Library Guides: JL MC 201 & JL MC 302: START HERE

The best place to start your biography search is with Biography in Context or Credo Reference!! These sources will give an overview of the person and their life's work. For a lengthier biography use Find Books or the Specialized Subjects section of this guide.

Biography in Context This link opens in a new window
Contains international biographies from 170+ reference books with content from authoritative sources.
Biography in Context tutorial

Other large sources:

American National Biography This link opens in a new window
Offers lengthy essays of more than 18,700 American men & women from all eras and walks of life. Only covers deceased individuals.

Biography.com
The website of A & E’s Biography television series includes a searchable text of 15,000 entries from The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia. This resource is useful for current or popular personalities and includes video clips of some individuals.

Current Biography Yearbook
Call Number: CT100 C93 (Tier 2 - Reference)
Publication Date: 1940-present
This set mainly covers biographies in contemporary news and magazine sources. It include individuals who are famous in the moment, but whose popularity dwindles over time and thus may not get covered by Biography in Context. 1940-2006 are in the General Collection (Floor 2). 2007-present are in Tier 2 Reference Collection.

Encyclopedia of World Biography
This website offers lengthy biographies of thousands of people from around the world, with an emphasis on famous people of the 20th century. Updated through 2007 only.

National Cyclopaedia of American Biography
Call Number: CT213 .N212 (Tier 2 - Reference)
Publication Date: 1893-1984
v.1-46 are free online; v.47-63 are in hard copy only. This is a multi-decade series of volumes of biographies of Americans in every state. It contains more than 60,000 entries, mostly compiled from information provided by the subjects or their families, though sources are not usually credited. A good source for information on individuals pre-1984 that are not contained in other sources.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography by Lawrence Goldman (Editor)
Call Number: DA28 O95 (Tier 2 Reference)
3 volumes covering all of British history - up through 2008. It includes biographies of noteworthy men and women who have left their mark on Britain.

Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a good starting place for information about a person. The links at the bottom of each article can lead you to more sources.

Credo Reference: Biography

Nobel Prize Winners

Nobel Prize Winners
Covers prize winners from 1901 to the present. For each winner it includes their acceptance speech, Nobel Lecture, photo gallery, biography, and links out to other resources about the individual.