Library Research Guides: Biographies: Home

Wellesley College Notable Alumnae

Wellesley College is home to many notable alumnae, including two from the class of 1959:

Madeline Korbel Albright
article from Biography in Context

Amalya Lyles Kearse
article from West's Encyclopedia of American Law

More information about Wellesley College alumnae can be found in the Archives or by contacting the Alumnae Association.

Full Text Biographies

Biography (Gale In Context)
Over 650,000 biographical entries covering international figures from all time periods and areas of study; search by name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places, or gender.
Credo Reference
Select "biographies" to search in or browse all biographical sources.
Nexis Uni
Use the "Research People" option.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Deceased people associated with Britain and the British Empire
Who's Who
Clapp Ref DA28 .W6

Citations to Biographies

Biography Index
Clapp Ref Z5301 .B5

National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC)
Search the contents of archives and manuscript repositories throughout the U.S.

Biography & Genealogy Master Index
NOTE: Access is provided through the Boston Public Library with a Boston Public Library card. Get a BPL eCard.

Specialized Sources of Biographies

Literature Online (LION)
Select "authors"
Literature Resource Center
Select "person search".

Notable American Women, 1607-1950 by Edward T. James (Editor); Janet W. James (Editor); Paul Boyer (Editor)
Call Number: CT3260 .N57
ISBN: 0674627318
Publication Date: 1971-01-01

St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture
West's Encyclopedia of American Law
HeritageQuest Online
U.S. Census and other historical genealogical records. Available courtesy of the Boston Public Library using their eCard - get an eCard

Books about People

Find books by and about people in the library catalog.

Use the subject search to find books about someone.

Use the author search to find books by someone.

Examples:

Clinton, Hillary Rodham:
as a subject - as an author
hooks, bell:
as a subject - as an author
Kahlo, Frida:
as a subject - as an author

Biographies on the Web

What about Wikipedia?

Before you use Wikipedia as a source of biographical information about people living or dead, learn how the community is expected to create and edit biographies of living people.

In a nutshell: Material about living persons added to any Wikipedia page must be written with the greatest care and attention to verifiability, neutrailty, and avoiding original research.

Always verify any claims you find about people in Wikipedia with other sources, such as the ones listed on this guide.