Biography: Reference

General books on biography fall in the CT call numbers -- some examples:

• Current biography (1940 to present) - REF. CT100 .C8
• Encyclopedia of world biography - REF. CT103 .E56 1998
• Great lives from history. Renaissance to 1900 series - REF. CT104 .G68 1989

Reference books covering biographical information on more specific groups of people -- from a specific country, or in a specific field such as art or biology -- can be in a variety of call numbers, depending on the topic.  Use the Biography & Genealogy Master Index (see link at right, under Online Reference Tools) to identify appropriate reference titles, or search the catalog with a limit to Reference:

Start your search here for biographical information:

Some other general biography reference tools you can also try:

• Biography.com
• This searchable database, sponsored by the A&E Biography television series, is based upon the Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia (1994).
• S9.com Biographical Dictionary
  A biographical wiki site that covers notable women and men from ancient times to the present day.
• Who's Who
  Biographical information from 20 major Who's Who titles including: Who's Who in America; Who Was Who in America; Who's Who in the Midwest; Who's Who in the World; Who's Who of American Women; Who's Who in Finance & Business.

Some subject-specific places to look for biographical information:

• Almanac of American Politics
  Biographical information, voting records, and election results for politicians, including presidents, members of Congress, governors, and some larger city mayors.
• Encyclopedia of Social Welfare History in North America
  Basic information about the history of social welfare in North America, including important events, developments, and the lives and work of some key contributors to social welfare developments.
• Encyclopedia of Women in the American West
  Captures the lives of more than 150 women who made their mark from the mid-1800s to the present, contextualizing their experiences and contributions to American society.
• Gale Literary Index
  Master index to author and title entries in the major literature series from Gale, many of which are on the shelves at WIU Libraries and which contain biographies of authors and critical essays on their writings.
• St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, 2nd ed.
  More than 3,000 essays on 20th and 21st century topics and persons in major areas of popular culture, including film, music, social life, sports, television and radio, art, and live performance of all kinds.