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The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is the national record of men and women who’ve shaped all walks of British life—from the Romans to the 21st century. Published online, and extended three times a year, the ODNB includes more than 57,000 life stories.
Public libraries in Windsor and Maidenhead subscribe to the Oxford DNB, which means you can look for people either in the library or from home (or anywhere, anytime) using your library membership number as a personal log-in.
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You can gain access via Windsor and Maidenhead libraries’ Reference Online or the Oxford DNB online, adding your number as shown.
With access Windsor, Maidenhead, Britain, and indeed the world, is your online oyster. |
- Windsor and Maidenhead lives
- Finding people near you
- Topical and local history in the ODNB
The Oxford DNB includes more than 580 men and women with connections to Windsor and 85 with links to Maidenhead—from the 12th century soldier Gerald of Windsor to the Chelsea footballer Peter Osgood (1947-2006), and the physicist Ted Allibone who contributed to splitting the atom in 1932.
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In between you’ll find many sons and daughters of Maidenhead and Windsor, including (in 1312) Edward III, Restoration dramatist Sir George Etherege, and Sir Sydney Camm (1893-1966), designer of the Hurricane fighter plane. |
You can also search within Windsor and Maidenhead, allowing you to find 30 people baptized in the two towns, more than 80 former pupils of their schools (excluding 1850 Eton alumni); and 375 one-time residents of Windsor and 50 of Maidenhead.
| Across the ODNB’s 65 million words, you’ll also find more than 2400 references to both towns, 30 to Stanley Spencer, 156 to Ascot, and 1500 to the Thames. |
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It’s easy to search by place in the Oxford DNB as the following section explains.
The Oxford DNB includes the life stories of more than 57,000 men and women. Online you can search for where they were born, baptized, lived, died or were buried, searching by county, town, village, church, and street.
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Here are some tips for how to find people near you—be they one-time residents of Princes Street, Edinburgh (45), sons and daughters of Whitby (24), or those buried in Exeter (112)—and how this can be used for school projects or family history. |
| Text searching across the ODNB’s 65 million words, you can also make links between people and places: for example, we’ve 92 references to Clapham Common, 23 to the River Trent, and 40 to Snowdonia. |
Try a map—from British brewers, to gardeners and seafarers.
Listen to a life
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Every two weeks the ODNB releases a biography podcast. There are more than 100 episodes to choose from, including John Lennon, Madame Tussaud, Morecambe and Wise, Roald Dahl, and Isambard Kingdom Brunel. |
| Browse the episodes by list or by place. |
Receive a Life of the Day
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Topical lives marking birthdays, anniversaries, and events—sent daily to your in-box. |
> Read the Oxford DNB, free and at home, using your library's subscription
> More about the Oxford DNB
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