Non-Legal Resources: Biographies

The library has a number of biographical resources that may prove surprisingly useful in legal research.

This is a series of biographical books that list profiles for tens of thousands of notable individuals throughout the world. Biographies in a wide number of fields can be found: America, American Politics, American Women, International, Insurance and Risk Management, and American Law. Information on deceased individuals can be found in Who Was Who in America. Not sure where to look for an entry? There is an index volume available for these publications. Who’s Who is also available online.

2. Other Print Resources

In addition to the Who’s Who series of biographies, the library also has a wide collection of historical biographies that can be useful for research. These include: The Dictionary of National Biography, Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774 - 1996, Dictionary of American Biography, Connecticut Biographical Dictionary, and Yale Biographies and Annals 1745-1763.

3. Online

African American National Biography - Over 3,200 African Americans from U.S. history are listed.

American National Biography - Over 17,400 entries from early American history to the present.

Biography and Genealogy Master Index - This resource is a starting point to determine where (and if) an individual's biography can be found.

Biography Index - Index of biographical material from books and periodicals from 1984 to the present.

Congressional Biographical Directory - Covers 1774 to the present and searchable by name, party, position, state, year or session of Congress.

Dictionary of Literary Biography - Includes biographies of over 100,000 authors.

International Who's Who - Over 26,000 entries from nearly every country in the world.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography -50,000 biographies of the men and women who shaped the history of the British Isles, from the fourth century B.C. to the present

Tom Hemstock