Biographical dictionary

Biographical dictionaries – a type of encyclopedic dictionary limited to biographical information – have been written in many languages. Many attempt to cover the major personalities of a country (with limitations, such as living persons only, in Who's Who, or deceased people only, in the Dictionary of National Biography). Others are specialized, in that they cover important names in a subject field, such as architecture or engineering.

The quality of biographical dictionaries varies. Most are long-established and authoritative, but some are simply schemes for flattering biographees into paying for commemorative copies of the publication. Anyone who receives an invitation to be included in a biographical dictionary should check the publication carefully. Warning signs include the offers of high-priced special commemorative editions, and requests for names and addresses of additional possible candidates for inclusion. Appearance in this article is not a guarantee of quality.

History

The first biographical dictionaries were written in the Muslim world from the 9th century onwards.^{[citation needed]} They contain more social data for a large segment of the population than that found in any other pre-industrial society. The earliest biographical dictionaries initially focused on the lives of the prophets of Islam and the their companions, with one of the earliest examples being The Book of The Major Classes by Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi, and then began documenting the lives of many other historical figures (from rulers to scholars) who lived in the medieval Islamic world.

List of biographical dictionaries

International

• A Biographical Dictionary of Railway Engineers
• Al-Fihrist al-Nadim
• Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890
• Who's Who in the World
• World Biographical Information System Online
• Anderson, Gerald with Robert Coote, eds, Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1999. ISBN 0802846807. ISBN 9780802846808.
• Anderson, Roger, Psychics, Sensitives, and Somnambules: A Biographical Dictionary with Bibliographies, Jefferson / London: McFarland, 2006. ISBN 0-7864-2770-1.
• Brown, Stuart, Biographical Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Philosophers, edited by Robert Wilkinson and Diane Collinson.
• Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church: Biographical Dictionary, online.
• Cohn-Sherbok, Daniel, Dictionary of Jewish Biography.
• Cousin, John William, 1910, A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature, London: J. M. Dent & Sons; New York: E. P. Dutton.
• Encyclopedia of World Biography, 17 volumes, Gale, 1997. ISBN 0787625469. ISBN 978-0787625467.
• Harvey, Joy, The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science, edited by Marilyn Ogilvie and Joy Harvey. ISBN 0415920388. ISBN 978-0415920384.
• Hinnells, John, Who's Who of World Religions, Macmillan. ISBN 0-14-051349-3.
• Kiernan, T, Who's Who in the History of Philosophy, New York, 1965.
• Lewis, James, Peculiar Prophets: A Biographical Dictionary of New Religions, Paragon. ISBN 1557787689.
• McNeil, Ian, Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology, edited by Lance Day and Ian McNeil. ISBN 0415193990. ISBN 978-0415193993.
• Mitchell, Sarah, Elizabeth Tootill, Derek Gjertsen, and John Daintith, Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists, Taylor & Francis, 1994. ISBN 0750302879. ISBN 978-0750302876.
• Pleasants, Helene et al, eds, The Biographical Dictionary of Parapsychology, New York: Helix, Garrett, 1964.
• Porter, Roy, The Biographical Dictionary of Scientists, 1994. ISBN 0195210832 | ISBN 978-0195210835.
• Saunders, J.W.W., A Biographical Dictionary of Renaissance Poets and Dramatists, 1520-1650.
• Taitz, Emily, Holocaust Survivors: A Biographical Dictionary, Greenwood, 2007. ISBN 978-0-313-33676-8. ISBN 978-0-313-06343-5
• Thomas, H, Biographical Encyclopedia of Philosophy, New York, 1965.
• Thomson, David, The New Biographical Dictionary of Film. ISBN 978-0-307-27174-7.
• Union of International Associations, ed, International Biographical Dictionary of Religion, Munich: KG Saur Verlag, 1994. ISBN 3-598-11100-2.
• Webster's New Biographical Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster Inc. ISBN 0-87779-543-6
• Weinberg, Robert, Biographical Dictionary of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists.
• Wigoder, Geoffrey, Dictionary of Jewish Biography.
• Wright, Jonathan, Shapers of the Great Debate on the Freedom of Religion: A Biographical Dictionary, Greenwood, 2005. ISBN 0313318891.

See also: List of biographical dictionaries of women writers

Australia

• Australian Dictionary of Biography
• Dictionary of Australian Biography
• Dictionary of Western Australians
• Dictionary of Australian Artists Online

Canada

• Dictionary of Canadian Biography
• Canadian Who's Who, published by University of Toronto Press

China and Chinese

• Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity, online.
• Brown, Kerry et al, eds, Berkshire Dictionary of Chinese Biography, 4 volumes, Great Barrington, Massachusetts: Berkshire, 2012. ISBN 978-1933782-66-9.
• De Crespigny, Rafe, A Biographical Dictionary of Later Han to the Three Kingdoms (23-220 AD), Brill. ISBN 9789004156050. ISBN 9004156054.
• Giles, Herbert Allen, A Chinese Biographical Dictionary, Literature House, 1964.
• Zhang, Wenxian & Ilan Alon, eds, Biographical Dictionary of New Chinese Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders, 2009. ISBN 1847206360. ISBN 978-1847206367.

France

• Nouvelle Biographie Générale (1853 to 1866), 42 volumes.
• Dictionnaire de biographie des hommes célèbres de l'Alsace (1909–1910).
• Dictionnaire de biographie française (1932).
• Nouveau dictionnaire de biographie alsacienne (1982).

German-speaking Europe

• Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (1875)
• Neue Deutsche Biographie (1953)
• Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (1990)
• Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie (1995)

Great Britain

• A Biographical Dictionary of British Coleopterists – online at The Coleopterist
• A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers
• British Biographical Index
• Chambers Biographical Dictionary
• Concise Dictionary of National Biography
• Dictionary of National Biography
• Dictionary of Welsh Biography
• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• Who's Who, published by A & C Black
• Who's Who in Catholic Life, published by Gabriel Communications, publishers of The Universe and the Catholic Times

India

• Buckland, Charles Edward, Dictionary of Indian Biography.
• Chattopadhyay, Anjana, Biographical Dictionary of Indian Scientists, Rupa, 2002. ISBN 8171676693.
• Lethbridge, Roper, The Golden Book of India: A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary of the Ruling Princes, Chiefs, Nobles, and Other Personages, Titled or Decorated, of the Indian Empire.
• Rao, Hayavando, The Indian Biographical Dictionary, University of California Libraries, 2011. ISBN 1125240652. ISBN 978-1125240656.
• Riddick, John, Who Was Who in British India.
• Scholberg, Henry, Biographical Dictionary of Greater India.
• Sharma, Jagdish Saran, The National Biographical Dictionary of India, New Delhi: Sterling, 1972.

Islamic world

• Beale, Thomas William & Henry George Keene, An Oriental Biographical Dictionary, Manohar Reprints, 1971.
• Bewley, Aisha, Muslim Women: A Biographical Dictionary, Ta-Ha, 2004. ISBN 1842000535.
• Frank, Allen, An Islamic Biographical Dictionary of the Eastern Kazakh Steppe 1770-1912, Brill, 2004. ISBN 9004141278
• Leaman, Oliver, Biographical Encyclopedia of Islamic Philosophy.
• Jenkins, Who's Who in Islam: A Biographical Dictionary of Persons and Groups from the Time of Muhammad to the Present, McFarland, 2007. ISBN 0786423765. ISBN 978-0786423767.
• Khan, Mohammed Ishaq, Biographical Dictionary of Sufism, 2009. ISBN 81-7304-618-6.

Italy

• Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (1925)
• Enciclopedia Biografica Universale

Japan

• Bingenheimer, Marcus, A Biographical Dictionary of the Japanese Student-Monks of the Seventh and Early Eighth Centuries, 2001. ISBN 978-3-89129-693-6.

Native North American

• Bataille, Gretchen & Laurie Lisa, eds, Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary.
• Irvine, Biographical Dictionary of Indians of the Americas, 1990.
• Johansen, Bruce, 2010, Native Americans Today: A Biographical Dictionary, Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood.
• Waldman, Carl, Biographical Dictionary of American Indian History to 1900, 2001. ISBN 0816042535.

New Zealand

• Dictionary of New Zealand Biography

Poland

• Polski słownik biograficzny

Spain

• Diccionario Biográfico Español (2011)

Tibet

• Khetsun Sangpo, bod du sgrub brgyad shing rta mched brgyad las (Biographical Dictionary of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism), Dharmsala, Himachal Pradesh: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 12 volumes, 1973-1990.

United States

• African American National Biography Project
• American National Biography
• Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Encyclopedia of American Biography
• Who's Who in America, published by Marquis Who's Who
• Who’s Who in Nebraska (1940)
• Kim, Cordova, Fugita, Ng, Singh, eds, Distinguished Asian Americans: A Biographical Dictionary, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood, 1999.
• Kranz, Rachel, The Biographical Dictionary of Black Americans.
• Melton, John Gordon, Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders, New York/London: Garland, 1986.
• Ohles, Frederik, Shirley Ohles, and John Ramsay, Biographical Dictionary of Modern American Educators, 1997.
• Olitzky, Kerry, Lance Sussman, and Malcolm Stern, Reform Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook. ISBN: 0313246289. ISBN 978-0313246289.
• Samuels, Peggy, The Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West, Doubleday.