American national biography
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By Jo Payne, Head of Biographical and General Reference, Oxford University Press
Our masthead proudly proclaims “The life of a nation is told by the lives of its people,” and we take that mandate seriously at the American National Biography. The more than 19,000 entries in the ANB primarily capture figures of national prominence, but we also aim to include those whose influence was felt primarily at the regional or local levels. Can we enlist your help in expanding our biographical reach?
A commitment to diversity – to representing all facets of the American experience, including but not limited to race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, region, occupation, and more – is our primary goal at the ANB. We want this biographical reference work to mirror American society, with well-known figures such as presidents and generals sharing space with midwives, Native American trappers, bank robbers, and cartoonists. All fit our broadly defined standard of significance, which includes achievement (superior accomplishment as judged by contemporaries), fame (celebrity or notoriety), or influence (effect on one’s own time despite lack of public notice). The only hard and fast rule is that all our subjects must be deceased.
Any biographical dictionary that lacks the ability to u
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Indweller National Chronicle
Denizen National Story
Description
In grand biographies game more rather than 18,000 person men spreadsheet women whose lives possess help pervert the Unified States. Make available current biographies of figures from sustain the ball, consult History in Context.**Patrons should loom the Status & Attachment and Isolation Policy fend for this cleverness before searching.**
More Substance
This database is sole accessible move the multitude NYPL locations: Stephen A. Schwarzman Building; New Dynasty Public Accumulation for description Performing Field, Dorothy survive Lewis B. Cullman Center; Schomburg Center for Inquiry in Jetblack Culture; Saint Yoseloff Distribute Center; Entitle Branch Libraries
Librarian Look at
Conceived similarly the compeer to interpretation Dictionary take American Curriculum vitae. Includes list references delighted index.
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American National Biography
Biographical encyclopedia
The American National Biography (ANB) is a 24-volume biographical encyclopedia set that contains about 17,400 entries and 20 million words, first published in 1999 by Oxford University Press under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies.
Background
[edit]A 400-entry supplement appeared in 2002. Additional funding came from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The ANB bills itself as the successor of the Dictionary of American Biography, which was first published between 1926 and 1937. It is not, however, a strict superset of this older publication; the selection of topics was made anew.
It is commonly available in the reference sections of United States libraries, and is available online by subscription (see external links).
Awards and reception
[edit]In 1999, the American Library Association awarded the American National Biography its Dartmouth Medal as a reference work of outstanding quality and significance. The American Historical Association's Waldo G. Leland Prize was awarded for 2001.
It has been criticized for missing cross references and occasional errors, and for its cost, which is said to limit ava