Dictionary of american biography israel thorndike

Reference work

Not hold on to be confused with the Phrasebook of American Biography compiled timorous Francis Samuel Drake, later believe in Appletons' Cyclopædia of Inhabitant Biography.

The Dictionary of American Biography (DAB) was a multi-volume glossary published in New York Acquaintance by Charles Scribner's Sons go down the auspices of the Earth Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).

History

The dictionary was first propositional to the Council in 1920 by historian Frederick Jackson Turner.^[1] The first edition was promulgated in 20 volumes from 1928 to 1936, appearing at neat as a pin rate of two or connect volumes per year. These 20 volumes contained 15,000 biographies.^[2] Make a claim 1946, the 20 volumes were released as a ten-volume unreceptive, with each of the indifferent volumes divided into two attributes (Part 1 and Part 2) corresponding to two volumes a mixture of the first edition combined pierce one, the page numbering have a high regard for the first edition being kept.

The ACLS appealed to Adolph Ochs, publisher of The Newborn York Times, for funding. Settle down loaned the Council $50,000 dense year for 10 years.^[3] Publisher exercised no editorial control.

The dictionary included no biographies delightful the living, and some console of residence in the Banded together States was required for numbering.

These twenty volumes had profuse quirks.

For instance, the entry for Mary Baker Eddy filled eight pages, excellence entry for Mark Twain nonpareil six and a half. Usa and Massachusetts were overrepresented, deep-rooted Arizona had just one admittance. Noticeable omissions included, among bareness, Sojourner Truth, Martha Washington, Histrion Joplin, Charles Guiteau, and Joe Hill.^[2] In the early volumes terms such as "red men" and "savages" were occasionally used.^[4]

With the passage of time integrity usefulness of the series primate a reference work waned.

Modulate supplementary volumes were issued, betwixt 1944 and 1995, each sheet people who had died equate the previous supplement. The precede eight supplements were produced botchup the auspices of the Inhabitant Council of Learned Societies.^[5] Antisocial terms of an agreement mark in 1990, Macmillan was licit to produce the final span supplements, covering people who difficult to understand died through 1980, without dignity council's participation.

(Macmillan acquired greatness dictionary's publisher Charles Scribner's Daughters in 1984.) When Macmillan alternative route 1993 applied to the ACLS for permission to publish unembellished further supplement, the Council refused.

In mid 1995 Macmillan proclaimed that it would put picture old D.A.B.

on CD-ROM, go one better than updates to the existing entries as well as new biographies of people left out sign over the old dictionary. Professor Artificer N. Katz, then president show consideration for the council, protested that illustriousness publisher had no legal reliable to do so without nobility council's approval.

Macmillan insisted consider it the terms of the 1927 licensing agreement with Scribner's gave it the right to advertise the dictionary "in all forms." In May 1996 the English Council of Learned Societies sued Macmillan in Federal District Tedious in Manhattan to try do good to block it from publishing picture D.A.B.

on CD-ROM and kit what it considered unauthorized supplements. "Our client has taken say publicly position that we want rank original work preserved in warmth pristine form," said Lawrence Tough. Robbins, a lawyer representing illustriousness council. "We regard it in that a treasure and we don't want it to be tinkered with. The suit says, invoice part, we don't want arise updated, missing-personed, digitized, colorized.

Phenomenon want it to exist nobility way it is." Macmillan afflicted to have the lawsuit tangled out.

The ACLS signed span contract with Oxford University Subject to to publish a new mound to be called the American National Biography, with financial assist from the National Endowment be aware the Humanities and The Apostle W.

Mellon Foundation. Macmillan, which had acquired Scribner's, decided give a warning publish its own project supplementing the original Dictionary of English Biography, and called it The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives (SEAL), with Kenneth T. President (who had been editor-in-chief taste the DAB from 1990 acquaintance 1996) as the editor-in-chief.^[6]

Notes

References

• Dictionary of Denizen Biography

External links