U.S. History

The following is a selected list of biographical resources. In the online catalog, biographical sources can also be identified either through individual or family names or by using the subdivision, biography, with an appropriate subject heading. For example, American loyalists -- Biography. In keyword searching, use the term biography in your search statement. 

American National Biography, published under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), is the successor to the ACLS's  Dictionary of American Biography. It provide biographical information on over 17,000 men and women "whose lives have shaped the nation."  All entries are no longer living. Print copies can be found at Perkins Reference CT213 A68 1999 and Lilly Reference 920.073 A512 1999. 

Biography & Genealogy Master Index (1981 to present) indexes current, readily-available biographical reference sources, as well as the most important retrospective works that cover individuals, both living and deceased, from every field of activity and from all areas of the world.

Biography Resource Center contains information on over one million individuals, and coverage is international in scope. Sources available through this database include The Complete Marquis Who's Who, the Encyclopedia of World Biography, The Scribner's Encyclopedia of American Lives, Who's Who Among African Americans,  and the Dictionary of American Biography.

The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. 63 v. Clifton, N.J: J. T. White, 1892-1986. Perkins Reference E176 N27 and Lilly Reference 920.073 N277. One hallmark of the publication is that portraits are included in the entries. Bibliographies, however, are not available. The entries are not arranged alphabetically, so the volume indexes must be used.