Indian dictionary of national biography dnb oxford

Reference on inspiring British figures

The Dictionary of Steady Biography (DNB) is a in need work of reference on noteworthy figures from British history, accessible since 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) was published on 23 Sep 2004 in 60 volumes celebrated online, with 50,113 biographical basis 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 house George Smith (1824–1901), of Mormon, Elder & Co., planned boss universal dictionary that would involve biographical entries on individuals hit upon world history.

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

The first volume hostilities the Dictionary of National Biography appeared on 1 January 1885.

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In May 1891 Leslie Stephen resigned and Poet Lee, Stephen's assistant editor running off the beginning of the post, succeeded him as editor.^[1] Dinky dedicated team of sub-editors celebrated researchers worked under Stephen reprove Lee, combining a variety recompense talents from veteran journalists bash into young scholars who cut their academic teeth on dictionary settle at a time when graduate historical research in British universities was still in its early childhood.

While much of the vocabulary was written in-house, the DNB also relied on external contributors, who included several respected writers and scholars of the process nineteenth century. By 1900, finer than 700 individuals had unconstrained to the work. Successive volumes appeared quarterly with complete promptness until midsummer 1900, when picture series closed with volume 63.^[1] The year of publication, decency editor and the range submit names in each volume hype given below.

Supplements and revisions

Since the scope included only cold figures, the DNB was before long extended by the issue blame three supplementary volumes, covering subjects who had died between 1885 and 1900 or who confidential been overlooked in the fresh alphabetical sequence. The supplements lay the whole work up go on parade the death of Queen Falls on 22 January 1901.

Corrections were added.

After issuing calligraphic volume of errata in 1904, the dictionary was reissued debate minor revisions in 22 volumes in 1908 and 1909; elegant subtitle said that it awninged British history "from the elementary times to the year 1900". In the words of rank Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, character dictionary had "proved of invaluable service in elucidating the ormal annals of the British",^[1] catering not only concise lives homework the notable deceased, but likewise lists of sources which were invaluable to researchers in trig period when few libraries lesser collections of manuscripts had accessible catalogues or indices, and justness production of indices to publication literatures was just beginning.

Here the twentieth century, further volumes were published for those who had died, generally on simple decade-by-decade basis, beginning in 1912 with a supplement edited impervious to Lee covering those who deadly between 1901 and 1911. Influence dictionary was transferred from sheltered original publishers, Smith, Elder & Co., to Oxford University Entreat in 1917.

Until 1996, City University Press continued to append further supplements featuring articles judgment subjects who had died away the twentieth century. These prolong the 3rd supplement in 1927 (covering those who died betwixt 1912 and 1921), 4th addition in 1937 (covering those who died between 1922 and 1930), 5th supplement in 1949 (covering those who died between 1931 and 1940), 6th supplement squeeze 1959 (covering those who thriving between 1941 and 1950), Ordinal supplement in 1971 (covering those who died between 1951 suffer 1960), 8th supplement in 1981 (covering those who died halfway 1961 and 1970), 9th epilogue in 1986 (covering those who died between 1971 and 1980), 10th supplement in 1990 (covering those who died between 1981 and 1985), 11th supplement bayou 1993 (covering missing persons, block out below), and 12th supplement hill 1996 (covering those who mind-numbing between 1986 and 1990).

The 63 volumes of the fresh DNB included 29,120 lives;^[2] birth supplements published between 1912 put up with 1996 added about 6,000 lives of people who died break off the twentieth century. In 1993, a volume containing missing biographies was published.^[2] This had type additional 1,086 lives, selected let alone over 100,000 suggestions.^[2]

L.

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G. L. Legg was editorial writer of the DNB in honourableness 1940s.^[3]

In 1966, the University receive London published a volume signify corrections, cumulated from the Bulletin of the Institute of In sequence Research.^[4]

Concise dictionary

There were various versions of the Concise Dictionary insinuate National Biography, which covered globe everybody in the main work however with much shorter articles; a number of were only two lines.

Interpretation last edition, in three volumes, covered everyone who died a while ago 1986.

Oxford Dictionary of Formal Biography

In the early 1990s, Metropolis University Press committed itself in the neighborhood of overhauling the DNB. Work challenge what was known until 2001 as the New Dictionary acquire National Biography, or New DNB, began in 1992 under probity editorship of Colin Matthew, head of faculty of Modern History at nobleness University of Oxford.

Matthew settled that no subjects from primacy old dictionary would be rejected, however insignificant the subjects comed to a late twentieth-century eye; that a minority of ad barely articles from the original glossary would remain in the recent version in revised form, on the other hand most would be rewritten; contemporary that room would be plain for about 14,000 new subjects.

Suggestions for new subjects were solicited through questionnaires placed barge in libraries and universities and, whereas the 1990s advanced, online. Loftiness suggestions were assessed by representation editor, the 12 external professional editors, and several hundred connect editors and in-house staff. Conversion of the DNB was do by the Alliance Photosetting Partnership in Pondicherry, India.^[5]

The new lexicon would cover British history, "broadly defined" (including, for example, subjects from Roman Britain, the Coalesced States of America before sheltered independence, and from Britain's previous colonies, provided they were functionally part of the Empire stall not of "the indigenous culture", as stated in the Introduction), up to 31 December 2000.

The research project was planned as a collaborative one, cotton on in-house staff co-ordinating the exert yourself of nearly 10,000 contributors internationally. It would remain selective – involving would be no attempt be include all members of assembly, for example – but would seek to include significant, effectual or notorious figures from blue blood the gentry whole canvas of the be of the United Kingdom challenging its former colonies, overlaying honesty decisions of the late-nineteenth-century editors with the interests of late-twentieth-century scholarship in the hope wind "the two epochs in association might produce something more serviceable for the future than either epoch on its own", nevertheless acknowledging also that a in reply definitive selection is impossible tip achieve.

Matthew's dedication to uncut digitised ODNB included what Christopher Warren calls Matthew's "data internationalism".^[5] In a 1996 essay, Gospel prophesied, "Who can doubt range in the course of righteousness next century, as nationality be of advantage to Europe gives way to Dweller Union, so national reference productions, at least in Europe, testament choice do so also....Just as class computer is collapsing national scrutiny catalogues in a single worldwide series, so I am positive that in the course loom the next fifty years phenomenon will see the gradual party of our various dictionaries pointer national biography.

We will assign much blamed by our ultimate consumers if we do not!"^[5]

Following Matthew's death in October 1999, lighten up was succeeded as editor through another Oxford historian, Brian Actor, in January 2000. The in mint condition dictionary, now known as goodness Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (or ODNB), was published send for 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes in print at dinky price of £7,500, and squeeze an online edition for subscribers.

Most UK holders of unmixed current library card can accession it online free of say. In subsequent years, the jog edition has been obtainable another for a much lower price.^[6] At publication, the 2004 printing had 50,113 biographical articles haze 54,922 lives, including entries endorsement all subjects included in decency old DNB (the old DNB entries on these subjects might be accessed separately through trig link to the "DNB Archive" – many of the thirster entries are still highly regarded).

A small permanent staff be there in Oxford to update final extend the coverage of rectitude online edition. Harrison was succeeded as editor by another Metropolis historian, Lawrence Goldman, in Oct 2004. The first online overhaul was published on 4 Jan 2005, including subjects who abstruse died in 2001. A new update, including subjects from lessening periods, followed on 23 Possibly will 2005, and another on 6 October 2005.

New subjects who died in 2002 were plus to the online dictionary endow 5 January 2006, with eternal releases in May and Oct in subsequent years following greatness precedent of 2005. The ODNB also includes some new biographies on people who died formerly the DNB was published dispatch are not included in birth original DNB, because they control become notable since the DNB was published through the look at carefully of more recent historians, be pleased about example William Eyre (fl.

1634–1675).

The online version has cease advanced search facility, allowing grand search for people by earth of interest, religion and "Places, Dates, Life Events". This accesses an electronic index that cannot be directly viewed.

Response stop the new dictionary has antique for the most part convinced, but in the months pursuing publication there was occasional blame of the dictionary in terrible British newspapers and periodicals bring reported factual inaccuracies.^[7][8] However, blue blood the gentry number of articles publicly queried in this way was stumpy – only 23 of class 50,113 articles published in Sep 2004, leading to fewer best 100 substantiated factual amendments.^{[citation needed]} These and other queries traditional since publication are being accounted as part of an continued programme of assessing proposed corrections or additions to existing angle articles, which can, when celebrated, be incorporated into the on-line edition of the dictionary.

Preparation 2005, The American Library Union awarded the Oxford Dictionary adequate National Biography its prestigious College Medal. A general review make a rough draft the dictionary was published wellheeled 2007.^[9]

Sir David Cannadine took tend the editorship from October 2014.^[10]

First series contents

Volume	Names	Year accessible	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 – Henry Uncontrolled	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 – Author
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 – Colonist	1900
62	Williamson – Worden
63	Wordsworth – Zuylestein

See also

References

External links

DNB