LibGuides: Biography: Websites

Recommended Websites

Academy of Achievement
From the website... "The Academy of Achievement brings young leaders face-to-face with the extraordinary visionaries and pioneers who have helped shape our world." Explore biographies of included individuals.
American Memory
Primary documents and historical materials available on the Web from the Library of Congress. Browse their collection, or search for specific historical figures.
A Biography of America
Broken into 26 topics from pre-colonial through 1999. Includes interactive features, key events of the period, maps, a video and a transcript that covers the period, as well as web links for further research. Presented by the Annenberg Lerner.
Biography.com
This is the site for the A&E television show Biography.. Biographies of contemporary and historical figures.
BlackPast
From the website... "BlackPast is dedicated to providing a global audience with reliable and accurate information on the history of African America and of people of African ancestry around the world."
Colorado: Biographies
From the Colorado Virtual Library... short biographies with links of notable figures in Colorado History.
Dictionary of Canadian Biography
From the University of Toronto... The Dictionary of Canadian biography/Dictionnaire biographique du Canada was made possible by an imaginative and public-spirited bequest of James Nicholson, a Toronto businessman, who, at his death in 1952, left the residue and bulk of his estate to the University of Toronto for the purpose of creating a biographical reference work for Canada of truly national importance.
Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography
Eric Weisstein's World of Science contains budding encyclopedias of astronomy, scientific biography, chemistry, and physics.
The HistoryMakers
From the website... "The HistoryMakers is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit research and educational institution committed to preserving and making widely accessible the untold personal stories of both well-known and unsung African Americans."
The National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian)
This is a searchable site that contains photographs, portraits, and biographical information on thousands of prominent Americans.
National Women's History Museum (Biographies)
From the National Women's History Museum ... "Women have always played an active role in history. Explore some of the historical pioneers and contemporary newsmakers that continue to impact the world."
Noble Peace Prize
The Nobel Foundation site includes the Nobel Prize winners from 1901 up to the current year.
PBS History Biographies
Watch PBS TV Shows covering historical figures.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductees (Biography)
From the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio... biographical information and profiles of all the inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
TIME 100 Most Influential People of 2021
Meet the most influential people in the world. They are artists and activists, reformers and researchers, heads of state and captains of industry. Their ideas spark dialogue and dissent and sometimes even revolution.

Evaluating Web Resources

Anyone can publish a webpage without it being evaluated for accuracy or quality of information. Reviews by peers, scholars, editors, and publishers are not often applied to websites. The following evaluation criteria should be applied when viewing a website:

Authorship. Is the author identified? What are the author's credentials? For example, does the site include the author's position and institutional or organizational affiliation? Is the URL for an educational institution (.edu) or government agency (.gov)?
Accuracy. Can the data be verified from other sources? Does the author have an obvious bias? Check the facts.
Audience. Is the site intended for scholars, professionals, or students?
Currency. Does the website include the date it was created and/or updated? Are the links current?
Coverage. Does the site state its intended scope? Is it designed to cover an entire subject, or to give detailed information on one aspect?
Relative Value. How does it compare to other sources of similar information? Are there other more accurate or complete sources - possibly in print format or a library database? Even with all of the useful information online, sometimes the most reliable resources are print books on the shelf at the library.

For additional information, check out the links below. These resources offer methods and detailed criteria that can be applied when conducting research on the internet.

Evaluating Sources: SIFT Your Sources
From the College of DuPage... SIFT your sources: Stop. Investigate. Find. Trace.
Evaluating Information: Applying the CRAAP Test
From California State University, Chico, Meriam Library... evaluating information using the CRAAP test: Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose.
Colorado State University: Website Evaluation Information
From Colorado State University... a crash-course on navigating digital information and a flowchart to help in evaluating websites.