Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (OUP, 2004) is the definitive dictionary of biography of “remarkable people in any walk of life who were connected with the British Isles”. It replaces and extends the original Victorian Dictionary of National Biographyand includes

  • Rewritten biographies of all subjects included in the original Dictionary reflecting new research
  • Biographies of new subjects from all periods.

In total it includes more than 50,000 biographies compiled by around 10,000 specialist contributors, many world authorities on their subject, together with around 10,000 portrait illustrations. The compilation of the new DNB has been the largest ever collaborative research project in the humanities, and the DNB also constitutes the largest selection of national portraiture ever published.

The Online edition of the new Oxford DNB complements the paper edition (held at RR85-RR89). It allows access via your computer desktop to

  • The complete text and illustrations of the 60-volume new Oxford DNB
  • The complete text of the 33-volume original DNB
  • A range of companion reference material
  • Online updates
  • Searching and browsing facilities

 

Getting Started (networked computers only - click here for instructions on remote access) 

Click this hyperlink Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . This will take you to a page introducing the Oxford DNB. Then click on the box at the top right of the screen marked ‘Subscribers enter here’. This takes you to the ‘Quick Search’ screen, which also offers links to the other searching and browsing options and to the full range of extra online material.

Advanced features

The Online edition of the new Oxford DNB offers a range of advanced features, including

  • Advanced searches -Full text, People, References, Contributors, Images
  • Browsing options
  • ‘Themes’ pages -a range of reference materials and feature essays
  • Learning resources for educational use

Further help

The Online Oxford DNB includes a ‘Help’ function accessed via a link at the top right of every page. You can also ask a librarian in the Reading Room for help.