Biographical Dictionaries

The International Research, United States Research, and Virginia Research sections of this guide list primarily American, British, and Virginia biographical dictionaries. Genealogists interested in historical biographical dictionaries for other countries should consult the online catalog under the name of the country, for example, “Germany–Biography.”

The three sources below are basically “finding lists,” that is, they refer the user to specialized biographical dictionaries which may provide specific information on the subject.

Law Library Stacks
CT103 .H9 1976
Hyamson, Albert M. A Dictionary of universal biography of all ages and all peoples. 2d ed., entirely re-written. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1976.An index to twenty-four of the most comprehensive biographical dictionaries and encyclopedias, including the Belgian, German, Italian, French, and Australian national biographical dictionaries. However, the Dictionary of American Biography and the Dictionary of National Biography are the only dictionaries that are completely indexed. Entries are arranged
alphabetically by name, include birth and death dates and occupations, and refer the user to the appropriate dictionary source where additional information can be found.
Alderman Reference
Z5301 .I5
Lobies, Jean Pierre, ed. Index bio-bibliographicus notorum hominem.
Osnabruck: Biblio Verlag, 1974-A name index to the works included in Slocum (below). Part C, the “Corpus Alphabeticum,” lists personal names, birth and death dates when known, occupation, and an item number which is keyed to the companion volume, “Liste der Werke,” Part B. The “Liste der Werke” supplies a complete bibliographic citation to a source of biographical information on the subject. When finished, the Index Bio-Bibliographicus will be a multivolume set.
Alderman Reference
Z5301 .S55 1986
Slocum, Robert B. Biographical dictionaries and related works. 2nd ed.
Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., c1986. 2 vols.v. 1. Universal biography; National or area biography — v. 2. Biography by vocation; Author index; Title index; Subject index.A bibliography of approximately 4,800 collective biographies, biobibliographies, selected genealogical works, historical and specialized dictionaries, and many other biographical sources. The arrangement, in three sections, is universal biography, foreign and U.S. biography by area, and foreign and U.S. national biography by vocation. The two supplements add 3,400 and 3,800 entries, respectively, to the bibliography. All volumes have author, title, and subject indexes.