national biography online

The Online Books Page

Dictionary of national biography, edited by leslie stephen and sidney lee, first edition.

Google Books has various page image formats for all of the volumes, as does the Internet Archive. (The Google Books editions might not be readable in full outside the United States.) We give links to the first edition volumes below.

Supplementary volumes for the first edition

Second edition.

Google Books has various page image formats for the original second edition volumes. The Google Books editions might not be readable in full outside the United States. The Internet Archive also has some of the second edition volumes online, without country restrictions. We give links to available second edition volumes below.

Supplementary volumes for the second edition

This is a "meta-book", which stitches together separate files elsewhere on the Web as they appeared in a previously published book. It is subject to removal if someone produces an integrated edition. If that happens, The Online Books Page will point to the integrated version.

American National Biography Online

The American National Biography Online offers portraits of more than 17,000 men and women -- from all eras and walks of life -- whose lives have shaped the nation. The online version reproduces the full-text of the original 24 volume set published in 1999, with new and updated entries added regularly. The online edition features thousands of illustrations, hyperlinked cross-references, links to select web sites, and powerful search capabilities. American National Biography Online

American National Biography Online

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More than a decade in preparation, the American National Biography is the first biographical resource of this scope to be published in more than sixty years.

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Resources from the American National Biography Online

Discover the lives of men and women—from all eras and walks of life—who have influenced American history and culture in the acclaimed American National Biography Online (ANB). From missionaries to musicians, social workers to statisticians, and cowboys to chemists, the portraits in the ANB combine to reflect the rich diversity of American life, from pre-colonial times to the present.

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Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is the national record of over 60,000 men and women who shaped the history of the British Isles and of Britons worldwide, from the ‘earliest times’ to the 21st century.   

The ODNB is the world’s largest collaborative research project in the humanities, providing concise, up-to-date biographies written by 13,000 specialists from 52 countries. In addition to its more than 60,000 biographies, the Dictionary includes more than 500 thematic essays (setting individuals in historical context), and 11,500 portrait likenesses, researched in association with the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Website:  http://www.oxforddnb.com/

• Research Aims

The ODNB was first published in 2004, in 60 print volumes and online. Since 2004 a continuation project has extended and developed the ODNB’s online edition.

Updates are published monthly. Our January update is composed of biographies of people who have died in the very recent past (all people in the ODNB are deceased). Our other monthly updates are gathered around themes of related lives and also extend the Dictionary’s coverage across earlier periods in the light of recent scholarship and publications. Updates also revise existing biographies in response to new research. Since 2004 we have added around 5000 biographies and thematic essays.

Dictionary editors also run a programme of public engagement with other national institutions (museums, galleries, the National Trust, English Heritage, and national biographies worldwide), as well as with British public libraries and university research projects in the UK and the United States. The Dictionary's popular podcast series is available on itunes and via our website.

The Oxford DNB is a research and publishing project of the Oxford History Faculty and Oxford University Press. The work of commissioning, editing, writing, updating, and promoting the Dictionary is undertaken by a small team of Oxford historians: Mark Curthoys, Alex May, and Anders Ingram.

The ODNB’s general editor (from October 2014) is Sir David Cannadine who, in his capacity as editor, is also a Visiting Professor in the Oxford History Faculty.

The ODNB have recorded over 250 life stories from the  Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford DNB) –  Boudicca  to  Bobby Moore ,  Mrs Simpson  to  Mills & Boon .

You can download an individual life or subscribe to their fortnightly biography podcast,  released on iTunes as ‘Oxford Biographies’ . Each episode lasts between 10 and 30 minutes.

Elizabeth Parsons, the Cock Lane Ghost (1749–1807), imposter

Sylvia Pankhurst (1882-1960), suffragette

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (1848-54), artists

Odo of Bayeux (d. 1097), commissioner of the Bayeux Tapestry

Jack Sheppard (1702-1724), thief and prison-breaker

Alice Liddell (1852-1934), the real-life in Alice in Wonderland

Eric Hobsbawm (1917-2012), historian and political writer

Margaret Roper (1505-1544), scholar and daughter of Thomas More

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American National Biography

American National Biography is a fundamental source of historical American biography. It offers portraits of more than 19,000 men and women whose lives have shaped the nation. Only deceased figures are considered for inclusion.

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Databases for history and culture research.

• General History andCulture Resources

Historic Newspaper Resources

• Biography and Genealogy Resources

This list highlights some of the history and culture databases available to researchers from the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. A complete listing of electronic resources is located on the Libraries and Archives'  E-journals, E-books, and Databases . Databases that require SI network for access are indicated by "SI staff." For information about remote access see  Off-Site Access to Electronic Resources​ .

General History and Culture Resources

• Archives Unbound  (SI Staff): Presents topically-focused digital collections of historical documents that cover a broad range of topics from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
• American Civil War: Letters and Diaries  (SI Staff): Contains  over 2,000 authors and approximately 100,000 pages of diaries, letters and memoirs, presenting viewpoints and first-hand accounts from people on both sides of the conflict.
• Gale Cengage Databases  (SI Staff): Search across more than 30 Gale databases at the same time, including American and foreign newspapers (some historical, some current), as well as a variety of U.S. and international history sources.
• JSTOR  (SI Staff): Full-text searchable articles from more than 500 scholarly journals in the arts and humanities, economics and politics, mathematics and other fields of study. 
• North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories  (SI Staff):  Includes over 2,100 authors and approximately 100,000 pages of information, providing a unique and personal view of what it meant to immigrate to America and Canada between 1800 and 1950.
• North American Women's Letters and Diaries  (SI Staff):  I ncludes the immediate experiences of 1,325 women and 150,000 pages of diaries and letters. The collection also includes biographies and an extensive annotated bibliography of the sources in the database.
• Project Muse  (SI Staff): Provides full-text access to hundreds of high quality, peer-reviewed journals from non-profit scholarly publishers, including university presses and societies, covering a wide variety of disciplines.
• ProQuest  (SI Staff): Search across all available ProQuest different databases at once or select specific ones to search, including American Periodicals, Ethnic NewsWatch, Women's Magazine Archive, and historical newspapers such as the Washington Post, New York Times , Los Angeles Times , and Chicago Defender .
• Smithsonian Collections Online (Gale Cengage) (SI Staff):  Online archive of  Smithsonian  and Air & Space Magazine  issues, as well as online access to selected trade catalogs and World's Fair materials from Smithsonian collections.
• African American Newspapers (1827-1998)   (SI Staff) :  Covers life in the Antebellum South through the Civil Rights movement and more.
• Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers :  This resource from the Library of Congress lets you search America's historic newspaper pages from 1789-1924 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present.
• Ethnic NewsWatch   (SI Staff) :  Coverage: 1959-present. Included are journals, magazines, and newspapers from ethnic and minority presses. Ethnicities include: African American/Caribbean/African; Arab/Middle Eastern; Asian/Pacific Islander; European/Eastern European; Hispanic; Jewish; Native People.
• Google News Archive :  A list of U.S. and foreign digitized newspapers, arranged alphabetically by title. Coverage varies widely.
• Harper's Weekly 1857-1912   (SI Staff) :  America's leading 19th century illustrated newspaper.
• Atlanta Constitution   (SI Staff) :  Coverage: 1868- 1984
• Atlanta Daily World   (SI Staff) :   Coverage: 1931- 2010
• Baltimore Afro-American   (SI Staff) :   Coverage: 1893- 1988
• Boston Globe   (SI Staff) :   Coverage: 1872- 1989
• Chicago Defender   (SI Staff) :   Coverage: 1909- 2010
• Chicago Tribune   (SI Staff) :   Coverage: 1849- 1997
• Hartford Courant   (SI Staff) :   Coverage: 1764- 1995
• Los Angeles Times   (SI Staff) :   Coverage: 1881- 1996
• New York Amsterdam News   (SI Staff) :   Coverage: 1922- 1993
• New York Times   (SI Staff) :   Coverage: 1851- 2017
• New York Tribune   (SI Staff) :   Coverage: 1841- 1922
• Pittsburgh Courier   (SI Staff) :   Coverage: 1911- 2010
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch   (SI Staff) :   Coverage: 1874- 1922
• Washington Post   (SI Staff) :   Coverage: 1877-2004 (Smithsonian employees can register for a free current digital subscription at  https://wapo.st/34iLbRs )
• Wikipedia List of Online Newspaper Archives :   A listing of both free and pay wall blocked digital newspaper archives from the U.S. and foreign countries.

Biography and Genealogy Resources

• Ancestry Library Edition  (SI Staff): Powered by Ancestry.com, this resource offers access to billions of records for genealogical research.
• American National Biography Online  (SI Staff): Offers portraits of more than 19,000 men and women, from all eras and walks of life, whose lives have shaped the nation. 
• Biography and Genealogy Master Index  (SI Staff):   Indexes current, easily accessible references sources to help find biographical material on people from all time periods, geographic locations, and fields of endeavor.
•   FamilySearch : For over 100 years, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide.
•   Fold3  (SI Staff): Provides access to military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served. Also includes some census records and selected other non-military materials.

Articles & Databases

Explore our collection of hundreds of online resources and databases. Use our free online content to help with your research, whether it's finding a single article, tracing a family tree, learning a new language, or anything in between.

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Contains over 50,000 biographies of the men and women who have shaped British history and culture, worldwide, from the Romans to the 21st century. 

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Publication date

  1 - 20 of 23,162 results, aaliyah (16 january 1979–25 august 2001), singer, actress, and model  , margena a. christian, publication history:.

Aaliyah (16 January 1979–25 August 2001), singer, actress, and model, was born Aaliyah Dana Haughton to Michael Haughton, a warehouse worker, and Diane Haughton in Brooklyn, New York. For this second child, the Haughtons chose an Arabic first name that meant “the highest, most exalted one, the best.”...

Aaron, Hank (5 February 1934–22 January 2021)  

Carol m. highsmith, in  aaron, hank (5 february 1934–22 january 2021), baseball player.

Hank Aaron [left] and Reggie Jackson [right] at the Hank Aaron Boyhood Home Museum, Mobile, Alabama, 2010, by Carol M. Highsmith

The George F. Landegger Collection of Alabama Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

Aaron, Hank (5 February 1934–22 January 2021), baseball player  

Bruce j. evensen.

Aaron, Hank (5 February 1934–22 January 2021), baseball player, was born Henry Louis Aaron, the third of eight children of Herbert Aaron, Sr., a shipyard riveter, and Estella Pritchett Aaron in Mobile, Alabama.

When Aaron was eight his family moved into a windowless two-room house his father had built with discarded lumber in the Black section of Toulminville, Alabama, four miles northwest of Mobile. Aaron loved hitting bottle caps with a broomstick. It became his batting style—lashing at a ball with his weight on his front foot. As a teenager, he developed his game in a segregated, all-Black recreational league....

Aarons, Alexander A. (1890-1943), theatrical producer  

James ross moore.

Aarons, Alexander A. (15 May 1890–14 March 1943), theatrical producer, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Alfred E. Aarons, a theatrical composer and producer, and Josephine Hall. He was educated in New York schools. Aarons, whose producing career lasted only thirteen years, did not immediately take up his father’s profession, but after hearing ...

Aarons, Alfred E. (1865-1936), theatrical manager and producer  

Aarons, Alfred E. (16 November 1865–16 November 1936), theatrical manager and producer, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Aaron Aarons, a clothier, and Elizabeth (maiden name unknown). Educated in Philadelphia public schools, at age fifteen he began working in the box office of the Central Theater. After several other theatrical jobs, Aarons established a dramatic and vaudeville agency in Philadelphia; he opened an office in New York City after moving there in 1890. There in the same year he married Josephine Hall, an actress. They had three children....

Aarons, Edward Sidney (1916-1975), mystery writer  

Sergio rizzo.

Aarons, Edward Sidney (1916–16 June 1975), mystery writer, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Aarons (also known by the pen names Paul Ayres and Edward Ronns) worked variously as a newspaper reporter, millhand, salesman, and fisherman to support himself while attending Columbia University. In 1933 he won a collegiate short story contest. In 1936, with the publication of his first mystery novel, he decided to make writing his career....

Abbe, Cleveland (1838-1916), meteorologist and astronomer  

James rodger fleming.

Abbe, Cleveland (03 December 1838–28 October 1916), meteorologist and astronomer, was born in New York City, the eldest of seven children of George Waldo Abbe, a merchant, and Charlotte Colgate. He was educated at the New York Free Academy, now City College of New York (part of CUNY), where he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1857 and a master’s degree in 1860....

Abbey, Edward (1927-1989), essayist, novelist, and radical ecologist  

Kingsley widmer.

Abbey, Edward (29 January 1927–14 March 1989), essayist, novelist, and radical ecologist, was born in Home, Pennsylvania, the son of Paul Revere Abbey, a farmer, and Mildred Postlewaite, a public schoolteacher. He was raised, with four siblings, on a hardscrabble farm. A turning point in late adolescence came out of some months of hitchhiking around the western United States, with which he ever after fervently identified himself....

Abbey, Edwin Austin (1852-1911), artist  

N. elizabeth schlatter.

Abbey, Edwin Austin (01 April 1852–01 August 1911), artist, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of William Maxwell Abbey, a commercial broker, and Margery Ann Kiple. Abbey’s sole formal artistic training took place in 1868 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he took night classes under ...

Abbey, Henry (1842-1911), poet  

Dennis wepman.

Abbey, Henry (11 July 1842–07 June 1911), poet, was born in Rondout (now a part of Kingston), New York, the son of Stephen Abbey, a merchant of farm products, and Caroline Vail. His family was moderately successful and able to support his attendance at Kingston Academy, the Delaware Literary Institute in Delhi, New York, and the Hudson River Institute across the river in Columbia County, but the uncertain grain and feed business was insufficient to enable him to attend college....

Abbey, Henry Eugene (1846-1896), theatrical and operatic manager and impresario  

Harvey r. brenneise.

Abbey, Henry Eugene (27 June 1846–17 October 1896), theatrical and operatic manager and impresario, was born in Akron, Ohio, the son of Henry Stephen Abbey, a clockmaker and partner in a jewelry business, and Elizabeth Smith. After graduating with honors from Akron High School, where he showed a keen interest in music, Abbey worked in his father’s jewelry store until he launched his artistic management career in 1869 at the Sumner Opera House in Akron. In 1871 he became manager of the newly opened Akron Academy of Music, where he stayed for one season before moving to work first at John Ellsler’s Euclid Avenue Opera House in Cleveland and then as treasurer of the Ellsler Opera House in Pittsburgh. While still in Akron, Abbey and Ellsler managed the tours of the singing and dancing Worrell Sisters, ...

Abbot, Charles Greeley (1872-1973), astronomer  

David devorkin.

Abbot, Charles Greeley (31 May 1872–17 December 1973), astronomer, was born in Wilton, New Hampshire, the son of Harris Abbot and Caroline Ann Greeley, farmers. Abbott began the study of chemistry and physics at Phillips Andover Academy and graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1894 with a thesis in chemical physics under the direction of ...

Abbot, Charles Greeley (1872-1973)  

In  abbot, charles greeley (1872-1973), astronomer.

Charles G. Abbot [left to right] Charles G. Abbot and Floyd Karker Richtmyer at the National Academy of Sciences meeting in Cleveland, OH, 1934. Courtesy of the Library of Congress (LC-USZ62-114340).

Abbot, Francis Ellingwood (1836-1903), Unitarian clergyman and philosopher  

Robert bruce mullin.

Abbot, Francis Ellingwood (06 November 1836–23 October 1903), Unitarian clergyman and philosopher, was born in Boston, the son of Joseph Hale Abbot and Fanny Ellingwood Larcom. The senior Abbot was a schoolmaster and amateur scientist who reflected the strict moralism of early nineteenth-century Unitarianism, while his wife displayed a strong poetical bent, and Abbot’s life and career were influenced by both. After being educated at the Boston Latin School he entered Harvard College and graduated in 1859. While there he underwent a strong religious conversion, at least partly through the influence of his college friend ...

Abbot, Gorham Dummer (1807-1874), educator of women and clergyman  

Patrick g. williams.

Abbot, Gorham Dummer (03 September 1807–03 August 1874), educator of women and clergyman, was born in Brunswick, Maine, the son of “Squire” Jacob Abbot, a land trustee and sometime merchant, and his wife and second cousin, Betsey Abbot. Gorham Abbot grew up in the nearby town of Hallowell and, like his four brothers, graduated from Bowdoin College (A.B., 1826; A.M., 1829) and studied at Andover Theological Seminary. All of the Abbot brothers became teachers and clergymen, the two eldest, ...

Abbot, Henry Larcom (1831-1927), Union soldier and engineer  

Martin reuss.

Abbot, Henry Larcom (13 August 1831–01 October 1927), Union soldier and engineer, was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, the son of Joseph Hale Abbot and Fanny Ellingwood. Abbot’s father, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, was an educator and school principal. From 1850 to 1854 Abbot attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, graduating second in his class. As a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers, Abbot served first in the Office of Pacific Railroad Explorations and Surveys in Washington, D.C., and then in 1855 in California and Oregon surveying a railroad route....

Abbot, John (1751-1840), artist-naturalist  

Vivian rogers-price.

Abbot, John (31 May 1751–1840), artist-naturalist, was born in London, England, the son of John Abbot, an attorney in the court of King’s Bench, Plea side, and Ann Clousinger. (Although baptismal records list his birth date as 31 May, Abbot, in his “Notes on My Life” [1834], claimed he was born on 1 June.) Little is known about Abbot’s early education. The family rented a country home near London where young John read books and studied insects in the field. His father had a collection of good paintings and encouraged his son’s interests with books and arranged for home art lessons under the engraver and drawing master Jacob Bonneau. Nevertheless, Abbot’s career was assumed to be in law, and in February 1769 he began to clerk in his father’s law office. In his free time he continued to study insects, purchase books that illustrated insects and birds, and paint pictures. In 1770 Abbot exhibited two lepidoptera watercolors at the Society of Artists of Great Britain in London. By early 1773 he had determined to go to North America to collect and paint insects. The Royal Society of London and two English naturalists, Thomas Martyn and Dru Drury, commissioned Abbot to collect natural history specimens....

Abbott and Costello (1936–1957), team of comedians on stage, radio, film, and television  

James i. deutsch.

Abbott and Costello ( act. 1936–1957), a team of comedians on stage, radio, film, and television, were Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.

Bud Abbott (02 October 1895–24 April 1974) was born William Alexander Abbott in Asbury Park, New Jersey. He was the son of Harry Abbott, a circus advance agent, and Rae Fisher, a circus bareback rider. As a child, Abbott moved with his family to Coney Island, New York, where he was quickly attracted to the entertainment world of his parents. He dropped out of grade school to work various jobs at the local amusement park, including selling candy, painting signs, and luring customers inside a mirrored maze, then earning extra money by showing them the way out. At sixteen, Abbott, with his father’s help, was hired as assistant treasurer for a Brooklyn burlesque hall. When not working in the box office, Abbott would study the routines and delivery of the comedians onstage. He held similar positions in other theaters during the next several years, eventually working his way up to treasurer at the National Theater in Washington, D.C. While there, he met Jennie Mae Pratt, a young dancer whose professional name was Betty Smith, whom he married in 1918. They had two children. His wife remained in show business until the early 1930s, performing as a dancer, singer, and comedian. The couple moved to Cleveland and then to Detroit, where Abbott worked as a theater producer, staging shows and hiring performers. Occasionally filling in for comedians who failed to appear, Abbott began to perfect his role as straight man, using his tall, thin frame, dapper appearance, and smooth talk to contrast with the slapstick routines of his burlesque partners. By the early 1930s, he had become a well-known straight man on the Minsky burlesque circuit, playing opposite a variety of comics including Harry Steppe, Harry Evanson, and sometimes even his wife....

Abbott, Anderson Ruffin (1837-1913), surgeon  

Dalyce newby.

Abbott, Anderson Ruffin (07 April 1837–29 December 1913), surgeon, was born in Toronto, Upper Canada (now Ontario), the son of Wilson Ruffin Abbott, a businessman and properties investor, and Mary Ellen Toyer. The Abbotts had arrived in Toronto about 1835, coming from Mobile, Alabama, via New Orleans and New York; Wilson Abbott became one of the wealthiest African Canadians in Toronto. Anderson received his primary education in Canadian public and private schools. Wilson Abbott moved his family to the Elgin Settlement in 1850, providing his children with a classical education at the famed Buxton Mission School. Anderson Abbott, a member of the school’s first graduating class, continued his studies at the Toronto Academy as one of three African Americans there. He then attended the Preparatory Department at Oberlin College from 1856 through 1858, afterward returning to Toronto to start his medical training....

Abbott, Berenice (1898-1991), photographer  

Eleanor f. wedge.

Abbott, Berenice (17 July 1898–10 December 1991), photographer, was born in Springfield, Ohio, the daughter of Charles E. Abbott and Alice Bunn. Her parents were divorced soon after Abbott’s birth, and she was raised by her mother in Columbus, Ohio. After attending public schools there and in Cleveland, she entered Ohio State University but withdrew after one semester (1917–1918). She traveled to New York City, where she supported herself by working as a waitress, as an artist’s model, and as a bit player at the Provincetown Playhouse. She became interested in sculpture and in the course of her work met surrealist photographer ...

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Publication date

  1 - 20 of 898 results  for :.

• Individuals x

Adams, Fanny (1859–1867), murder victim and source of a colloquial expression  

Publication history:.

Adams, Fanny (1859–1867), murder victim and source of a colloquial expression, was born on 30 April 1859 in Tanhouse Lane, Alton, Hampshire, the fourth of seven children of George Adams ( b . 1830), a labourer, later a bricklayer, and his wife, Harriet Mills (...

Addison, Charlotte (bap. 1680, d. 1731)  

In  addison, joseph (1672–1719), writer and politician a new era.

See Addison, Joseph

Addy, Mark Anthony (1840–1890), boatman and life-saver  

Addy, Mark Anthony (1840–1890), boatman and life-saver, was born at 2 Stage Buildings, The Parsonage, Manchester, on 13 April 1840, the sixth of eight children of Mark Addy (1801–1865), a joiner who ran a successful boat building and hire business at Stage Buildings...

Aitken, Marcia Anastasia, Lady Beaverbrook [other married name Marcia Anastasia Dunn, Lady Dunn] (1909–1994), racehorse owner  

D. george boyce, in  aitken, william maxwell, first baron beaverbrook (1879–1964), newspaper proprietor and politician last years and reputation.

See Aitken, William Maxwell, first Baron Beaverbrook

Alderson, Thomas Hopper (1903–1965), wartime rescue party leader  

Robin woolven.

Alderson, Thomas Hopper (1903–1965), wartime rescue party leader, was born at Ashburne Stables, Sunderland, on 15 September 1903, the fifth of six children and first son of Thomas Alderson (1864–1945), domestic coachman, and his wife, Sarah Annie, née Hopper (1872–1942). He was educated at a village school; then at ...

Alexander, Horace Gundry (1889–1989)  

Maker: morland braithwaite, in  alexander, horace gundry (1889–1989), quaker envoy and mediator.

Horace Gundry Alexander (1889–1989) by Morland Braithwaite private collection

Alexander, Horace Gundry (1889–1989), Quaker envoy and mediator  

Geoffrey carnall and j. duncan wood.

Alexander, Horace Gundry (1889–1989), Quaker envoy and mediator, was born on 18 April 1889 at Croydon, Surrey, the youngest of four sons of Joseph Gundry Alexander (1848–1918), a Quaker barrister and advocate of international arbitration, and of Josephine Crosfield Alexander. He was educated at ...

Allan, Peter (1799–1849), recluse  

Revised by h. c. g. matthew.

Allan, Peter (1799–1849), recluse, was born on 6 September 1799, the son of Peter Allan (1762–1852), shoemaker in Gladsmuir, and Jane Kenley (1772–1852), daughter of Archibald Kenley of Tranent. In early life he was in domestic service as a valet to ...

Allingham, Henry William (1896–2009), last surviving airman of the First World War  

Peter parker, in  patch, henry john [harry] (1898–2009), soldier and plumber, and longest surviving british veteran of the first world war.

See Patch, Henry John [Harry]

Andrew [St Andrew] (fl. 1st cent.), apostle and patron saint of Scotland  

Ursula hall.

Andrew [St Andrew] ( fl. 1st cent.), apostle and patron saint of Scotland, was a fisherman from Capernaum in Galilee.

In the synoptic gospels Andrew is merely mentioned as one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, but in the gospel of St John he appears as a follower of ...

Anne [née Anne Luttrell; other married name Anne Horton], duchess of Cumberland and Strathearn (1743–1808)  

Matthew kilburn, in  henry frederick, prince, duke of cumberland and strathearn.

See Henry Frederick, Prince, duke of Cumberland and Strathearn

Annesley, Richard, sixth earl of Anglesey (bap. 1693, d. 1761), kidnapper and bigamist  

John martin.

Annesley, Richard, sixth earl of Anglesey ( bap. 1693, d. 1761), kidnapper and bigamist, was baptized on 26 November 1693 at St Peter's Cathedral, Exeter, Devon, the third son of Dr Richard Annesley (1654/5–1701), dean of Exeter, from c .1700 third Baron Altham, and his wife, ...

Anning, Mary (1799–1847), fossil collector and dealer  

H. s. torrens.

Anning, Mary (1799–1847), fossil collector and dealer, was born on 21 May 1799 in a seaside house in Lyme Regis, Dorset. She and her brother Joseph (1796–1849) were the only surviving children of Richard Anning ( c .1766–1810), cabinet-maker and carpenter, and his wife, ...

Anning, Mary (1799–1847)  

Maker: unknown artist, in  anning, mary (1799–1847), fossil collector and dealer.

Mary Anning (1799–1847) by unknown artist, before 1842 © The Natural History Museum, London

Appleby, Sir William (1732–1796), eccentric and municipal reformer  

C. d. watkinson.

Appleby, Sir William (1732–1796), eccentric and municipal reformer, was born at Durham on 15 September 1732, the third surviving son of Edward Appleby (1702–1736), a grocer, who was said to have introduced the bleaching of linen cloth from Ireland to Durham, and his wife, ...

Appulby, Simon [Symon the Anker of London Wall] (d. 1537), religious recluse and author  

J. p. d. cooper.

Appulby, Simon [Symon the Anker of London Wall] ( d. 1537), religious recluse and author, was the last anchorite to be attached to the church of All Hallows, London Wall. An ordained priest, Simon made his anchoritic profession at the nearby priory of the ...

Armitstead [née Cane; married name Fox], Elizabeth Bridget (1750–1842), courtesan  

Martin j. levy.

Armitstead [ née Cane; married name Fox], Elizabeth Bridget (1750–1842), courtesan, was, according to an entry in her journal, born on 11 July 1750. Her parentage, place of birth, and reason for changing her maiden name to Armitstead are unknown, as are the circumstances surrounding her emergence as a prominent courtesan. About 1774 she became the mistress of ...

Armitstead, Elizabeth Bridget (1750–1842)  

In  armitstead [née cane; married name fox], elizabeth bridget (1750–1842), courtesan.

Elizabeth Bridget Armitstead (1750–1842) by unknown artist © reserved

Armour, Jean (1765–1834), wife of Robert Burns and subject of poetry  

Valentina bold.

Armour, Jean (1765–1834), wife of Robert Burns and subject of poetry, was born in Mauchline, Ayrshire, on 25 February 1765, the second of the eleven children of James Armour and his wife, Mary Smith. The family lived in Mauchline's Cowgate. James Armour was a master mason whose work included ...

Armour, Jean (1765–1834)  

Maker: j. a. gilfillan, in  armour, jean (1765–1834), wife of robert burns and subject of poetry.

Jean Armour (1765–1834) by J. A. Gilfillan, 1822 Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Printed from Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a single article for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice).

date: 25 October 2024

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Governor Tim Walz

Tim Walz is Minnesota’s 41st Governor. He was first elected Governor in 2018 and won re-election in 2022. Accomplishments from his time as Governor include providing universal free school meals for students, protecting reproductive freedom, strengthening voting rights, laying the groundwork to get Minnesota to 100% clean electricity by 2040, cutting taxes for the middle class, and expanding paid leave for Minnesota workers. Throughout his time as Governor, Tim has prioritized making Minnesota the best state in the country to raise a family.

Born in a small town in rural Nebraska, Tim’s parents instilled in him the values of public service, generosity toward your neighbors, and working for the common good that guide his commitment to Minnesota today. After high school graduation, Tim enlisted in the Army National Guard. He attended Chadron State College and graduated with a social science degree in 1989. Tim spent a year teaching abroad before returning home to serve full time in the Army National Guard and eventually accepting a high school teaching and coaching position.

While teaching, Tim met his future wife, Gwen Whipple, who taught at the same school. They moved to Mankato in 1996, where they worked at Mankato West High School. In addition to teaching social studies, Tim helped coach the Mankato West football team that won the school’s first state championship. After 24 years in the Army National Guard, Command Sergeant Major Walz retired from the 1-125th Field Artillery Battalion in 2005. Tim won his first election to the United States House of Representatives in 2006 and was re-elected for another five terms serving Minnesota’s First Congressional District in Southern Minnesota. Learn more about the work Tim has done as Minnesota’s Governor . 

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