authors on the Web Huge, chronological listing with links to Internet pages about American authors.

Artists from Yahoo.

Authors from Yahoo.

Biographical Dictionary This dictionary covers more than 28,000 notable men and women who have shaped our world from ancient times to the present day. The dictionary can be searched by birth years, death years, positions held, professions, literary and artistic works, achievements, and other keywords.

Biographie.net Index of more than 10,000 biographies of prominent public figures, including politicians, authors and entertainment celebrities, which can be searched by key word but not browsed. European focus with versions in French, German and Spanish as well as English.

Biographies and Links for Famous Americans from Yahoo.

Biography.com Search for brief biographical sketches of over 15,000 people in all fields of endeavor, past and present, from A & E Television Network. Also features video clips of some subjects.

Congressional Biographical Directory, 1774-present Brief biographical sketches and bibliographies of written works of Presidents, VPs, Senators, Representatives, and the Continental Congress.

CultureFinder's "All-Stars" of Classical & Opera Who's Who in classical music and opera? Who are the greatest and most influential composers and performers? CultureFinder's All-Stars" provides basic background information on a select group of important figures in classical music and opera. This concise, baseball card-like resource gives you the low down on the all the vital "stats," career highlights and unusual facts about these great musicians.

Dead People Server Brief biographical notes on over 1800 notable celebrities who have died. You can search the whole database or browse the letters or years one at a time; some photos are available.

Distinguished Women of Past and Present An award-winning site with biographies of women who contributed to our culture in many different ways. Includes writers, educators, scientists, heads of state, politicians, civil rights crusaders, artists, entertainers, and others. Some were alive hundreds of years ago and some are living today. Search by name or by field of endeavor.

Encyclopaedia Brittannica's Lives Brief biographies of famous people by date of birth, many with photos, plus links to additional Internet resources, reviewed by Britannica editors.

Inventors Online Museum Notable inventors and inventions. Special collections include Communication Inventions, Women Inventors and African American Inventors.

Lives:

• links to sites that focus on the lives of individuals or groups of people
• links to sites that contain worthwhile collections of links to other biographical resources
• links to primary biographical source material such as images, diaries, memoirs, correspondence, interviews, oral histories, etc.
• links to some of the best biographical dictionaries

Mad Monarchs Series Short historical biographies of royals who developed extreme forms of egocentricity, psychosis, megalomania, and paranoia, and displayed a lack of empathy for their subjects. Includes bibliographies, additional Internet links and portraits.

Musicians and Rock Groups from Yahoo.

Namebase Index Different research requires different tools ...so when is NameBase useful? Don't bother with NameBase unless you can answer "yes" to these five questions:

• Does your research project involve names of individuals, institutions, groups, or corporations?
• Did these names exist within the last 80 years?
• Are these names likely to have been mentioned in books, magazines, or newspapers?
• Are these names associated with the worlds of government, institutions, finance or organized crime by virtue of power, position, wealth, or notoriety -- rather than being the names of celebrities from sports or entertainment, or notables from science, literature, or the arts?
• Have you already checked the two easiest and most comprehensive sources of information: Who's Who in America or similar references, and a web search using an engine such as Google or HotBot?

If you answered "yes" to these questions, then this tutorial can show you how to use NameBase as the next step in your research.

National Inventors Hall of Fame Brief biographies of inventors inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame; searchable by inventor's name or by invention.

Nobel Prize Internet Archive Brief biographical sketches for every Nobel prizewinner plus bibliographies, links, and portraits (when available).

Presidents of the United States: POTUS From the Internet Public Library: background information, election results, cabinet members, notable events, and some points of interest on each of the presidents. Links to biographies, historical documents, audio and video files, and other presidential sites are also included to enrich this site.

Time 100: Choosing the Century's Most Influential People Time Magazine's 100 most influential people of the 20th Century, with profiles of some of the century's most influential leaders and revolutionaries. Includes a timeline of each personality and a timeline of the century.

Time Man of the Year biographies of the people featured as "Man of the Year" on Time Magazine covers from 1927 on.

Who's Alive and Who's Dead Alphabetical listing of well-known Americans whom the general public may not be aware are still alive or have died. Entries are searchable and also organized into categories including actors and actresses, musical performers, political figures, athletes and sports figures, and recent deaths. Celebrities' birthdays are remembered, and information is provided about their date of birth, status, and either their age at time of death or their current age if still living.

Women in American History Short biographies from Encyclopædia Britannica. Searchable by name and category.

Women's History Month - Biographies Biographies for over 100 women from Gale Research; includes photos, bibliographies and links to additional Internet resources.

World Biographical Index International biographical index from K. G. Saur. Based on the 5th edition of the World Biographical Index containing about 2.4 million short biographical entries for eminent individuals who lived in North and South America, Western and Central Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania. This edition is also a compiled index to many biographical archives.

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CLU Students, Faculty and Staff: If you didn't find your answer on these pages, ask your Information Specialists; stop by the Reference Desk, call us at 3255 or E-mail the Reference Desk.

Page created and maintained by Susan Herzog
Pearson Library
Information Systems and Services
California Lutheran University

Last Update: January 29, 2002.