Information about people can be found in books, journals, and websites. To see what information is available, try searching for the person's name in OneSearch. You may want to put their name in quotation marks ("Thomas Aquinas" or "Brigham Young"); if you are searching for books, you may also want to try searching with their surname first ("Aquinas, Thomas" or "Young, Brigham"). You can also try searching for biographical resources related to the reason the person is well-known, such as Christian biography; or Dalai lamas--Biography; or Nuns--Biography; or Clergy--Biography; or Muslims--Biography.
Many people will not have had an entire book written about them, so be sure to check BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARIES, which are compilations of biographical information on numerous individuals. Some biographical dictionaries simply list essential facts about a person, while other sources present the facts in a narrative form using complete sentences. Some also include a list of bibliographical references which can be useful for finding additional biographical information.
There are many standard biographical dictionaries as well as specialized ones for religious studies. For a selection of these see below.
Biography Index (1946-present )
Index to biographies of prominent people from every field. Biographies appear in articles in over 3,000 journals, as well as in books. Includes index by profession/occupation.
REF Indexes
Canadian Who's Who (1910-present )
Concise, comprehensive biographies of prominent Canadians from a wide variety of occupations and professions.
E-Book
and also in print at REF: FC25 .C38 1937-
Current Biography Yearbook (1940-present )
An international collection of biographies of persons who are currently popular in their particular fields. Each yearbook contains a classified list by occupation.
REF: CT100.C8
Dictionary of American Religious Biography 2nd ed. rev.
Includes a denominational listing as well as one by birthplace.
REF: BL72.B68 1993
A Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects and Doctrines
Includes time period of Apostles to age of Charlemagne but does not include Christian Antiquities.
REF: BR1700.S55 1967 4 vols.
Biographical Dictionary of American Cult and Sect Leaders
Includes persons who died prior to January 1983. Appendices include listings of names of individuals according to their religious family and backgrounds and a listing by birthplace.
REF: BL2525.M448 1986
A Dictionary of Hinduism
E-book
Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism
REF BM176.E34 2010
The Oxford Dictionary of Popes
E-Book
The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (2011)
BR1710.F34 2011
Oxford Guide to People and Places of the Bible
E-Book
Religious Leaders of America : A Bibliographical Guide to Founders and Leaders of Religious Bodies, Churches, and Spiritual Groups in North America.
REF: BL2525.R47 1991
Who's Who in America (1899-present)
Information on notable Americans. Includes a Professional Index.
REF: E176.W642
Who's Who in Christianity (2002)
E-Book
Who's who in Islam: A Biographical Dictionary of persons and groups from the time of Muhammad to the Present
REF BP70 .J46 2009
Women of Grace : Biographical Dictionary of British Women Saints, Martyrs and Reformers
REF: BX4659.G7P375 1985
Created by: Sharon Clark, B.A., M.L.I.S.
Date Created: May 2001
Revised by: Suzanne Jones, B.A., M.L.S.
Date Revised: 10-March-2015