Getting Started
These resources are great starting points because they can take you directly to information about your person or identify information from a wide range of sources. Pay attention to how you search. Typing the last name first is usually a good idea. Sometimes sources may use initials or full names or there could be variant spellings. Allow for all possibilities in your searching.
From the Article Databases select Biographies as the type to see all the biographical databases.
Check the listings of the vertical files in the South Caroliniana Library. Some of the lists are available online: People in SC Vertical files, African American History in South Carolina, Art & Artists in South Carolina (materials housed off-site), Religion/Churches .
- Biography (Gale in Context) This link opens in a new window
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Offers full text of biographies from printed sources. You can also generate lists of people based on occupation, nationality, ethnicity, gender, and birth or death years. - Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
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Includes Who Was Who in America, Who's Who in American, Notable American Women and other biographical reference works. - Biography Reference Bank This link opens in a new windowIncludes coverage of "Current Biography" and "World Authors" series, periodicals coverage of "Biography Index," and the specialist biographical content of "Junior Authors & Illustrators."
- American National Biography This link opens in a new windowInformation on the lives of over 19,000 people from all eras who have influenced and shaped American history and culture. Ranges in time from the earliest recorded European explorations to the very recent past.
- Oxford African American Studies Center This link opens in a new windowOffers over 6,000 biographies. Can browse or search by birth and death dates or places, sex, activity or profession, era and categories.
- Black Thought and Culture This link opens in a new windowContains 1,297 sources with 1,098 authors, covering the non-fiction published works of leading African Americans. Browse Subjects then click link to Persons
- Current Biography Illustrated This link opens in a new windowContent of the printed monthly magazine "Current Biography" in a searchable, electronic format.
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new windowSearchable collection of reference books and encyclopedias in electronic format. Titles cover arts, biography, business, environment, history, literature, medicine, multicultural studies, science, and social science.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new windowPeople connected to the British Isles and British history.
- Oxford Reference This link opens in a new windowWould tend to expect briefer entries, but convenient searching at your fingertips.
- Women and Social Movements in the United States (1600-2000) This link opens in a new windowDatabase of primary source material, but does include some biographical sources.
- Biography Index Past and Present This link opens in a new windowIdentifies articles and books back to 1946.
- Google Scholar This link opens in a new windowEspecially if your person is obscure, you could get some leads through articles and books.
