Simpson Library: Biographies: Databases & Websites

Databases

UMW pays for subscriptions to these databases. You may be asked to log in with your UMW username and password.

Biography and Genealogy Master Index This link opens in a new window
This database does not contain any full-text articles. Instead, it's an index to millions of biographical sketches that exist in reference books.
To use the index: 1) Search for a person's name. 2) Note the books that contain articles about the person. 3) Use the library search box to locate the books.
Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete This link opens in a new window
Biographical and critical essays on the lives, works, and careers of literary figures from all eras and genres.

Gale Literature: Person Search
Gale Literature is a literature database. It includes biographical articles about authors.
Note: When you click on a person's name, Gale Literature defaults to "Literature Criticism" (criticism of that person's writings). Click "Biographies" to view biographies instead.

Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
Includes short biographies of musicians.
Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new window
Short encyclopedia articles on all topics.

Salem History
Electronic copies of reference books, including the following:Great Lives from History: The Ancient World, Prehistory-476 c.e.
Great Lives from History: The Renaissance & Early Modern Era, 1454-1600
Great Lives from History: Notorious Lives.
Simpson Library also owns the physical volumes of these reference works.

Obituaries in newspaper databases

Obituaries are published in newspapers when a person dies. In addition to announcing the person's death, an obituary also provides biographical information about the person.

To find obituaries, see Simpson Library's guide to newspaper articles.

Simpson Library subscribes to several newspaper databases. We particularly recommend ProQuest Historical Newspapers, which includes obituaries for people who died between 1851 and 2020. This database includes the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post. To limit your search to obituaries, scroll down to "Document type" and check the box next to Obituary, as shown here:

Websites

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: 1774-Present
Provides brief biographical information on past and current members of Congress.
BlackPast: People
"Short descriptions of the women and men who have contributed to the shaping of African American history."
Collective Biographies of Women
An "annotated bibliography of English-language books that collect three or more short biographies of women only."