''Chambers Biographical Dictionary'' provides concise descriptions of over 18,000 notable figures from Britain and the rest of the world. It was first published in 1897. The publishers,

Chambers Harrap Chambers is a reference publisher formerly based in Edinburgh, Scotland, which held the property rights of W. R. Chambers Publishers. History of Chambers Chambers was founded as W. & R. Chambers Publishers by the two brothers William Chambers ...

, who were formerly based in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, claim their ''Biographical Dictionary'' is the most comprehensive and authoritative single-volume biographical dictionary available, covering entries in such areas as sport, science, music, art, literature, politics, television, and film. The 1990 reprint is published by University Press,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

Editions

The 9th edition was published in 2011 and has biographies of over 18,000 people, most consisting of about a dozen lines in a two-column page layout. Some however run to 50 lines or more while

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

covers two pages. Entries typically consist of place of birth, a summary on education or career, and achievements or publications. A single reference source is usually given. The centenary edition of 1997 () was edited by Melanie Parry and the revised edition () was edited by J. O. Thorne and T. C. Collocott.''Chambers Biographical Dictionary'' The centenary edition contained well over 17,500 alphabetically arranged articles describing the nationality, occupation, and achievements of each person, as well as 250 panels which focus on a wide variety of individuals regarded as being particularly important, influential, and interesting. Sources are given and there are thousands of suggestions for further reading. The 5th edition published in 1990 was edited by Magnus Magnusson.

References

Bibliography

*Chambers, ed., Joan Bakewell, introduction: ''Chambers Biographical Dictionary'', 9th edition, 2011, Chambers, 1,278 pages. . 1897 books British biographical dictionaries Scottish non-fiction literature Series of books {{bio-dict-stub