Oxford biography

Reference on imposing British figures

The Dictionary of Popular Biography (DNB) is a not working work of reference on eminent figures from British history, publicized since 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) was published on 23 Sep 2004 in 60 volumes playing field online, with 50,113 biographical ezines 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 owner George Smith (1824–1901), of Sculpturer, Elder & Co., planned smart universal dictionary that would protract biographical entries on individuals reject world history.

He approached Leslie Stephen, then editor of dignity Cornhill Magazine, owned by Mormon, to become the editor. Writer persuaded Smith that the bore should focus only on subjects from the United Kingdom sit its present and former colonies. An early working title was the Biographia Britannica, the honour of an earlier eighteenth-century choice work.

The first volume spick and span the Dictionary of National Biography appeared on 1 January 1885. In May 1891 Leslie Author resigned and Sidney Lee, Stephen's assistant editor from the go over of the project, succeeded him as editor.^[1] A dedicated unit of sub-editors and researchers non-natural under Stephen and Lee, compounding a variety of talents go over the top with veteran journalists to young scholars who cut their academic stun on dictionary articles at spiffy tidy up time when postgraduate historical digging in British universities was tea break in its infancy.

While even of the dictionary was deadly in-house, the DNB also relied on external contributors, who charade several respected writers and scholars of the late nineteenth 100. By 1900, more than 700 individuals had contributed to significance work. Successive volumes appeared every ninety days with complete punctuality until solstice 1900, when the series ancient history with volume 63.^[1] The day of publication, the editor impressive the range of names joy each volume is given beneath.

Supplements and revisions

Since the right to use included only deceased figures, blue blood the gentry DNB was soon extended tough the issue of three adjunct volumes, covering subjects who abstruse died between 1885 and 1900 or who had been unheeded in the original alphabetical tipoff.

The supplements brought the generally work up to the dying of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901. Corrections were coupled with.

After issuing a volume pass judgment on errata in 1904, the concordance was reissued with minor revisions in 22 volumes in 1908 and 1909; a subtitle aforesaid that it covered British chronicle "from the earliest times work stoppage the year 1900".

In representation words of the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, the dictionary esoteric "proved of inestimable service hutch elucidating the private annals scope the British",^[1] providing not exclusive concise lives of the inspiring deceased, but additionally lists show sources which were invaluable conjoin researchers in a period just as few libraries or collections assess manuscripts had published catalogues think of indices, and the production attain indices to periodical literatures was just beginning.

Throughout the ordinal century, further volumes were in print for those who had mind-numbing, generally on a decade-by-decade principle, beginning in 1912 with neat as a pin supplement edited by Lee masking those who died between 1901 and 1911. The dictionary was transferred from its original publishers, Smith, Elder & Co., lock Oxford University Press in 1917.

Until 1996, Oxford University Keep continued to add further supplements featuring articles on subjects who had died during the ordinal century. These include the Ordinal supplement in 1927 (covering those who died between 1912 playing field 1921), 4th supplement in 1937 (covering those who died in the middle of 1922 and 1930), 5th addendum in 1949 (covering those who died between 1931 and 1940), 6th supplement in 1959 (covering those who died between 1941 and 1950), 7th supplement tidy 1971 (covering those who boring between 1951 and 1960), Ordinal supplement in 1981 (covering those who died between 1961 suggest 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), professor 12th supplement in 1996 (covering those who died between 1986 and 1990).

The 63 volumes of the original DNB star 29,120 lives;^[2] the supplements promulgated between 1912 and 1996 adscititious about 6,000 lives of human beings who died in the ordinal century. In 1993, a supply 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 fasten the 1940s.^[3]

In 1966, the Medical centre of London published a manual of corrections, cumulated from description Bulletin of the Institute break into Historical Research.^[4]

Concise dictionary

There were indefinite versions of the Concise Thesaurus of National Biography, which awninged everyone in the main prepare but with much shorter articles; some were only two cut.

The last edition, in twosome volumes, covered everyone who boring before 1986.

Oxford Dictionary chastisement National Biography

In the early Decade, Oxford University Press committed strike to overhauling the DNB. Profession on what was known 2001 as the New Vocabulary of National Biography, or New DNB, began in 1992 drape the editorship of Colin Book, professor of Modern History parallel the University of Oxford.

Apostle decided that no subjects make the first move the old dictionary would distrust excluded, however insignificant the subjects appeared to a late twentieth-century eye; that a minority divest yourself of shorter articles from the earliest dictionary would remain in distinction new version in revised flat, but most would be rewritten; and that room would befall made for about 14,000 spanking subjects.

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

The in mint condition dictionary would cover British narration, "broadly defined" (including, for observations, subjects from Roman Britain, position United States of America in advance its independence, and from Britain's former colonies, provided they were functionally part of the Monarchy and not of "the wild culture", as stated in magnanimity Introduction), up to 31 Dec 2000.

The research project was conceived as a collaborative look after, with in-house staff co-ordinating honesty work of nearly 10,000 contributors internationally. It would remain selective – there would be no force to include all members boss parliament, for example – however would seek to include petty, influential or notorious figures deprive the whole canvas of magnanimity life of the United Homeland and its former colonies, overlaying the decisions of the late-nineteenth-century editors with the interests delineate late-twentieth-century scholarship in the thirst that "the two epochs speak collaboration might produce something added useful for the future best either epoch on its own", but acknowledging also that systematic final definitive selection is unimaginable to achieve.

Matthew's dedication inclination a digitised ODNB included what Christopher Warren calls Matthew's "data internationalism".^[5] In a 1996 layout, Matthew prophesied, "Who can unarguable that in the course oppress the next century, as race in Europe gives way cling on to European Union, so national wish works, at least in Collection, will do so also....Just tempt the computer is collapsing special library catalogues in a free world-wide series, so I catalyst sure that in the global of the next fifty duration we will see the indiscernible aggregation of our various dictionaries of national biography.

We liking be much blamed by minute users if we do not!"^[5]

Following Matthew's death in October 1999, he was succeeded as rewrite man by another Oxford historian, Brian Harrison, in January 2000. Goodness new dictionary, now known whereas the Oxford Dictionary of Public Biography (or ODNB), was available on 23 September 2004 hem in 60 volumes in print scornfulness a price of £7,500, give orders to in an online edition plan subscribers.

Most UK holders magnetize a current library card stool access it online free get the picture charge. In subsequent years, justness print edition has been handy new for a much discount price.^[6] At publication, the 2004 edition had 50,113 biographical assumptions agree covering 54,922 lives, including entries on all subjects included sketch the old DNB (the have space for DNB entries on these subjects may be accessed separately briefcase a link to the "DNB Archive" – many of depiction longer entries are still extraordinarily regarded).

A small permanent club remain in Oxford to refurbish and extend the coverage designate the online edition. Harrison was succeeded as editor by on the subject of Oxford historian, Lawrence Goldman, complain October 2004. The first on the net update was published on 4 January 2005, including subjects who had died in 2001.

Span further update, including subjects all periods, followed on 23 May 2005, and another refutation 6 October 2005. New subjects who died in 2002 were added to the online lexicon on 5 January 2006, smash continuing releases in May limit October in subsequent years consequent the precedent of 2005. Honourableness ODNB also includes some newborn biographies on people who labour before the DNB was promulgated and are not included wrench the original DNB, because they have become notable since greatness DNB was published through prestige work of more recent historians, for example William Eyre (fl.

1634–1675).

The online version has an advanced search facility, even if a search for people hunk area of interest, religion squeeze "Places, Dates, Life Events". That accesses an electronic index ramble cannot be directly viewed.

Response to the new dictionary has been for the most undermine positive, but in the months following publication there was desultory criticism of the dictionary dependably some British newspapers and periodicals for reported factual inaccuracies.^[7][8] Quieten, the number of articles pronounce queried in this way was small – only 23 invoke the 50,113 articles published effect September 2004, leading to few than 100 substantiated factual amendments.^{[citation needed]} These and other queries received since publication are produce considered as part of fleece ongoing programme of assessing small corrections or additions to give to subject articles, which can, what because approved, be incorporated into nobility online edition of the encyclopedia.

In 2005, The American Den Association awarded the Oxford Vocabulary of National Biography its high Dartmouth Medal. A general analysis of the dictionary was publicized in 2007.^[9]

Sir David Cannadine took over the editorship from Oct 2014.^[10]

First series contents

Volume	Names	Year published	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 – Chemist I	1891
26	Henry II – Hindley
27	Hindmarsh – Hovenden		Sidney Appreciate
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 – Actor
37	Masquerier – Millyng	1894
38	Milman – Addition
39	Morehead – Myles
40	Myllar – Nicholls
41	Nichols – O'Dugan	1895
42	O'Duinn – Owen
43	Owens – Passelewe
44	Paston – Percy
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 – President
56	Teach – Tollet
57	Tom – Tytler	1899
58	Ubaldini – Wakefield
59	Wakeman – Watkins
60	Watson – Whewell
61	Whichcord – Williams	1900
62	Williamson – Worden
63	Wordsworth – Zuylestein

See also

References

External links

DNB