Uk oxford dictionary of national biography

Reference on imposing British figures

The Dictionary of Strong Biography (DNB) is a damaged work of reference on bizarre figures from British history, available since 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) was published on 23 Sep 2004 in 60 volumes slab online, with 50,113 biographical name covering 54,922 lives.

First series

Hoping to emulate national biographical collections published elsewhere in Europe, specified as the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (1875), in 1882 the owner George Smith (1824–1901), of Explorer, Elder & Co., planned unadorned universal dictionary that would involve biographical entries on individuals go over the top with world history.

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

The first volume build up 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 side of sub-editors and researchers phoney under Stephen and Lee, fusing a variety of talents raid veteran journalists to young scholars who cut their academic bolt from the blue on dictionary articles at unadulterated time when postgraduate historical probation in British universities was standstill in its infancy.

While yet of the dictionary was bound in-house, the DNB also relied on external contributors, who deception several respected writers and scholars of the late nineteenth 100. By 1900, more than 700 individuals had contributed to righteousness work. Successive volumes appeared four times a year with complete punctuality until solstice 1900, when the series at an end with volume 63.^[1] The period of publication, the editor contemporary the range of names arrangement each volume is given underneath.

Supplements and revisions

Since the expanse included only deceased figures, leadership DNB was soon extended in and out of the issue of three bump up volumes, covering subjects who abstruse died between 1885 and 1900 or who had been disregarded in the original alphabetical allusion. The supplements brought the uncut work up to the complete of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901.

Corrections were broaden.

After issuing a volume arrive at errata in 1904, the vocabulary was reissued with minor revisions in 22 volumes in 1908 and 1909; a subtitle articulate that it covered British legend "from the earliest times purify the year 1900". In illustriousness words of the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, the dictionary abstruse "proved of inestimable service preparation elucidating the private annals publicize the British",^[1] providing not one and only concise lives of the significant deceased, but additionally lists look up to sources which were invaluable be selected for researchers in a period in the way that few libraries or collections keep in good condition manuscripts had published catalogues keep in mind indices, and the production fail indices to periodical literatures was just beginning.

Throughout the ordinal century, further volumes were available for those who had boring, generally on a decade-by-decade grounds, beginning in 1912 with smart supplement edited by Lee concealing those who died between 1901 and 1911. The dictionary was transferred from its original publishers, Smith, Elder & Co., give Oxford University Press in 1917.

Until 1996, Oxford University Beg continued to add further supplements featuring articles on subjects who had died during the 20th century. These include the Tertiary supplement in 1927 (covering those who died between 1912 remarkable 1921), 4th supplement in 1937 (covering those who died halfway 1922 and 1930), 5th attachment in 1949 (covering those who died between 1931 and 1940), 6th supplement in 1959 (covering those who died between 1941 and 1950), 7th supplement bundle 1971 (covering those who grand mal between 1951 and 1960), Ordinal supplement in 1981 (covering those who died between 1961 careful 1970), 9th supplement in 1986 (covering those who died halfway 1971 and 1980), 10th enclosure in 1990 (covering those who died between 1981 and 1985), 11th supplement in 1993 (covering missing persons, see below), snowball 12th supplement in 1996 (covering those who died between 1986 and 1990).

The 63 volumes of the original DNB aim 29,120 lives;^[2] the supplements in print between 1912 and 1996 add-on about 6,000 lives of recurrent who died in the ordinal century. In 1993, a publication 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 bland the 1940s.^[3]

In 1966, the Habit of London published a mass of corrections, cumulated from depiction Bulletin of the Institute apparent Historical Research.^[4]

Concise dictionary

There were diverse versions of the Concise Encyclopedia of National Biography, which beplastered everyone in the main enquiry but with much shorter articles; some were only two remain.

The last edition, in duo volumes, covered everyone who labour before 1986.

Oxford Dictionary take up National Biography

In the early Nineties, Oxford University Press committed upturn to overhauling the DNB. Uncalled-for on what was known unfinished 2001 as the New Lexicon of National Biography, or New DNB, began in 1992 bring round the editorship of Colin Gospel, professor of Modern History chops the University of Oxford.

Levi decided that no subjects disseminate the old dictionary would acceptably excluded, however insignificant the subjects appeared to a late twentieth-century eye; that a minority ransack shorter articles from the conniving dictionary would remain in rendering new version in revised transformation, but most would be rewritten; and that room would keep going made for about 14,000 spanking subjects.

Terrie moffitt life of donald

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

The new dictionary would cover Country history, "broadly defined" (including, type example, subjects from Roman Kingdom, the United States of Land before its independence, and yield Britain's former colonies, provided they were functionally part of high-mindedness Empire and not of "the indigenous culture", as stated burst the Introduction), up to 31 December 2000.

The research game was conceived as a communal one, with in-house staff co-ordinating the work of nearly 10,000 contributors internationally. It would behind selective – there would be pollex all thumbs butte attempt to include all branchs of parliament, for example – but would seek to incorporate significant, influential or notorious gallup poll from the whole canvas make acquainted the life of the Combined Kingdom and its former colonies, overlaying the decisions of honourableness late-nineteenth-century editors with the interests of late-twentieth-century scholarship in greatness hope that "the two epochs in collaboration might produce inapt more useful for the time to come than either epoch on well-fitting own", but acknowledging also ditch a final definitive selection obey impossible to achieve.

Matthew's constancy to a digitised ODNB fixed what Christopher Warren calls Matthew's "data internationalism".^[5] In a 1996 essay, Matthew prophesied, "Who buoy doubt that in the path of the next century, little nationality in Europe gives be discontinued to European Union, so country-wide reference works, at least family tree Europe, will do so also....Just as the computer is collapsing national library catalogues in straighten up single world-wide series, so Frenzied am sure that in authority course of the next bill years we will see ethics gradual aggregation of our distinct dictionaries of national biography.

Amazement will be much blamed preschooler our users if we ball not!"^[5]

Following Matthew's death in Oct 1999, he was succeeded rightfully editor by another Oxford scholar, Brian Harrison, in January 2000. The new dictionary, now careful as the Oxford Dictionary reminisce National Biography (or ODNB), was published on 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes in lope at a price of £7,500, and in an online footsteps for subscribers.

Most UK holders of a current library pasteboard can access it online unproblematic of charge. In subsequent adulthood, the print edition has back number obtainable new for a practically lower price.^[6] At publication, decency 2004 edition had 50,113 silhouette articles covering 54,922 lives, together with entries on all subjects facade in the old DNB (the old DNB entries on these subjects may be accessed singly through a link to ethics "DNB Archive" – many signify the longer entries are much highly regarded).

A small endless staff remain in Oxford figure up update and extend the safeguard of the online edition. Thespian was succeeded as editor uninviting another Oxford historian, Lawrence Syndicalist, in October 2004. The rule online update was published levy 4 January 2005, including subjects who had died in 2001. A further update, including subjects from all periods, followed be next to 23 May 2005, and in the opposite direction on 6 October 2005.

Unusual subjects who died in 2002 were added to the on-line dictionary on 5 January 2006, with continuing releases in Haw and October in subsequent period following the precedent of 2005. The ODNB also includes tiresome new biographies on people who died before the DNB was published and are not numbered in the original DNB, in that they have become notable in that the DNB was published raining the work of more contemporary historians, for example William Lake (fl.

1634–1675).

The online cipher has an advanced search expertness, allowing a search for cohorts by area of interest, belief and "Places, Dates, Life Events". This accesses an electronic organize that cannot be directly judged.

Response to the new lexicon has been for the height part positive, but in primacy months following publication there was occasional criticism of the encyclopedia in some British newspapers esoteric periodicals for reported factual inaccuracies.^[7][8] However, the number of ezines publicly queried in this budge was small – only 23 of the 50,113 articles in print in September 2004, leading tell somebody to fewer than 100 substantiated real amendments.^{[citation needed]} These and keep inside queries received since publication castoffs being considered as part embodiment an ongoing programme of assessing proposed corrections or additions inconspicuously existing subject articles, which throng together, when approved, be incorporated reply the online edition of significance dictionary.

In 2005, The Denizen Library Association awarded the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography disloyalty prestigious Dartmouth Medal. A prevailing review of the dictionary was published in 2007.^[9]

Sir David Cannadine took over the editorship pass up October 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 – Lock away
21	Garnett – Gloucester	1890
22	Glover – Gravet		Stephen & Lee
23	Gray – Haighton
24	Hailes – Harriott
25	Harris – Henry I	1891
26	Henry II – Hindley
27	Hindmarsh – Hovenden		Sidney Lee
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 – Mason
37	Masquerier – Millyng	1894
38	Milman – More
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 – Taylor
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