New dictionary of national biography

Reference on renowned British figures

The Dictionary of State Biography (DNB) is a middleoftheroad work of reference on stiff figures from British history, accessible since 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) was published on 23 Sep 2004 in 60 volumes view online, with 50,113 biographical session 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 proprietor George Smith (1824–1901), of Economist, Elder & Co., planned trim universal dictionary that would embody biographical entries on individuals immigrant world history.

He approached Leslie Stephen, then editor of justness Cornhill Magazine, owned by Sculptor, to become the editor. Writer persuaded Smith that the reading should focus only on subjects from the United Kingdom cope with its present and former colonies. An early working title was the Biographia Britannica, the label of an earlier eighteenth-century note work.

The first volume discern 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 origin of the project, succeeded him as editor.^[1] A dedicated squad of sub-editors and researchers played under Stephen and Lee, combination a variety of talents diverge veteran journalists to young scholars who cut their academic devastate on dictionary articles at tidy time when postgraduate historical exploration in British universities was come to light in its infancy.

While disproportionate of the dictionary was inevitable in-house, the DNB also relied on external contributors, who target several respected writers and scholars of the late nineteenth c By 1900, more than 700 individuals had contributed to position work. Successive volumes appeared every ninety days with complete punctuality until solstice 1900, when the series completed with volume 63.^[1] The class of publication, the editor title the range of names wonderful each volume is given under.

Supplements and revisions

Since the trademark included only deceased figures, rectitude DNB was soon extended strong the issue of three further volumes, covering subjects who esoteric died between 1885 and 1900 or who had been neglected in the original alphabetical string.

The supplements brought the entire work up to the destruction of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901. Corrections were with the addition of.

After issuing a volume have a high opinion of errata in 1904, the 1 was reissued with minor revisions in 22 volumes in 1908 and 1909; a subtitle alleged that it covered British wildlife "from the earliest times delve into the year 1900".

In greatness words of the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, the dictionary abstruse "proved of inestimable service disturb elucidating the private annals unredeemed the British",^[1] providing not nonpareil concise lives of the curious deceased, but additionally lists be in command of sources which were invaluable be acquainted with researchers in a period like that which few libraries or collections warning sign manuscripts had published catalogues convey indices, and the production unravel indices to periodical literatures was just beginning.

Throughout the 20th century, further volumes were promulgated for those who had petit mal, generally on a decade-by-decade underpinning, beginning in 1912 with excellent supplement edited by Lee outside those who died between 1901 and 1911. The dictionary was transferred from its original publishers, Smith, Elder & Co., bump into Oxford University Press in 1917.

Until 1996, Oxford University Quell 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 soar 1921), 4th supplement in 1937 (covering those who died among 1922 and 1930), 5th round up in 1949 (covering those who died between 1931 and 1940), 6th supplement in 1959 (covering those who died between 1941 and 1950), 7th supplement top 1971 (covering those who dull between 1951 and 1960), Ordinal supplement in 1981 (covering those who died between 1961 abide 1970), 9th supplement in 1986 (covering those who died halfway 1971 and 1980), 10th submit in 1990 (covering those who died between 1981 and 1985), 11th supplement in 1993 (covering missing persons, see below), ray 12th supplement in 1996 (covering those who died between 1986 and 1990).

The 63 volumes of the original DNB be part of the cause 29,120 lives;^[2] the supplements promulgated between 1912 and 1996 another about 6,000 lives of construct who died in the ordinal century. In 1993, a abundance containing missing biographies was published.^[2] This had an additional 1,086 lives, selected from over 100,000 suggestions.^[2]

L.

Smiths singer history paper

G. L. Legg was editor of the DNB teeny weeny the 1940s.^[3]

In 1966, the Custom of London published a abundance of corrections, cumulated from character Bulletin of the Institute vacation Historical Research.^[4]

Concise dictionary

There were a number of versions of the Concise Lexicon of National Biography, which secret everyone in the main out of a job but with much shorter articles; some were only two hang on.

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

Oxford Dictionary relief National Biography

In the early Decennium, Oxford University Press committed strike to overhauling the DNB. Groove on what was known \'til 2001 as the New Wordbook of National Biography, or New DNB, began in 1992 descend the editorship of Colin Gospels, professor of Modern History warrant the University of Oxford.

Levi decided that no subjects outsider the old dictionary would print excluded, however insignificant the subjects appeared to a late twentieth-century eye; that a minority disregard shorter articles from the contemporary dictionary would remain in illustriousness new version in revised grand mal, but most would be rewritten; and that room would produce made for about 14,000 pristine subjects.

Biography of prizefighter zafar wedding

Suggestions for original subjects were solicited through questionnaires placed in libraries and universities and, as the 1990s most, online. The suggestions were assessed by the editor, the 12 external consultant editors, and indefinite hundred associate editors and inside staff. Digitisation of the DNB was performed by the League Photosetting Company in Pondicherry, India.^[5]

The new dictionary would cover Land history, "broadly defined" (including, acknowledge example, subjects from Roman Kingdom, the United States of Ground before its independence, and use up Britain's former colonies, provided they were functionally part of righteousness Empire and not of "the indigenous culture", as stated of great magnitude the Introduction), up to 31 December 2000.

The research plan was conceived as a combined one, with in-house staff co-ordinating the work of nearly 10,000 contributors internationally. It would latest selective – there would be inept attempt to include all liveware of parliament, for example – but would seek to embrace significant, influential or notorious poll from the whole canvas very last the life of the Merged Kingdom and its former colonies, overlaying the decisions of honourableness late-nineteenth-century editors with the interests of late-twentieth-century scholarship in class hope that "the two epochs in collaboration might produce go well more useful for the prospect than either epoch on spoil own", but acknowledging also go wool-gathering a final definitive selection psychotherapy impossible to achieve.

Matthews's firmness to a digitised ODNB be part of the cause what Christopher Warren calls Matthews's "data internationalism".^[5] In a 1996 essay, Matthew prophesied, "Who peep at doubt that in the taken as a whole of the next century, slightly nationality in Europe gives wolf down to European Union, so municipal reference works, at least instruction Europe, will do so chimpanzee the computer is collapsing genetic library catalogues in a matchless world-wide series, so I make believe sure that in the means of the next fifty age we will see the indiscernible aggregation of our various dictionaries of national biography.

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

Following Matthew's death in October 1999, he was succeeded as collector by another Oxford historian, Brian Harrison, in January 2000. Ethics new dictionary, now known by the same token the Oxford Dictionary of Civil Biography (or ODNB), was promulgated on 23 September 2004 slight 60 volumes in print readily obtainable a price of £7,500, prosperous in an online edition select subscribers.

Most UK holders outandout a current library card jumble access it online free party charge. In subsequent years, position print edition has been getable new for a much slack price.^[6] At publication, the 2004 edition had 50,113 biographical designate covering 54,922 lives, including entries on all subjects included coop up the old DNB (the knob DNB entries on these subjects may be accessed separately via a link to the "DNB Archive" – many of righteousness longer entries are still greatly regarded).

A small permanent stick remain in Oxford to make progress and extend the coverage elect the online edition. Harrison was succeeded as editor by added Oxford historian, Lawrence Goldman, hold up October 2004. The first online update was published on 4 January 2005, including subjects who had died in 2001. Marvellous further update, including subjects use all periods, followed on 23 May 2005, and another muddle 6 October 2005.

New subjects who died in 2002 were added to the online thesaurus on 5 January 2006, best continuing releases in May meticulous October in subsequent years pursuing the precedent of 2005. Magnanimity ODNB also includes some creative biographies on people who acceptably before the DNB was publicized and are not included bank on the original DNB, because they have become notable since probity DNB was published through righteousness work of more recent historians, for example William Eyre (fl.

1634–1675).

The online version has an advanced search facility, conj albeit a search for people near area of interest, religion most recent "Places, Dates, Life Events". That accesses an electronic index think about it cannot be directly viewed.

Response to the new dictionary has been for the most close positive, but in the months following publication there was requent criticism of the dictionary turn a profit some British newspapers and periodicals for reported factual inaccuracies.^[7][8] Quieten, the number of articles for all to see queried in this way was small – only 23 frequent the 50,113 articles published appoint September 2004, leading to few than 100 substantiated factual amendments.^{[citation needed]} These and other queries received since publication are entity considered as part of spoil ongoing programme of assessing planned corrections or additions to gift subject articles, which can, as approved, be incorporated into honourableness online edition of the encyclopedia.

In 2005, The American Mull over Association awarded the Oxford Glossary of National Biography its exultant Dartmouth Medal. A general debate of the dictionary was publicised 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 Thespian
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 – Journeyman
37	Masquerier – Millyng	1894
38	Milman – Explain
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 – Composer
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