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

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

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

Italy

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

New Zealand

• Dictionary of New Zealand Biography

Poland

• Polski słownik biograficzny

Spain

• Diccionario Biográfico Español (2011)

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)