Biographical Resources

This guide contains a sample of The Newberry’s resources on this topic. To locate additional resources, please check our catalog or consult a reference librarian.

Newberry Library Catalogs

Here are a couple useful strategies for searching the Newberry Library catalog. Consult other ethnic and geographic guides for additional suggestions. http://www.newberry.org/genealogy-collection-guides-and-research-tools

Location

Search their place of residence. Search by County, State, City and Country.

  • Will County, Ill.–Biography
  • Pennsylvania–Biography
  • Chicago–Biography
  • Spain - Biography

Family Name

Search under the Family Name for published family histories.

  • Smith Family
  • Corbett Family

Ethnic, Religious & Racial Background

Biographies of many people can be found in dictionaries or directories of the special groups to which they belong.

  • Jews—Biography
  • Germany—Biography
  • Indians of North America–Biography

Occupation/Academic Discipline

Search by occupation or academic discipline. For writers, try the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Call# Ref PN451 D5. Works by or about an author often contain biographical information.

  • American literature–Bio-bibliography
  • Historians—Biography

Biographical Dictionaries

  • Biography – Dictionaries - [country]
  • Biography – [country]

Biographical Dictionaries

Dictionary of American Biography. New York: C. Scribner, 1928-96. Call# Ref E176 D56 (3rd floor open shelf). Scholarly biographical dictionary includes 3600+ biographies with bibliographies.

American National Biography. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1999. Call# Ref CT213 A68 1999 (3rd floor open shelf). Successor to the Dictionary of American Biography.

National Cyclopedia of American Biography. Clifton, NJ: White, 1984. Call # Ref E176 N27 (3rd floor open shelf). Comprehensive American biographical dictionary covers 1892-1984. Not alphabetical, use volume indexes and the general index, Call # Ref E176 N27 Index (3rd floor open shelf).

White’s Conspectus of American Biography. MI: Scholarly Press, 1972. Call # Ref E176 W588 1972 (3rd floor open shelf).

Handbook of North American Indians. Washington: Smithsonian, 1978-98. Call # Ref E77 H25 (3rd floor open shelf). Volume 4 is a good starting point.

Biography and History Index of American Indians Call # Ref E1209 U494 Index (3rd floor open shelf).

Notable American Women. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1971. Call # Ref CT3260 N57 (3rd floor open shelf). Biographical sketches of 1800+ women 1607- 1950, majority of who are not included in Dictionary of American Biography.

Notable Black American Women. Detroit: Gale, 1996. Call # Ref E185.96 N68 1992 (3rd floor open shelf). Biographies include bibliographies and information on archival collections. Detailed subject index, 1730-1958.

Dictionary of National Biography. London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1959. Call # Ref DA28 D47 (3rd floor open shelf). English biographical resource.

The Newberry has many National Biographical Dictionaries, for example these items on the 3rd floor open shelf:

  • Irish (Call # Ref DA916 .B6)
  • Canadian (Call # Ref F1005 .D49)
  • French (Call # Ref CT143 .D5),
  • German (Call # Ref CT759 .D48 1995)

Biography and Genealogy Master Index. Detroit: Gale, 1980-90. Call # Ref Z5305 U5 B57 1980-90 (Bio Index Table, 3rd floor). Index to millions of biographical sketches in 2700+ works covering figures throughout the world.

Biography Index. New York: H. W. Wilson. Call # Ref Z5301 B5 (3rd floor open shelf). Cites biographical material appearing in 3000+ periodicals, and 2000+ current books of individual and collective biography.

New York Times Obituaries Index. New York: New York Times, 1970-1980. Call # Ref CT213 N47 (Bio Index Table, 3rd floor). Alphabetical listing of “Deaths” from The New York Times, 1858-1978.

Personal Name Index to “The New York Times Index,” 1851-1996. Succasunna, NJ: RDI, 1976-1996. Call # Ref Z5301 F28 1976 (Bio Index Table, 3rd floor). Citations refer to the New York Times Index, not newspaper itself. Call # Ref AI21 N45 (3rd floor open shelf).

Black Biography, 1790-1950. Alexandria, VA: Chadwyck-Healey, 1991. Call # Ref Z1361 N39 B52 1990 (Bio Index Table, 3rd floor).

Women in Particular. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1984. Call # Ref HQ1412 H47 1984 (3rd floor open shelf). Index to American women from 54 works of collective biography.

American Biographical Index. New York: Saur, 1993. Call # Ref CT211 A45 (Bio Index Table, 3rd floor). Index to 368 biographical reference works published between 1702-1956. Newberry holdings marked in volume one.

British Biographical Index. New York: Saur, 1990. Call # Ref CT773. C75 1990 (Bio Index Table, 3rd floor). Index to 334 biographical reference works published between 1601-1929. Newberry holdings marked in volume one.

Index Biographique Francais. London: Saur, 1993. Call # Ref CT1003 .I53 1993 (Bio Index Table, 3rd floor). Index to 180 biographical reference works published between 1647-1986. Newberry holdings marked in volume one.

Indice biografico de Espana, Portugal e Iberoamericana. New York: Saur, 1990. Call # Ref CT1345 .I53 1990 (Bio Index Table, 3rd floor). Index to 306 biographical reference works published between the 17th and 20th centuries.

Indice Biografico Italiano. New York: Saur, 1993. Call # Ref CT1123 .I53 1993 (Bio Index Table, 3rd floor). Index to 321 biographical reference works published between the 17th and 20th centuries.

Chicago Biography

Chicago & Cook Co. Biography & Industry File. Index to over 40 publications on Chicago. Copy at 2nd floor reference desk and online at http://www.newberry.org/chicago-biography-and-industry-file

Chicago and Cook County Sources. Call # Local History Ref Z1298 .C5 S97 (2nd floor open shelf).

Newberry Library Modern Manuscripts can be an excellent source for Chicago biographical information (Index on Checklist Table, 3rd floor).

Index to Chicago History. Call # Local History Ref F548.1 C465 Index (2nd floor open shelf).

Book of Chicagoans & Who’s Who in Chicago. Call # E 48962.1. Newberry has 1905, 1911, 1917, 1926, 1931, 1936, 1941. Indicate year on call slip. The following have been digitized:

History of Chicago. Call # Local History Ref F548.3 A5 1975 (2nd floor open shelf). Volume 3

History of Cook County. Call # Local History Ref F547 C7 A5 1973 (2nd floor open shelf) and folio F 89624.041.

Chicago and Its Makers. Call # Local History Ref F548.3 G46 1929 (2nd floor open shelf).