Biographies

General biography
National and local
Artists and architects
Athletes

Authors and poets
Entertainers and musicians
Politicians, rulers & leaders
Scientists and inventors

Databases

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Biographies Plus Illustrated

Biography and Genealogy Master Index

Biography Resource Center

Ethnic NewsWatch

LGBT Life

Literature Resource Center

Readers' Guide Retrospective

General biography

Biographies: http://www.multcolib.org/homework/biohc.html

Created by reference staff at Multnomah County Library for Homework Center, hundreds of links to biographies, with many sub-categories.
Biography.com: http://www.biography.com/search/

Over 25,000 historical and contemporary biographical sketches that include birth and death dates, photographs as available, and links to other biographies from the website and Internet sources. Search by name, keyword, category, or browse the entire list alphabetically.
Black History: Biographies: http://gale.cengage.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/index.htm

A free online resource put out by the Thomas-Gale Group with biographies for some famous African Americans. Biographies include resources for further reading and links to websites with more information.
Conversations with History: http://globetrotter.berkeley.edu/conversations/

Over 200 interviews with contemporary diplomats, statesmen, and soldiers; economists and political analysts; scientists and historians; writers and foreign correspondents; activists and artists. Created for television by UC Berkeley, you can read the transcripts, or watch the videos. Organized by name, profession, chronology, and subject.
Distinguished Women of Past and Present: http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/

Search by name or subject for biographies from Internet sources; international in scope.
Eyewitness: History Through the Eyes of Those Who Lived It: http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/

Personal narratives and other first-hand sources, organized chronologically from ancient history through World War II.
Historic Figures: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/index.shtml

From the BBC, this site provides biographies of the movers and shakers of history.
The HistoryMakers: http://www.thehistorymakers.com/

Profiling African American artists, politicians, athletes, scientists, entertainers, and more, the HistoryMakers' video oral history archive comprises the "largest archival project of its kind in the world".
Information Please Almanac Online Biographies: http://www.infoplease.com/

Online almanac biographical source: over 30,000 names included in this database. Several biographies are featured each day in the "Today's Birthday" section, plus you can look up people born on your birthday or another day of the year.
The World's Billionaires: http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/03/05/richest-people-billionaires-billionaires08-cx_lk_0305billie_land.html

Ranking from Forbes Magazine of the World's Billionaires. You can also find lists for the Richest Americans and Celebrities at this site.
PBS Biographies: http://www.pbs.org/history/history_biographies.html

Biographies prepared by the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).
Voice of America Pronunciation Guide: http://ibb7.ibb.gov/pronunciations/

Having difficulty pronouncing a name? This site has phonetic spellings and audio file pronunciations for hundreds of names.
Who2?: http://www.who2.com/

An encyclopedia of famous people, both real and fictional!

National and local

American History 102: Who's Who in American History; Civil War to the Present: http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/bios/names.html

Search for biographies of Americans by name, era, or occupation. Short biographical excerpts from standard reference works. Includes photographs and other images such as cartoons, etc. for each entry.
American Life Histories-WPA Life Histories: http://rs6.loc.gov/wpaintro/wpahome.html

First-person accounts of life during the Great Depression as collected by the Federal Writer's Project. Ability to limit search to Oregon. Subjects include: folklore, occupations, agriculture, local history and genealogy, transportation, recreation, and ethnic groups.
Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project 1936-1938: http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html

Read a sample of narratives collected by Works Progress Administration from 1936 to 1938, and see some of the photographs taken at the time of the interviews.
First Person Narratives of the American South: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/ncuhtml/fpnashome.html

Accounts of the Nineteenth-century American South from the viewpoint of Southerners: diaries, autobiographies, memoirs, travel accounts, and ex-slave narratives of not only prominent individuals, but also of relatively inaccessible populations: women, African Americans, enlisted men, laborers, and Native Americans.
Notable Oregonians: http://www.sos.state.or.us/bbook/notable/nothome.htm

Short biographical sketches that summarize the accomplishments of notable Oregonians. When possible, images are included. Living politicians are not included.
Oral History Online: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/

UC Berkeley online collections of first-hand accounts and personal perspectives on historical events relating to social and political issues in the United States. Along with the transcripts themselves, photographs and other materials are included, giving full access to the complete volumes of the oral histories.
Oregon Biographies: http://www.ohs.org/education/oregonhistory/Oregon-Biographies-index.cfm

Brought to you by the Oregon History Project and the Oregon Historical Society, Oregon Biographies features intriguing stories and engaging information related to some of Oregon's most significant historical figures.
Oregon Biographies Project: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jtenlen/ORBios/oregon.html

Pulling from sources that are no longer copyrighted, volunteers work to transcribe what is now over 2,000 Oregon Biographies. Search by surname, county or keyword.

Artists and architects

AskART: http://www.askart.com/

Database of North American artists. Look at an alphabetical list of artists or search by name. They give general information on the artist including dates, biographies, methods and subjects for which they are best known, a bibliography, and in some cases, images of their works.
Great Buildings Collection: Great Architects: http://www.greatbuildings.com/architects.html

A list of "master" architects, many with biographies and links to images and more information about their specific works.
The National Museum of Women in the Arts: Library and Research Center, Clara: Database of Women Artists: http://www.nmwa.org/clara/

From the National Museum of Women in the Arts's library, search the interactive Clara: Database of Women Artists "containing authoritative information on 18,000 women visual artists of all time periods and nationalities."
The Union List of Artist Names: http://www.getty.edu/research/conducting_research/vocabularies/ulan/

Currently incorporates approximately 100,000 individual artists (including performance artists, decorative artists, etc.) and architects from ancient times to contemporary. Browse the world hierarchically, or use the search function. Many entries have biographical and bibliographical information on the artists.

Athletes

100 Greatest Female Athletes of the Century: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/siforwomen/top_100/1/

Biographies of the century's 100 greatest sportswomen as determined by Sports Illustrated magazine back in 2002.
Athletes: http://www.olympic.org/uk/athletes/index_uk.asp

From the official website of the Olympics, the Athletes page with profiles of over 300 athletes from the 1896 Athens games to the 2006 Turin games.
Current Biography Excerpts: http://www.hwwilson.com/currentbio/cbonline.html

Excerpts of biographies on sports figures that have appeared in Current Biography Yearbook, in which the full 2,500-4,500 word article appears.
Women in Sports: http://www.makeithappen.com/wis/

Search by keyword or by sport. Includes a variety of sports from archery to weight lifting.

Authors and poets

Academy of American Poets: Poets: http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/58

Biographies, photographs, and other information on more than 500 poets. Search for poems, audio files, and interviews.
African American Women Writers of the 19th Century: http://digital.nypl.org/schomburg/writers_aa19/biographies.html

Biographies of 19th-century black women writers, produced by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Selected works by these authors may be read online.
Barnes & Noble: Meet the Writers: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writers2_cds2.asp?PID=1302

Biographical information on many writers, some include sound or video clips of their readings, book recommendations by the authors, and more. Browse by authors name or genre.
Native American Authors: http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/

Search this site by author, title or tribe for biographical information on Native North American authors with bibliographies of their published works and links to online resources including interviews, online texts and tribal Web sites.
Nobel Prize: All Nobel Laureates in Literature: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/

Choose a laureate and from their page you can look at their biography, read their presentation speech, see photos and in some cases listen to interviews or watch a documentary.

Entertainers and musicians

All About Jazz: Jazz Musicians: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician_center.php

Site contains biographies for over 3,000 jazz musicians.
Biographies - Actors and Filmmakers: http://movies.about.com/od/actorsbiographies/Biographies_Actors_and_Filmmakers.htm

"Biographical info on actors, including film credits, educational history, and other personal facts."
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)[: http://www.imdb.com/

Tons of information on actors, directors, writers, producers and everyone involved in the making of the film.
Musician Biographies: http://www.musicianguide.com/

Biographies for many individual musicians as well as bands.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Inductee List: http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/inductee-list/

Started in 1983, a list of all inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with biography that includes timelines and recommended further reading.
What a character: http://www.what-a-character.com/

Biographies for character actors, including a photo and filmography.

Politicians, rulers & leaders

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 - Present: http://bioguide.congress.gov/

Search by name, state, or position for biographical information and photographs for past and present members of Congress. Some include bibliographies for finding additional information.
World Leaders: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/world-leaders-1/index.html

From the CIA, frequently updated information giving the names of foreign government officials. Ambassadors to the United States and Permanent Representatives to the United Nations are included. This site does not give biographical information beyond the name.
Congressional Directory Online: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/cdirectory/

Up-to-date biographical information and political affiliation for members of Congress. Includes email, address, phone and fax numbers, website address, plus counties, cities, and zip codes they represent.
First Ladies Gallery: http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/index.html

From the White House website, this includes pictures and biographies of the U.S. First Ladies, from Martha Dandridge Custis Washington to Laura Welch Bush.
The Political Graveyard: A Database of Historic Cemeteries: http://politicalgraveyard.com/

A biographical website for American political history and cemeteries. Locate American politicians, judges, and diplomats by name, place, election and offices held or sought. Additionally, search for names of politicians by category: gender, ethnic background, organizational affiliations, cause of death, and many other subjects. Includes an index of cemeteries by state, linking to Web sites.
Presidents of the United States: http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/

Official White House site for biographical information about each of the US Presidents. A version in Spanish covers recent events.
Rulers: http://www.rulers.org

Lists of heads of state and heads of government of all countries and territories, from 1700 to the present time. Short political histories of each country followed by names and dates of all leaders. Names with links lead to a short biography.
Women in Congress: http://womenincongress.house.gov/

An interactive site with portraits and biographical information on current and former women Representatives, Delegates, and Senators, with a focus on their congressional careers.

Scientists and inventors

Astronaut Biographies: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/

Biographical information regarding those who participate or have participated in NASA's space flight programs as candidates for, or members of, space flight crews.
The Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences: https://webfiles.uci.edu/mcbrown/display/faces.html

African American men and women who have contributed to the advancement of science and engineering. Search by name or subject area within the realm of science for biographies with photographs.
MacTutor History of Mathematics archive: Biographies Index: http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/BiogIndex.html

International in scope, search for mathematicians alphabetically or chronologically by date of birth or death. Includes country maps for birthplaces of mathematicians, an index of women mathematicians, plus an historical timeline from 800 BC to the present.
National Inventors Hall of Fame: Search: http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/1_1_2_listing_inventor.asp?vAlpha=

Site gives provides biographical sketches of the great inventors of America.
National Library of Medicine: Profiles in Science: http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/

Prominent twentieth-century biomedical scientists, containing published and unpublished materials donated to the National Library of Medicine.
World of Scientific Biography: http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/

Search by name, nationality, branch of science, historical period, and other criteria for short biographies, many with photographs.

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Biographies

Databases

General biography

National and local

Artists and architects

Athletes

Authors and poets

Entertainers and musicians

Politicians, rulers & leaders

Scientists and inventors

Research