Wales and the Welsh in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (www.oxforddnb.com) tells the life stories of more than 58,000 men and women (deceased in or before 2007) who have shaped British history worldwide. Of these, more than 3200 were born or lived in Wales, or left their mark on aspects of Welsh life—from politics to sport, industry to the arts.

Together these subjects span 1500 years of Welsh history, beginning with the sixth-century St Deiniol (bishop of Bangor and monastery founder) and concluding with close contemporaries such as the writer and dramatist Alun Richards (1929–2004) and footballer John Charles (1931–2004).

In May 2011 the Oxford DNB further extended its coverage of shapers of Welsh history, about which you can read more here.

1. Find people

• by name (including nicknames, pseudonyms, married names, title names and more)
• by date or date range
• by place of birth, baptism, education, residence (including street, where known), death, and burial
• by ‘profession’ (we have 1300 on offer: from wrestlers to helminthologists)
• by religious affiliation (we have 250: from the Church in Wales to Magic Methodists)

• by what name Cardiff’s David Ivor Davies is better known
• who was Mam Cymru and why was she so named
• aside from the land speed record holder John Parry Thomas, who was born in Wrexham
• which literary figures are associated with Swansea
• who was born on St David’s Day, or on your birthday
• who was buried on Anglesey?
• which scientists were educated in Aberystwyth
• in addition to the ‘Two Ladies’, who lived in Llangollen

2. Search for words, references, and images

• how many references the Dictionary contains to Snowdon as a place, rather than as an aristocratic title
• which rugby player’s estate was valued at £72,042 at the time of his death in 1983
• Which Welsh footballer was sent toothpicks, and why
• how many ODNB subjects have portraits in the National Museum and Gallery of Wales
• how many of portraits by Tenby-born Augustus John are used to illustrate the ODNB (then click on an icon to view the portrait)

3. New biographies published three times a year

Since publication in September 2004, the Oxford DNB has been extended three times each year with online updates published every January, May, and October.

January updates add biographies of men and women who died in the early twenty-first century, while those for May and October add people from the ‘earliest times’ to 2000. Our latest update (October 2008) included a special focus on First World War lives to mark the 90th anniversary of the armistice.

• Sir Julian Hodge (1904–2004), merchant banker and businessman
• Samuel Brain (1850–1903), brewer
• Winifred Tennant (1874–1956), suffragist and spiritualist medium
• Huw Thomas Edwards (1892–1970), trade unionist and politician
• Felix Powell (1878–1942), composer of the marching song, ‘Pack up your troubles’
• Sarah Jacob [called the Welsh Fasting Girl] (1857–1869), victim of self-starvation
• Leighton Rees (1940–2003), darts player
• David Watts Morgan (1867–1933), miners' leader and wartime recruiter
• Trevor Ford (1923–2003), footballer

4. Themes for quick reference and research

As well as new biographies, updates have added more than 450 articles to create a new Themes area of the online Oxford DNB.

Themes provide an expanding online 'handbook' to the people who shaped British history worldwide. Themes take three forms—lists, groups, and features—and are useful for quick reference, making connections between people, and as routes into the main dictionary (all individuals mentioned link back to the full biography for further reading).

Reference lists provide details of place and office holders: for example, all British prime ministers or Poets laureate or Oscar winners and Olympic gold medallists in the ODNB.

• Welsh-related content includes lists of Princes of Wales, archbishops of Wales, and Welsh saints

Reference groups provide essays on well-known groups in history, making links between individual members: from the Gunpowder plotters and the Pilgrim Fathers to the Suffragettes and the Goons.

Feature essays allow expert historians to write on popular topics: from Roman Britain to appeasement and from slavery abolition to Life on the Home Front.

• Welsh-related features include the literary network of Hen bersoniaid llengar and essays on the rising by Owain Glyn Dŵr and Iolo Morganwg, Bard of Liberty.

5. Getting the most from your subscription

• For librarians: tips and guides for promoting the Oxford DNB or for use with local history projects
• For teachers and students: ideas for classroom use and research
• Topical history: regular features linking people in the past to current anniversaries. Examples include the Armistice, Faces of Sgt Pepper, and Football Legends.
• Interactive features: maps and galleries include Lives at sea, Brewers of Britain, and Victoria Cross holders, alongside a regular biography podcast.
• Five lives: 20 unusual routes into the dictionary’s content