Biographical dictionary

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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.

Contents

[edit] 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.[1]

[edit] List of biographical dictionaries

[edit] International

See also: List of biographical dictionaries of women writers

[edit] Australia

[edit] Canada

[edit] 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.

[edit] France

[edit] German-speaking Europe

[edit] Great Britain

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Italy

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] New Zealand

[edit] Poland

[edit] Spain

[edit] 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.

[edit] United States

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Josef W. Meri (2005), Medieval Islamic civilization: an encyclopedia, 2, Routledge, p. 110, ISBN 0415966906 
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