The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

A demonstration of the online edition

In print, the 60 volumes of the Oxford DNB …

… take up 11 feet of shelf space

Online, every biography fits on your desktop.

Online, every biography fits on your desktop. From Aaron …

past 150 people called Brown,

the Joneses,

and 55,000 others … all the way to the Zuylesteins.

Finding the biography you want is a snap.

Quick Search is on every page.

Using it, you will find people whether you search by surnameJenkinson

Using it, you will find people whether you search by surnameJenkinson full nameBeatrice Webb

Using it, you will find people whether you search by surnameJenkinson full nameBeatrice Webb title earl of Essex

Using it, you will find people whether you search by surnameJenkinson full nameBeatrice Webb title earl of Essex pseudonymLewis Carroll

Using it, you will find people whether you search by surnameJenkinson full nameBeatrice Webb title earl of Essex pseudonymLewis Carroll stage nameSid Vicious

Using it, you will find people whether you search by surnameJenkinson full nameBeatrice Webb title earl of Essex pseudonymLewis Carroll stage nameSid Vicious Whatever name you know: Quick Search finds the biography.

At the heart of the dictionary, the biographies: readable …

… authoritative and scholarly.

Each page is packed with features. A click away, you’ll find …

a printer-friendly version,

the original DNB article (if there was one),

links to external resources,

and cross-references to other biographies.

The Oxford DNB has a host of advanced search options.

Here’s a search for …

travellers and explorers …

… who were women …

… and lived in the nineteenth century.

(We have 91 of them.)

Text search through our 60 million words is simple and powerful -

- and works well with results ordered chronologically.

Our Themes section is a reference companion for the dictionary.

Lists of office-holders link through to the biographies;

other themes introduce groups and factions from British history.

If you’d like to know more about the Oxford DNB, visit our website.

You’ll find sample material, and information about free trials and subscription options.