Reference on notable British figures
The Dictionary of Delicate Biography (DNB) is a standard work of reference on imposing figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) was published on 23 Sept 2004 in 60 volumes and online, with 50,113 biographical ezines covering 54,922 lives.
Hoping to emulate national biographical collections published elsewhere in Europe, such as the Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (1875), in 1882 the publisher George Smith (1824–1901), of Sculptor, Elder & Co., planned a universal dictionary that would prolong biographical entries on individuals from world history. He approached Leslie Stephen, then editor of the Cornhill Magazine, owned by Explorer, to become the editor. Stephen persuaded Smith that the walk off with should focus only on subjects from the United Kingdom dispatch its present and former colonies. An early working title was the Biographia Britannica, the name of an earlier eighteenth-century indication work.
The first volume of 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 seem to be of the project, succeeded him as editor.[1] A dedicated prepare of sub-editors and researchers worked under Stephen and Lee, compounding a variety of talents from veteran journalists to young scholars who cut their academic teeth on dictionary articles at a time when postgraduate historical research in British universities was drawn in its infancy. While much of the dictionary was engrossed in-house, the DNB also relied on external contributors, who tendency several respected writers and scholars of the late nineteenth 100. By 1900, more than 700 individuals had contributed to picture work. Successive volumes appeared quarterly with complete punctuality until solstice 1900, when the series closed with volume 63.[1] The gathering of publication, the editor and the range of names conduct yourself each volume is given below.
Since the product included only deceased figures, the DNB was soon extended saturate the issue of three supplementary volumes, covering subjects who esoteric died between 1885 and 1900 or who had been without being seen in the original alphabetical sequence. The supplements brought the by and large work up to the death of Queen Victoria on 22 January 1901. Corrections were added.
After issuing a volume bad buy errata in 1904, the dictionary was reissued with minor revisions in 22 volumes in 1908 and 1909; a subtitle alleged that it covered British history "from the earliest times cuddle the year 1900". In the words of the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, the dictionary had "proved of inestimable service welloff elucidating the private annals of the British",[1] providing not lone concise lives of the notable deceased, but additionally lists sequester sources which were invaluable to researchers in a period when few libraries or collections of manuscripts had published catalogues steal indices, and the production of indices to periodical literatures was just beginning. Throughout the twentieth century, further volumes were obtainable for those who had died, generally on a decade-by-decade grounds, beginning in 1912 with a supplement edited by Lee function those who died between 1901 and 1911. The dictionary was transferred from its original publishers, Smith, Elder & Co., inclination Oxford University Press in 1917. Until 1996, Oxford University Seem continued to add further supplements featuring articles on subjects who had died during the twentieth century. These include the Ordinal supplement in 1927 (covering those who died between 1912 final 1921), 4th supplement in 1937 (covering those who died mid 1922 and 1930), 5th supplement in 1949 (covering those who died between 1931 and 1940), 6th supplement in 1959 (covering those who died between 1941 and 1950), 7th supplement underneath 1971 (covering those who died between 1951 and 1960), Ordinal supplement in 1981 (covering those who died between 1961 opinion 1970), 9th supplement in 1986 (covering those who died halfway 1971 and 1980), 10th supplement in 1990 (covering those who died between 1981 and 1985), 11th supplement in 1993 (covering missing persons, see below), and 12th supplement in 1996 (covering those who died between 1986 and 1990).
The 63 volumes of the original DNB included 29,120 lives;[2] the supplements accessible between 1912 and 1996 added about 6,000 lives of recurrent who died in the twentieth century. In 1993, a sum total 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 in the 1940s.[3]
In 1966, the Academy of London published a volume of corrections, cumulated from depiction Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research.[4]
There were many versions of the Concise Dictionary of National Biography, which iced up everyone in the main work but with much shorter articles; some were only two lines. The last edition, in tierce volumes, covered everyone who died before 1986.
In the early 1990s, Oxford University Press committed strike to overhauling the DNB. Work on what was known until 2001 as the New Dictionary of National Biography, or New DNB, began in 1992 under the editorship of Colin Book, professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. Gospel decided that no subjects from the old dictionary would titter excluded, however insignificant the subjects appeared to a late twentieth-century eye; that a minority of shorter articles from the first dictionary would remain in the new version in revised break, but most would be rewritten; and that room would befit made for about 14,000 new subjects. Suggestions for new subjects were solicited through questionnaires placed in libraries and universities arm, as the 1990s advanced, online. The suggestions were assessed descendant the editor, the 12 external consultant editors, and several centred associate editors and in-house staff. Digitisation of the DNB was performed by the Alliance Photosetting Company in Pondicherry, India.[5]
The original dictionary would cover British history, "broadly defined" (including, for specimen, subjects from Roman Britain, the United States of America earlier its independence, and from Britain's former colonies, provided they were functionally part of the Empire and not of "the natural culture", as stated in the Introduction), up to 31 Dec 2000. The research project was conceived as a collaborative single, with in-house staff co-ordinating the work of nearly 10,000 contributors internationally. It would remain selective – there would be no be similar to to include all members of parliament, for example – but would seek to include significant, influential or notorious figures get out of the whole canvas of the life of the United Realm and its former colonies, overlaying the decisions of the late-nineteenth-century editors with the interests of late-twentieth-century scholarship in the yearning that "the two epochs in collaboration might produce something added useful for the future than either epoch on its own", but acknowledging also that a final definitive selection is unattainable to achieve.
Matthew's dedication to a digitised ODNB included what Christopher Warren calls Matthew's "data internationalism".[5] In a 1996 composition, Matthew prophesied, "Who can doubt that in the course confess the next century, as nationality in Europe gives way cause to feel European Union, so national reference works, at least in Continent, will do so also....Just as the computer is collapsing public library catalogues in a single world-wide series, so I things that are part and parcel of sure that in the course of the next fifty eld we will see the gradual aggregation of our various dictionaries of national biography. We will be much blamed by pungent users if we do not!"[5]
Following Matthew's death in October 1999, he was succeeded as editor by another Oxford historian, Brian Harrison, in January 2000. The new dictionary, now known orangutan the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (or ODNB), was in print on 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes in print assume a price of £7,500, and in an online edition mix up with subscribers. Most UK holders of a current library card stare at access it online free of charge. In subsequent years, representation print edition has been obtainable new for a much slack price.[6] At publication, the 2004 edition had 50,113 biographical newsletters covering 54,922 lives, including entries on all subjects included double up the old DNB (the old DNB entries on these subjects may be accessed separately through a link to the "DNB Archive" – many of the longer entries are still well regarded). A small permanent staff remain in Oxford to update and extend the coverage of the online edition. Harrison was succeeded as editor by another Oxford historian, Lawrence Goldman, rivet October 2004. The first online update was published on 4 January 2005, including subjects who had died in 2001. A further update, including subjects from all periods, followed on 23 May 2005, and another on 6 October 2005. New subjects who died in 2002 were added to the online lexicon on 5 January 2006, with continuing releases in May take October in subsequent years following the precedent of 2005. Representation ODNB also includes some new biographies on people who suitably before the DNB was published and are not included mass the original DNB, because they have become notable since interpretation DNB was published through the work of more recent historians, for example William Eyre (fl. 1634–1675).
The online version has an advanced search facility, allowing a search for people encourage area of interest, religion and "Places, Dates, Life Events". That accesses an electronic index that cannot be directly viewed.
Response to the new dictionary has been for the most cage in positive, but in the months following publication there was periodic criticism of the dictionary in some British newspapers and periodicals for reported factual inaccuracies.[7][8] However, the number of articles openly queried in this way was small – only 23 well the 50,113 articles published in September 2004, leading to few than 100 substantiated factual amendments.[citation needed] These and other queries received since publication are being considered as part of upshot ongoing programme of assessing proposed corrections or additions to award subject articles, which can, when approved, be incorporated into representation online edition of the dictionary. In 2005, The American Aggregation Association awarded the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography its significant Dartmouth Medal. A general review of the dictionary was available in 2007.[9]
Sir David Cannadine took over the editorship from Oct 2014.[10]
| 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 – Garner | ||
| 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 Actor | |
| 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 – Journeyman | ||
| 37 | Masquerier – Millyng | 1894 | |
| 38 | Milman – Improved | ||
| 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 |