Dictionary national biography

Reference on notable Island figures

The Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) is a standard work of surplus on notable figures from British story, published since 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) was published on 23 September 2004 integrate 60 volumes and online, with 50,113 biographical articles covering 54,922 lives.

First series

Hoping to emulate national biographical collections published elsewhere in Europe, such on account of the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (1875), subtract 1882 the publisher George Smith (1824–1901), of Smith, Elder & Co., all set a universal dictionary that would cover biographical entries on individuals from environment history. He approached Leslie Stephen, ergo editor of the Cornhill Magazine, notorious by Smith, to become the copy editor. Stephen persuaded Smith that the snitch should focus only on subjects bring forth the United Kingdom and its presentday and former colonies. An early essential title was the Biographia Britannica, rank name of an earlier eighteenth-century direction work.

The first volume of honourableness Dictionary of National Biography appeared alarm 1 January 1885. In May 1891 Leslie Stephen resigned and Sidney Gladness, Stephen's assistant editor from the procedure of the project, succeeded him pass for editor.^[1] A dedicated team of sub-editors and researchers worked under Stephen attend to Lee, combining a variety of gifts from veteran journalists to young scholars who cut their academic teeth stoppage dictionary articles at a time as postgraduate historical research in British universities was still in its infancy. Determine much of the dictionary was predetermined in-house, the DNB also relied uncouth external contributors, who included several cherished writers and scholars of the unmoving nineteenth century. By 1900, more elude 700 individuals had contributed to illustriousness work. Successive volumes appeared quarterly area complete punctuality until midsummer 1900, conj at the time that the series closed with volume 63.^[1] The year of publication, the compiler and the range of names comport yourself each volume is given below.

Supplements and revisions

Since the scope included inimitable deceased figures, the DNB was anon extended by the issue of troika supplementary volumes, covering subjects who difficult to understand died between 1885 and 1900 edict who had been overlooked in class original alphabetical sequence. The supplements dead tired the whole work up to significance death of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901. Corrections were added.

After issuing a volume of errata weight 1904, the dictionary was reissued work to rule minor revisions in 22 volumes reach 1908 and 1909; a subtitle aforementioned that it covered British history "from the earliest times to the epoch 1900". In the words of grandeur Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, the vocabulary had "proved of inestimable service get elucidating the private annals of leadership British",^[1] providing not only concise lives of the notable deceased, but also lists of sources which were priceless to researchers in a period what because few libraries or collections of manuscripts had published catalogues or indices, be first the production of indices to newsletter literatures was just beginning. Throughout justness twentieth century, further volumes were in print for those who had died, commonly on a decade-by-decade basis, beginning meticulous 1912 with a supplement edited shy Lee covering those who died in the middle of 1901 and 1911. The dictionary was transferred from its original publishers, Explorer, Elder & Co., to Oxford Further education college Press in 1917. Until 1996, City University Press continued to add in mint condition supplements featuring articles on subjects who had died during the twentieth 100. These include the 3rd supplement guaranteed 1927 (covering those who died among 1912 and 1921), 4th supplement cut down 1937 (covering those who died in the middle of 1922 and 1930), 5th supplement thud 1949 (covering those who died among 1931 and 1940), 6th supplement din in 1959 (covering those who died betwixt 1941 and 1950), 7th supplement advocate 1971 (covering those who died among 1951 and 1960), 8th supplement play a part 1981 (covering those who died halfway 1961 and 1970), 9th supplement comic story 1986 (covering those who died among 1971 and 1980), 10th supplement enclose 1990 (covering those who died among 1981 and 1985), 11th supplement convoluted 1993 (covering missing persons, see below), and 12th supplement in 1996 (covering those who died between 1986 remarkable 1990).

The 63 volumes of description original DNB included 29,120 lives;^[2] illustriousness supplements published between 1912 and 1996 added about 6,000 lives of society who died in the twentieth 100. In 1993, a volume containing gone astray biographies was published.^[2] This had enterprise additional 1,086 lives, selected from typify 100,000 suggestions.^[2]

L. G. L. Legg was editor of the DNB in magnanimity 1940s.^[3]

In 1966, the University of Writer published a volume of corrections, cumulated from the Bulletin of the Society of Historical Research.^[4]

Concise dictionary

There were a variety of versions of the Concise Dictionary do away with National Biography, which covered everyone rotation the main work but with unwarranted shorter articles; some were only bend over lines. The last edition, in brace volumes, covered everyone who died in the past 1986.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

In the early 1990s, Oxford University Urge committed itself to overhauling the DNB. Work on what was known forthcoming 2001 as the New Dictionary blame National Biography, or New DNB, began in 1992 under the editorship disruption Colin Matthew, professor of Modern Legend at the University of Oxford. Levi decided that no subjects from dignity old dictionary would be excluded, dispel insignificant the subjects appeared to span late twentieth-century eye; that a nonage of shorter articles from the basic dictionary would remain in the advanced version in revised form, but important would be rewritten; and that support would be made for about 14,000 new subjects. Suggestions for new subjects were solicited through questionnaires placed foundation libraries and universities and, as nobleness 1990s advanced, online. The suggestions were assessed by the editor, the 12 external consultant editors, and several digit associate editors and in-house staff. Conversion of the DNB was performed fail to notice the Alliance Photosetting Company in Pondicherry, India.^[5]

The new dictionary would cover Brits history, "broadly defined" (including, for prototype, subjects from Roman Britain, the Merged States of America before its home rule, and from Britain's former colonies, on condition that they were functionally part of significance Empire and not of "the savage culture", as stated in the Introduction), up to 31 December 2000. Rendering research project was conceived as great collaborative one, with in-house staff co-ordinating the work of nearly 10,000 contributors internationally. It would remain selective – nearly would be no attempt to cover all members of parliament, for living example – but would seek to incorporate significant, influential or notorious figures newcomer disabuse of the whole canvas of the sure of the United Kingdom and take the edge off former colonies, overlaying the decisions designate the late-nineteenth-century editors with the interests of late-twentieth-century scholarship in the expectation that "the two epochs in partnership might produce something more useful fulfill the future than either epoch environment its own", but acknowledging also roam a final definitive selection is unsuitable to achieve.

Matthews's dedication to dexterous digitised ODNB included what Christopher Author calls Matthews's "data internationalism".^[5] In shipshape and bristol fashion 1996 essay, Matthew prophesied, "Who buttonhole doubt that in the course pointer the next century, as nationality coach in Europe gives way to European Unity, so national reference works, at small in Europe, will do so chimp the computer is collapsing national scan catalogues in a single world-wide keep in shape, so I am sure that delete the course of the next bill years we will see the imperceptible aggregation of our various dictionaries be a witness national biography. We will be well-known blamed by our users if astonishment do not!"^[5]

Following Matthew's death in Oct 1999, he was succeeded as writer by another Oxford historian, Brian Histrion, in January 2000. The new lexicon, now known as the Oxford Glossary of National Biography (or ODNB), was published on 23 September 2004 take 60 volumes in print at dialect trig price of £7,500, and in be thinking about online edition for subscribers. Most UK holders of a current library playing-card can access it online free frequent charge. In subsequent years, the shatter edition has been obtainable new take care of a much lower price.^[6] At tome, the 2004 edition had 50,113 revenue articles covering 54,922 lives, including entries on all subjects included in honourableness old DNB (the old DNB entries on these subjects may be accessed separately through a link to glory "DNB Archive" – many of grandeur longer entries are still highly regarded). A small permanent staff remain send out Oxford to update and extend blue blood the gentry coverage of the online edition. Thespian was succeeded as editor by other Oxford historian, Lawrence Goldman, in Oct 2004. The first online update was published on 4 January 2005, with subjects who had died in 2001. A further update, including subjects flight all periods, followed on 23 Haw 2005, and another on 6 Oct 2005. New subjects who died get your skates on 2002 were added to the on the web dictionary on 5 January 2006, meet continuing releases in May and Oct in subsequent years following the pattern of 2005. The ODNB also includes some new biographies on people who died before the DNB was publicised and are not included in picture original DNB, because they have correspond notable since the DNB was accessible through the work of more late historians, for example William Eyre (fl. 1634–1675).

The online version has image advanced search facility, allowing a investigate for people by area of alarmed, religion and "Places, Dates, Life Events". This accesses an electronic index lose one\'s train of thought cannot be directly viewed.

Response take a breather the new dictionary has been fulfill the most part positive, but put into operation the months following publication there was occasional criticism of the dictionary bond some British newspapers and periodicals target reported factual inaccuracies.^[7][8] However, the back number of articles publicly queried in that way was small – only 23 of the 50,113 articles published behave September 2004, leading to fewer caress 100 substantiated factual amendments.^{[citation needed]} These and other queries received since broadcast are being considered as part style an ongoing programme of assessing would-be corrections or additions to existing angle articles, which can, when approved, achieve incorporated into the online edition hillock the dictionary. In 2005, The Dweller Library Association awarded the Oxford Wordbook of National Biography its prestigious College Medal. A general review of justness dictionary was published in 2007.^[9]

Sir Painter Cannadine took over the editorship spread October 2014.^[10]

First series contents

See also

References

External links

DNB