Research Guides: Electronic Reference Shelf: Biography & Genealogy

Biography and Genealogy e-Reference

The following are electronic biography and genealogy reference available through the UNH Library.

If you would like more assistance looking for background information or other reference material, please contact your subject librarian, or visit Ask A Librarian for options to email or schedule an appointment.

UNH Biography Databases
Thirteen general and specialized databases associated with biographical information.

American National Biography This link opens in a new window
Profiles of deceased men and womenfrom all eras and walks of life whose lives have shaped the US. All articles originally included in ANB Online were on biographical subjects who died before the end of 1995. Articles on important figures who have died since 1995 are being added in quarterly updates, but coverage of people in this category is not yet complete. If you cannot find an article on a subject, he or she may have died after 1995, or may be living. Dates of coverage: 1600s-current
Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography This link opens in a new window
Provides information on the history of science through articles on the professional lives of scientists. All periods of science from classical antiquity to modern times are represented. Dates of coverage: Classical antiquity-current
Contemporary Authors This link opens in a new window
Offers access to the most complete and up-to-date entries of biographical and bibliographical data on modern authors. Find authors based on occupation, role, historical period, name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places, or gender, as well as by keyword and full text.
Dictionary of Literary Biography This link opens in a new window
Provides biographical and critical essays on the lives, works, and careers of the world's most influential literary figures from all eras and genres, including authors, historians, journalists, screenwriters, publishers, and playwrights.
Ancestry Library Edition This link opens in a new window
Genealogical research database providing access to select census records, birth, marriage and death, military, probate, and immigration and naturalization records, as well as some genealogical newspapers and periodicals. Also included are guides to starting genealogical research and compiling a family history. Dates of coverage: 1600s-current
Fold3 This link opens in a new window
Provides convenient access to military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served.

Availability of Selected Print Biographical Resources

These resources will have different access points during Fall Term 2020:

1) Notable American Women is available in print and temporarily available electronically through HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access.

2) Notable American Women: The Modern Period is available in print only. HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access link is unavailable. [Library is working to scan the index for MyCourses.]

3) Notable American Women: ...Completing the Twentieth Century is available in print and temporarily available electronically through HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access.

4) Women in Medicine is is available in print and temporarily available electronically through HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access.

For books with electronic HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access:

Use the link provided below to go to the record in the library catalog.
Click the HathiTrust Emergency Temporary Access link.
On the HathiTrust screen, click LOG IN at the top of the window (yellow button).
- Type to find University of New Hampshire. Click Continue.
- Log in with your UNH ID and password.
For multivolume works, click the Catalog Record link and scroll down to Viewability to see options. Click Temporary Access for the volume you want.
For single volume works, click the Catalog Record link and scrolll down to Viewability. Click Temporary Access.

In both cases, you can search within the volume or "Check Out" the book to view it digitally.

Each check out is one hour. Remember to click "Return Early" if you finish before that time to release book to the next reader.

Notable American Women, 1607-1950 by Edward T. James (Editor); Janet W. James (Editor); Paul Boyer (Editor)
Call Number: Dimond Reference CT3260 .N57
ISBN: 0674627318
Publication Date: 1971-01-01
This superb biographical dictionary covers the lives of exceptional women throughout three and a half centuries of American history. Here are artists, lawyers, reformers, educators, entrepreneurs, physicists, writers, pioneers, presidents' ladies, film stars. Here are those known for their deeds and those famed for their looks--the genteel and the disreputable, the highborn and slave-born. Here are the famous in all areas of endeavor--names like Ruth Benedict, Jane Addams, Willa Cather, Isadora Duncan, Carole Lombard, Sojourner Truth, Pocahontas, Texas Guinan, the Everleigh sisters, Carrie Nation, Amelia Earhart. Here also are many names rescued from obscurity.
Notable American Women: The Modern Period by Barbara Sicherman (Editor); Carol H. Green (Editor); Ilene Kantrov (Editor); Harriette Walker (Editor)
Call Number: Dimond Reference CT3260 .N573
ISBN: 0674627326
Publication Date: 1980-01-01
The life stories of American women--442 of them--who have in some way affected contemporary American life are explored in this lauded companion to Notable American Women, 1607-1950.
Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary Completing the Twentieth Century by Susan Ware (Editor); Stacy Braukman (Editor)
Call Number: Dimond Reference CT3260 .N5725 2004
ISBN: 067401488X
Publication Date: 2005-02-09
Entries on almost five hundred women representing a wide range of fields of endeavor are featured in a collection of biographical essays that integrate each woman's personal life with her professional achievements, set in the context of historical developments.
Women in Medicine: An Encyclopedia by Laura Lynn Windsor
Call Number: Level 2 R692 .W545 2002
ISBN: 1576073920
Publication Date: 2002-11-14
Since ancient times, and in every human society, women have played a critical, if unheralded, role in the practice and progress of the medical arts and sciences. Women in Medicine portrays the struggles, the skills, the science, and the inspiring stories of more than 200 of history's great women physicians and medical researchers. Not just a biographical compendium, Women in Medicine also includes entries on the key universities, institutes, and foundations of this illustrious history. Chock full of unique illustrations and complete with extensive bibliography and index, this one volume encyclopedia is the most comprehensive and accessible reference work on the history of women in medicine.

Selected Free Biography & Genealogy Resources

Psychology's Feminist Voices
This site highlights important women in psychology's past and amplifies the diverse voices of contemporary feminist psychologists.
FamilySearch
Since 1894, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide.
Wikipedia