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University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Biographical Resources

This guide will help you find online and print information about important historical figures and prominent people living today.

Who's Who

Who's Who provides information about prominent British citizens. The most current edtion of Who's Who is available in the Main Stacks Reference Collection (920.042 W62). For other locations, please refer to U of I Library Catalog.

There are several other volumes of Who's Who which give information about groups of people or people in certain professions. Examples include:

  • Who's Who in America
    • Who's Who Among Black Americans
    • Who's Who Among Asian Americans
    • Who's Who of American Women
    • Who's Who Among Hispanic Americans
  • Who's Who in Finance and Business
  • Who's Who in Science and Engineering

Almanac of Famous People

The Almanac of Famous People can be used to find brief biographical information about people, as well as references to other biographic sources. Different indexes allow access to biographic information by year of birth, date of birth, occupation, and geographic location. The most recent edition is available in the Main Stacks (920.02 B521998) but we also have online access to this title. For other editions, please refer to Library Catalog. You can also search the catalog by call number.

American National Biography

The American National Biography, first published in 1999, now contains over 17,000 biographical entries. It is an extremely useful source for anyone wanting to research Americans of historical importance. The ANB includes men and women that were significant in politics, scholarship, science, sports, business, theater, film, and activism. The call number is 920.073 Am3523 in the Main Stacks.