William Bernard Brahms (born October 1, 1966) is an American librarian,

encyclopedist An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article ( ...

, author and historian best known for his encyclopedic works on historical "lasts" (as opposed to "firsts"), in particular, the reference works ''

Notable Last Facts ''Notable Last Facts'' is a book published by the American librarian/writer William B. Brahms in 2004 and was the first relatively comprehensive collection of important lasts. Although that work mainly details American culture (TV, Radio, Sports ...

: A Compendium of Endings, Conclusions, Terminations and Final Events Throughout History'' (2005) and ''Last Words of Notable People: Final Words of More than 3500 Noteworthy People Throughout History'' (2010). "Last words" and "last facts" are subjects for which his works are cited as an authoritative resources.

Life and work

William B. Brahms was born in

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

and was raised and still lives in

Haddon Township, New Jersey Haddon Township is a township in Camden County, New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 15,407, an increase of 700 (+4.8%) from the 2010 census count of 14,707, in turn reflecting an increase of 56 (+0 ...

. He graduated as a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

and

Cap and Skull Cap and Skull is a senior-year coeducational honor society at Rutgers University, founded on January 18, 1900. Admission to Cap and Skull is dependent on excellence in academics, athletics, the arts, and public service. The organization considers ...

from

Rutgers College Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

with a B.A. and from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

Graduate School of Communication Information and Library Studies with an M.L.S. He has spent his entire career working in public libraries in New Jersey. Currently he manages and is Chief Librarian at the

Camden County Library Camden County Library is a county library system located in Camden County, New Jersey. It is headquartered in Voorhees, New Jersey. History The library system was established in 1921. At the time, Camden County was mostly rural. Service consisted ...

. He is also President of Reference Desk Press, Inc. and has published seven books, including the major library reference works ''

'' which was selected as an "Achievement in Publishing" in ''Booklist's 2005 Editor's Choice'' issue and the ''Last Words of Notable People''" which was profiled in Kirkus author Q & A in

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

and

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

Recommends" and cracked the

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

Top 100 Best Seller list in 2011. Brahms has also written several books on regional history. In particular, his books on

Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey Franklin Township is a township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It is centrally located in the Raritan Valley region, within the New York Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 62, ...

including: ''Franklin Township Somerset County, NJ: A History'', and ''Images of America: Franklin Township''. His book on the historic Westmont Theatre in

Westmont, New Jersey Haddon Township is a township in Camden County, New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 15,407, an increase of 700 (+4.8%) from the 2010 census count of 14,707, in turn reflecting an increase of 56 (+0 ...

is a tie-in to the film ''The Grand Old Lady'' directed by Brent J. Donaway; a film in which Brahms also appears. He is also co-author of another title in the national Image of America series, ''Images of America: Haddon Township.'' about Haddon Township, New Jersey.Who's Who in America,

Marquis Who's Who Marquis Who's Who ( or ) is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in America'', ''Who's Who of American Wome ...

, LLC., 58th ed. (2004), 60th ed. (2006), 61st ed. (2007), 62 ed. (2008), 63 ed. (2009), 64 ed. (2010), 65 ed. (2011), 66 ed. (2012) ; Who's Who in the World,

, LLC., 27th ed. (2010), 28th ed. (2011), 29th ed. (2012)

External links

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Franklin PhotoArchive co-designed by William B. Brahms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brahms, William B 1966 births Living people American information and reference writers American librarians American encyclopedists Rutgers University alumni Writers from Camden, New Jersey People from Haddon Township, New Jersey