LibGuides: GU-Q: Reference Resources: Biographies

Biographies - General

Biography (journal)
A scholarly journal on the genre of biography.

International Who's Who
Provides brief biographical information on over 20,000 living, accomplished men and women from almost every country in the world.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) This link opens in a new window
The DNB is an illustrated collection of 50,000 specially written biographies of the men and women who shaped all aspects of Britain's past, from the fourth century BC to the year 2001. Excludes living persons. Has themed entries (e.g. Roman Britain) and groups of subjects with a common attribute (e.g. Archbishops of Canterbury). Contains 10,000 images. GU Law Library has the 60 print volumes.

Biographies - Subject Specific

Art & Humanities

Literature Resource Center (LRC) This link opens in a new window
Full-text biographical, bibliographical, and critical analysis of more than 100,000 world authors and works throughout history and across all literary genres (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and journalism). Enables you to search by literary movement (e.g., Harlem Renaissance), gender, or author ethnicity (e.g., African American).
Electronic version of such older print reference sources as:
Contemporary Literary Criticism: Ref. PN 771 .C59
Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism: Ref. PN 761 .N56
Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism: Ref. PN 771 .G27
Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism: Ref. PN 610 .C53
Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800: Ref. PN 86 .L53 1984
Shakespearean Criticism: Ref. PR 2965 .S43 1984
Poetry Criticism: Ref. PN 1010 .P499
Short Story Criticism: Ref. PN 3373 .S386
Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature: Ref. PN 41 .M42 1995
Scribner Writers Series
Twayne Authors Series
Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Limited to 8 concurrent users.
A comprehensive online reference resource for all aspects of the visual arts worldwide, from prehistory to the 1990s. Formerly known as Grove Dictionary of Art.
The 45,000 articles of the print version of the Grove Dictionary of Art are accessible with added searching capability, additional context and authority of links to museums and other collections that may offer more information about the piece, the artist, and related works. Searches can be done by article heading, full text, contributor, caption, or combinations of these using concept, pattern, boolean and expert options. In addition, researchers may choose the Bridgeman Art Library from the main page to search a database of more than 100,000 images. In 2008, this resource expanded to include The Oxford Companion to Western Art, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, and the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics.
Scribner Writer's Series This link opens in a new window
Full-text biocritical essays written and signed by noted scholars. Each entry averages 15-20 pages in length and includes a concise essay, links, biographical information placing the author's work in personal and historical context, and a bibliography of primary and secondary sources for further study.
The collection spans a wide variety of time periods, geographic locations and cultures, e.g., African American writers; English Romantic Period 1798-1870; Ancient Writers: Greece and Rome; Latin American Writers; Renaissance Writers; Modern Playwrights; Bible as Literature. Included in Literature Resource Center.
Twayne's Author Series This link opens in a new window
Offers in-depth introductions to the lives and works of writers, the history and influence of literary movements, and the development of literary genres.
Each treatment devotes 175 to 200 pages to the critical interpretation and discussion of one author's life and works, taking into account important contributions to scholarship and criticism. Comprises nearly 600 books from three print series: United States Authors, English Authors and World Authors. Included in Literature Resource Center.

Theology & Religion

Acta Sanctorum This link opens in a new window
Electronic version of the complete printed text of Acta Sanctorum, from the edition published in sixty-eight volumes by the Société des Bollandistes in Antwerp and Brussels. It is a collection of documents examining the lives of saints, organised according to each saint's feast day, and runs from the two January volumes published in 1643 to the Propylaeum to December published in 1940.

The Acta Sanctorum Database contains the entire Acta Sanctorum, including all prefatory material, original texts, critical apparatus and indices. Bibliotheca Hagiographica Latina reference numbers, essential references for scholars, are also included.