Overview
These resources are excellent for finding authoritative definitions of words and prhrases, and for researching the lives and contexts of writers and historical figures.
- American National Biography This link opens in a new windowApproximately 19,000 biographies of significant, influential or notorious figures from American history written by prominent scholars.
- Dictionary of Irish Biography This link opens in a new windowAbout 11,000 biographies, at home and overseas, of prominent men and women born in Ireland, north and south, and the noteworthy Irish careers of those born outside Ireland.
- Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors This link opens in a new windowBiographies of approximately 150,000 modern authors. Information includes biographical information, select bibliographies, and contact details, correct at the time of publication.
- Gale Literature: Dictionary of Literary Biography This link opens in a new windowProvides biographical and critical essays on the lives, works and careers of the world's most influential literary figures.
- Oxford African American Studies Center This link opens in a new windowThe Oxford African American Studies Center combines the authority of carefully edited reference works with sophisticated technology to create the most comprehensive collection of scholarship available online to focus on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new windowThe national record of men and women who have shaped British history and culture, worldwide, from the Romans to the 21st century.
- Oxford English Dictionary (OED) This link opens in a new windowThe Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words— past and present—from across the English-speaking world.
