Legend
- McGill users only
- In-library-use only
- Catalogue record
Thematic List of Biography Resources: A-Z
- Canada
- Classics
- China
- Literature
- Medicine
- Peerage
- Religion
- Science
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Women
General
- World Biographical Information System (Saur)
Short biographical information on over 4 million people with historical coverage of 4th century BC to the present, plus digital facsimile articles from more than 3,700 reference works, etc.
- Biography Index
References to individual and collective biographies from all fields and nationalities from English-language periodicals and books.
- Britannica Online
Search thousands of biographical articles.
- Chamber's Biographical Dictionary (Credo)
Over 17,500 biographies, all areas of human achievement.
- Dictionary of Political Biography (Oxford Reference)
Major political figures of the twentieth century.
- Marquis Who’s Who on the Web
Marquis Who’s Who on the Web provides biographies of over 1.3 million people of note, in the United States and around the world.
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A&E Television Networks.
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Indexes biographies available on a variety of web sites.
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Very brief biographical information and date of birth (and death, if applicable). Source of information not stated.
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Atypical index of influential people in politics, the military, intelligence, crime, business, and the media since World War I, drawn from over 700 books and serials--most from a leftist perspective. Limited access to non-registered users during peak hours.
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24,000+ biographies, over 13,0000 en français.
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"Information is provided by a variety of sources, not all of them reliable."
Canada
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Freely available online.
- Canadian Biographical Archive (World Biographical Information System Online)
- Order of Canada
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"Provides a direct link to more than 1,500 men and women at the National Research Council of Canada who have scientific, technical and professional expertise in literally thousands of topics".
- Ordre national du Québec
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Tool designed for members of the press looking for in-depth commentary on "the day's most pressing issues".
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"Combines rich narrative biography with clear graphic explanation to describe Canada's greatest scientists and their achievements."
Classics
- Who's Who in the Classical World
Focusing exclusively on real people in ancient Greece and Rome.
China
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Links to sites re current and historical figures, missionaries, sinologists from China, Singapore, Taiwan, etc.
Literature
- Dictionary of Writers and Their Works (Oxford Reference)
Mainly British literature 15th cent.- but also includes major American and Commonwealth writers.
- LION (Literature Online)
Includes biographical entries for 4,000+ authors.
- Literary Index (Gale)
Master index to every literary series published by Gale, many of which are located in the McLennan Reference collection and now partly available online at Literature Resource Center including Contemporary Authors , Dictionary of Literary Biography,and Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature.
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Searchable digital copy of 1859-71 edition from the Making of America project: 30,000 biographies and literary notices.
Medicine
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Osler Library provides information on biographical sources for history of medicine and allied fields for Canada and other countries.
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Obituaries of some members. Others in printed volumes available in Osler Library.
Peerage
- Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage
Of England, Scotland and Ireland. Includes deaths, new life peers, peerages in and out of abeyance.
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A Register of the reigning and formerly reigning imperial and royal sovereign houses and the non-sovereign princely & ducal houses of Europe, together with the complete listing of the imperial nobility of the Holy Roman Empire.
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Various editions on Google Books.
Religion
- Dictionary of Popes (Oxford Reference)
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With biographical articles from the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 edition. Cf. New Catholic Encyclopedia.
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Biographical articles from the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911 edition. Cf. New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2d ed. (2003) Birks Reading Room and Humanities & Social Sciences Reference BX841 N44 2003.
- Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Oxford Reference)
Includes recently canonized persons.
Science
- Dictionary of Scientists (Oxford Reference)
"From Archimedes and Copernicus to Stephen Hawking and Stephen Jay Gould."
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631 detailed biographies compiled by the late Richard S. Westfall, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, Indiana University
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"Combines rich narrative biography with clear graphic explanation to describe Canada's greatest scientists and their achievements."
UK
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
" ... more than 50,000 specially written biographies of the men and women from around the world who shaped all aspects of Britain's past."
- Kings and Queens of Britain (Oxford Reference)
USA
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About 17,500 deceased notable American men and women from all eras of American history. Includes illustrations and links to other web resources. Search methods include name, occupation, sex, birth date, death date, birthplace, contributor, keyword.
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Includes bibliographies.
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Biographical information culled from Biographical Directory of the US Congress (1989), state legislative manuals, Congressional Directory, newspaper obituaries, library vertical files, etc.
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The famous and the obscure, people and pets, mainly US Information provided by submissions.
Women
- Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History
- Black Women in America (Oxford Reference)
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Links to biographical articles posted on the Internet by others and some that were written by Danuta Bois who created and maintains this web page.
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"Part of an on-going project by students in mathematics classes at Agnes Scott College, in Atlanta, Georgia."
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Student biographical papers on women lawyers in the US from Stanford Law School. Site includes obituaries and bibliographies sections.
- 4000 Years of Women in Science: Biographies
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Descriptions of important contributions to science made by 83 women.