History - General: Biographical Information

The landmark American National Biography offers portraits of more than 17,400 men and women -- from all eras and walks of life -- whose lives have shaped the nation. Updated quarterly, with hundreds of new entries each year and revisions of previously published entries to enhance their accuracy and currency, the ANB Online features thousands of illustrations, more than 80,000 hyperlinked cross-references, links to select web sites, and powerful search capabilities (from publisher)

Use this resource to determine what publication to consult for biographical information. Over 675 biographical dictionaries and directories are indexed. Coverage includes the humanities, sciences, and social sciences.

Coverage in this first phase presents persons who died between the years 1000 and 1930 or whose last known date of activity falls within these years. Also included are entries on voyagers whose verifiable dates precede 1000 – Saint Brendan (Bréanainn), Eirikr Thorvaldsson (Eric the Red), and Herjólfsson Bjarni – and more than 400 biographies of individuals who died after 1930.

With 100,000 pages of content, including biographies, autobiographies, oral histories, reference works, manuscripts, and photographs, the database presents the life stories of American Indians and Canadian First Peoples in their own words and through the words of others. Much of the material is previously unpublished, rare, or hard to find. (Publisher)