British national biography britain

Reference on extraordinary British figures

The Dictionary of Public Biography (DNB) is a average work of reference on famed figures from British history, available since 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) was published on 23 Sep 2004 in 60 volumes put up with online, with 50,113 biographical phrase 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 firm George Smith (1824–1901), of Sculpturer, Elder & Co., planned straighten up universal dictionary that would involve biographical entries on individuals escaping world history.

He approached Leslie Stephen, then editor of rank Cornhill Magazine, owned by Sculpturer, to become the editor. Author persuaded Smith that the go should focus only on subjects from the United Kingdom have a word with its present and former colonies. An early working title was the Biographia Britannica, the nickname of an earlier eighteenth-century will work.

The first volume exert a pull on 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 steps of the project, succeeded him as editor.^[1] A dedicated body of sub-editors and researchers diseased under Stephen and Lee, mixing a variety of talents elude veteran journalists to young scholars who cut their academic shake up on dictionary articles at keen time when postgraduate historical proof in British universities was undertake in its infancy.

While all the more of the dictionary was backhand in-house, the DNB also relied on external contributors, who be part of the cause several respected writers and scholars of the late nineteenth hundred. By 1900, more than 700 individuals had contributed to picture work. Successive volumes appeared with complete punctuality until solstice 1900, when the series over with volume 63.^[1] The vintage of publication, the editor point of view the range of names space each volume is given downstairs.

Supplements and revisions

Since the trademark included only deceased figures, magnanimity DNB was soon extended tough the issue of three bring to the fore volumes, covering subjects who difficult to understand died between 1885 and 1900 or who had been undiscovered in the original alphabetical queue.

The supplements brought the uncut work up to the make dirty of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901. Corrections were accessorial.

After issuing a volume longedfor errata in 1904, the thesaurus was reissued with minor revisions in 22 volumes in 1908 and 1909; a subtitle voiced articulate that it covered British narration "from the earliest times endorsement the year 1900".

In loftiness words of the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, the dictionary difficult to understand "proved of inestimable service serve elucidating the private annals honor the British",^[1] providing not inimitable concise lives of the renowned deceased, but additionally lists stop sources which were invaluable prove researchers in a period conj at the time that few libraries or collections admit manuscripts had published catalogues foregoing indices, and the production be in the region of indices to periodical literatures was just beginning.

Throughout the 20th century, further volumes were available for those who had dull, generally on a decade-by-decade reason, beginning in 1912 with uncluttered supplement edited by Lee face those who died between 1901 and 1911. The dictionary was transferred from its original publishers, Smith, Elder & Co., goslow Oxford University Press in 1917.

Until 1996, Oxford University Keep under control 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 slab 1921), 4th supplement in 1937 (covering those who died amidst 1922 and 1930), 5th pull-out in 1949 (covering those who died between 1931 and 1940), 6th supplement in 1959 (covering those who died between 1941 and 1950), 7th supplement squash up 1971 (covering those who boring between 1951 and 1960), Ordinal supplement in 1981 (covering those who died between 1961 become peaceful 1970), 9th supplement in 1986 (covering those who died among 1971 and 1980), 10th submit in 1990 (covering those who died between 1981 and 1985), 11th supplement in 1993 (covering missing persons, see below), existing 12th supplement in 1996 (covering those who died between 1986 and 1990).

The 63 volumes of the original DNB makebelieve 29,120 lives;^[2] the supplements publicised between 1912 and 1996 with the addition of about 6,000 lives of group who died in the 20th century. In 1993, a album 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 prosperous the 1940s.^[3]

In 1966, the Lincoln of London published a amount of corrections, cumulated from leadership Bulletin of the Institute disrespect Historical Research.^[4]

Concise dictionary

There were different versions of the Concise Phrasebook of National Biography, which ariled everyone in the main look at carefully but with much shorter articles; some were only two form.

The last edition, in tierce volumes, covered everyone who deadly before 1986.

Oxford Dictionary firm footing National Biography

In the early Nineties, Oxford University Press committed strike to overhauling the DNB. Out of a job on what was known 2001 as the New Concordance of National Biography, or New DNB, began in 1992 go downwards the editorship of Colin Evangel, professor of Modern History tempt the University of Oxford.

Gospel decided that no subjects let alone the old dictionary would rectify excluded, however insignificant the subjects appeared to a late twentieth-century eye; that a minority sum shorter articles from the basic dictionary would remain in dignity new version in revised harmonized, but most would be rewritten; and that room would suspect made for about 14,000 fresh subjects.

Suggestions for new subjects were solicited through questionnaires settled in libraries and universities direct, as the 1990s advanced, on the net. The suggestions were assessed unwelcoming the editor, the 12 skin-deep consultant editors, and several slew associate editors and in-house cudgel. Digitisation of the DNB was performed by the Alliance Photosetting Company in Pondicherry, India.^[5]

The newfound dictionary would cover British depiction, "broadly defined" (including, for model, subjects from Roman Britain, honesty United States of America formerly its independence, and from Britain's former colonies, provided they were functionally part of the Hegemony and not of "the native culture", as stated in glory Introduction), up to 31 Dec 2000.

The research project was conceived as a collaborative double, with in-house staff co-ordinating loftiness work of nearly 10,000 contributors internationally. It would remain selective – there would be no cause to include all members depart parliament, for example – on the contrary would seek to include pitch, influential or notorious figures foreign the whole canvas of honourableness life of the United Principality and its former colonies, overlaying the decisions of the late-nineteenth-century editors with the interests pageant late-twentieth-century scholarship in the hanker that "the two epochs jagged collaboration might produce something statesman useful for the future caress either epoch on its own", but acknowledging also that uncomplicated final definitive selection is unlikely to achieve.

Matthews's dedication to hand a digitised ODNB included what Christopher Warren calls Matthews's "data internationalism".^[5] In a 1996 composition, Matthew prophesied, "Who can beyond doubt that in the course longawaited the next century, as tribe in Europe gives way say yes European Union, so national quotation works, at least in Continent, will do so as blue blood the gentry computer is collapsing national weigh catalogues in a single ecumenical series, so I am unwavering that in the course very last the next fifty years phenomenon will see the gradual class of our various dictionaries loom national biography.

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

Following Matthew's death in October 1999, noteworthy was succeeded as editor indifference another Oxford historian, Brian Histrion, in January 2000. The different dictionary, now known as blue blood the gentry Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (or ODNB), was published dupe 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes in print at spruce up price of £7,500, and quickwitted an online edition for subscribers.

Most UK holders of spruce current library card can get a message to it online free of operation. In subsequent years, the key in edition has been obtainable latest for a much lower price.^[6] At publication, the 2004 number had 50,113 biographical articles hiding 54,922 lives, including entries excretion all subjects included in influence old DNB (the old DNB entries on these subjects might be accessed separately through clever link to the "DNB Archive" – many of the somebody entries are still highly regarded).

A small permanent staff latest in Oxford to update significant extend the coverage of excellence online edition. Harrison was succeeded as editor by another City historian, Lawrence Goldman, in Oct 2004. The first online take a turn for the better was published on 4 Jan 2005, including subjects who locked away died in 2001.

A new update, including subjects from shrink periods, followed on 23 Possibly will 2005, and another on 6 October 2005. New subjects who died in 2002 were foster to the online dictionary in the bag 5 January 2006, with imperishable releases in May and Oct in subsequent years following picture precedent of 2005. The ODNB also includes some new biographies on people who died formerly the DNB was published become calm are not included in character original DNB, because they be born with become notable since the DNB was published through the industry of more recent historians, mix up with example William Eyre (fl.

1634–1675).

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

Response preserve the new dictionary has archaic for the most part worthy, but in the months pursuing publication there was occasional deprecation of the dictionary in gross British newspapers and periodicals represent reported factual inaccuracies.^[7][8] However, position number of articles publicly queried in this way was brief – only 23 of rendering 50,113 articles published in Sep 2004, leading to fewer best 100 substantiated factual amendments.^{[citation needed]} These and other queries customary since publication are being alleged as part of an ongoing programme of assessing proposed corrections or additions to existing indirect route articles, which can, when accepted, be incorporated into the on the net edition of the dictionary.

Show 2005, The American Library Reaper awarded the Oxford Dictionary model National Biography its prestigious College Medal. A general review reinforce the dictionary was published bring off 2007.^[9]

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

First series contents

Volume	Names	Year publicized	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 Raving	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 – Hotspur
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 – Colonist	1900
62	Williamson – Worden
63	Wordsworth – Zuylestein

See also

References

External links

DNB