Biography

Find biographical information on the Internet through searchable databases and dictionaries, and read obituaries.

American National Biography. Available in the Library at Archives II.
Published by the Oxford University Press, this 24-volume dictionary is the most inclusive biographical resource for American history available. Go the the ANB Biography of the Day web site to see a sample entry.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
Search for members of Congress from 1774 to the present.
Biography.com
This database includes over 20,000 entries. Search by full name or just the last name.

Biographical Dictionary
This dictionary includes over 28,000 notable men and women who have influenced history from ancient times to the present day. It is searchable by years of birth and/or death, positions held, professions, literary and artistic works, achievements, and other keywords.
World Biographical Index
Originally created only in German, this site has recently been expanded to English. It contains short biographical entries for eminent individuals from North and South America, Western and Central Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania.

New York Public Library’s Research Guide to Obituaries
A useful bibliography for searching obituaries for genealogical information.
Obituary Daily Times
A daily index of published obituaries, with approximately 1500 to 2000 new entries per day. Intended for historians and genealogical researchers. The database does not have the obituaries themselves, but instead gives citations to the newspapers which publish them.
Political Graveyard
Locations of the graves of politicians. Also includes manner of death, and other biographical information about American politicians.

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