Born on This Day
From Biography.com
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What is a Biography
What is a Biography?
A biography is an account of the special and
important events in a person's life. It should not be confused with the
similar sounding term bibliography, which is a listing of books and
articles on a topic. Biographies may be brief and cover only basic
information about a person's life such as dates of birth and death,
education and vocation. A biography may also be very detailed, and
cover the cultural background, outstanding accomplishments, and
historical significance of an individual.
Biographical sources cover both living and deceased persons, notable
persons in particular countries, persons in specific occupations,
celebrities, and civil and government leaders. It is helpful when
searching for biographical information to know:
•Person's full name and correct spelling (for example: Smith, Smyth or Smythe)
•Date of birth
•Occupation or profession
•Date of death (when applicable)
•Nationality or country of residence
General Suggestions
General Suggestions
1. If you need basic facts about a person, e.g., "When was Napoleon born?", check general encyclopedias, such as the Encyclopaedia Britannica,
and Encyclopedia Americana. You might also want to check some foreign
language encyclopedias, such as Grand Larousse (French) or Brockhaus
Enzyklopädie (German).
2. If you are unable
to find simple biographical information in general encyclopedias, or
you need more information than provided, check one of the specialized
biographical reference books listed on thispage.
3. If you cannot find the person you are looking for, or cannot get
enough information from a biographical reference book, check one of the
biographical master indexes listed below. These guide you to books,
periodical articles or other reference sources.
4. For highly detailed information, search the Library Catalog
for books on the person. Perform a subject search by typing the
person's last name followed by their first name, e.g., Whitman, Walt.
Execute the search and look for the subheading --Biography. The
complete heading in this example is: Whitman, Walt, 1819-1892 --
Biography. You can also use the Catalog to search for the titles of
books and periodicals found in the biographical master indexes.
5. It is important to remember that biographical information may not be available for all individuals.
In these cases, information about an author can sometimes be found by
checking the preface or introduction of an author's work for scholarly
background and academic achievements. Perform an author search in the Library Catalog by typing in the last name followed by the first name.
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