Getting Started
Finding biographical information can be easy or difficult, depending on the person. If it is a famous person, you shouldn't have much trouble. But if you are searching for information on someone who is not that well known, or perhaps only well known in certain areas (a famous biologist or economist, for example) you may have to dig deeper. Try looking for subject specific biographical databases, or search the catalog for books of biographies for a particular field or time in history.
Quick tip: If you don't know anything at all about the person a quick google search with their name in quotes (eg. "John Franklin Smith") will usually help. Feel free to look at any Wikipedia article about that person, but be sure to locate the original sources used in the article. DO NOT use Wikipedia as a source for your papers, your professors will NOT like that!
Finding Biographies
The library contains an extensive collection of online and print biographies.
Both e-book and print biographies can be found by searching the library catalog. Contained in the catalog are biographical sources pertaining to specific people, subjects, or time periods.
Biographies are also made available through the following databases.
Biography Databases
- Britannica Academic This link opens in a new windowIncludes a comprehensive collection of biographies, complete encyclopedia, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, and the Britannica Book of the Year
- AccessScience This link opens in a new windowIncludes biographies of scientists, recent research developments, and news as well as McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology
- Biographical Directory of the United States Congress This link opens in a new windowIncludes: biographical, bibliographical and archival information of current and former senators, congress members, and other figures in American politics. Coverage: 1774 to present
- Biography Reference Bank This link opens in a new windowUse to find profiles and information for individuals from around the world and across all disciplines. Contains full-text articles, abstracts, obituaries, interviews, speeches, and images from books and journals.
- Dictionary of New Zealand Biography This link opens in a new windowIncludes: over 3,000 biographies of New Zealanders, originally published in the printed Dictionary of New Zealand Biography series between 1990 and 2000.
- Google Art Project This link opens in a new windowUse to find information on art, culture, and historical collections from around the world. Contains videos, images, information about the museums, art works, educational tools, and artists' biographic information.
- USA.gov This link opens in a new window
Print Biography Resources
We have over 490 different biographical directories in print at the library. Click here to see a list of all the titles in our catalog. You can find these shelved in the reference area on the first floor.
If you are searching for biographies in a particular subject or era, try adding more keywords to the catalog search. For example: Biography and Medicine or Biography and 18th Century.