Biography
Sources in the Blume Library and on the Web
Biography
Sources in the Blume Library and on the Web
In the Library
(NOTE: Call numbers given after each title are in the Main Floor Federal Documents Collection, unless preceded by a REF or FIRST or THIRD FLOOR designation.)
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, 1774-1989. (Y 1.1/2:13849). Chronological section lists members by Congress and state; biographical section gives sketches alphabetically. Directory is updated at intervals. The directory is available online in a couple of different versions: Congress's version allows searching by name, state, party and/or year, and the Government Printing Office's edition allows viewing /downloading of separate PDF files for each section of the Directory.
Black Americans in Congress. (Y 1.1/2:13947). 1990. Includes portrait, brief biography and references for further information.
Soldier-Statesmen of the Constitution. (D 114.19:C 76). 1987. Illustrated biographies of Revolutionary veterans who also signed the Constitution. Additional information and documents dealing with the role of the military in the new republic. An online version is available from the Army's Center for Military History.
Women in Congress. (Y 1.1/2:14004). 1991. Includes portraits and brief biographies. Congress makes an online version available.
Individual agencies often publish biographies of important figures in the history of the agency. For example: U.S. Chiefs of Mission, 1778-1982. (S 1.69:147/2) and Donovan and the CIA (PREX 3.10:D 71). Consult the Online Catalog for particular agency biographies.
The important historical agencies listed in the General Sources and Military History sections of this guide also often produce biographical studies.
Major Sites
Astronaut Biographies. Information from NASA on current and former U.S. astronauts and Russian/Soviet Cosmonauts. There is a separate listing for Payload Specialists and for astronauts from other countries who have flown with the U.S. space program.
Founding Fathers: Delegates to the Constitutional Convention. Biographical sketches from the National Archives.
Judges of the U.S. Courts. The Federal Judicial Center makes this database of biographical information available. It covers all who have served on any federal court (District level and above) since 1789. You may search or browse the database or construct lists of judges by special criteria, such as court type, gender, party of nominating President, etc.
National Portrait Gallery. This museum, part of the Smithsonian complex, offers online exhibitions, resources for educators, an online tour of the collection's highlights (including a sub-tour, the Hall of Presidents), and a searchable database of information about the portraits in the collection.
Genealogical research is a particular subset of biography. The Oklahoma Dept. of Libraries has prepared this handy guide, Genealogical Resources in U.S. Federal Depository Libraries, that includes links to online resources.
Databases of biographical information for figures important in individual states are being collected by the Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association in this wiki.
Government Information on the Web Subject Index
In addition to the major government websites described above, headings listed below might lead you to useful information in these specific areas and about these specific people: