y separately published work icon Australian Dictionary of Biography reference   biography  
Note: General editor, v. 1-6. Douglas Pike; v. 7-10. Bede Nairn, Geoffrey Serle; v.11. Geoffrey Serle; v. 12-16. John Ritchie; v. 17. Di Langmore; v. 18-19. Melanie Nolan
Issue Details: First known date: 1966-... 1966- Australian Dictionary of Biography
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The Australian Dictionary of Biography is a national, co-operative enterprise, founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU), as a project that fulfils one of the original purposes of the university.'

Source: Australian Dictionary of Biography website, http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/
Sighted: 21/01/2007

Notes

  • v. 1. 1788-1850, A-H – v. 2. 1788-1850, I-Z – v. 3. 1851-1890, A-C – v. 4. 1851-1890, D-J – v. 5. 1851-1890, K-Q – v. 6. 1851-1890, R-Z – v. 7. 1891-1939, A-Ch – v. 8. 1891-1939, Cl-Gib – v. 9. 1891-1939, Gil-Las – v. 10. 1891-1939, Lat-Ner – v. 11. 1891-1939, Nes-Smi – v. 12. 1891-1939, Smy-Z – v. 13. 1940-1980, A-De – Index: volumes 1 to 12, 1788-1939 – v. 14 1940-1980, Di-Kel – v. 15 1940-1980, Kem-Pie – v. 16, 1940-1980, Pik-Z – Supplement: 1580-1980 / / editor: Christopher Cunneen – v. 17. 1981-1990, A-K, v. 18 1981-1990, L-Z, v. 19. 1991-1995, A-Z: editor Melanie Nolan.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Melbourne, Victoria,: London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      Melbourne University Press ; Cambridge University Press ,
      1966- .
      Link: U3118Web resource Sighted: 21/01/2008
      Extent: v.1-17p.
      Note/s:
      • Published in Melbourne by Melbourne University Press and in London and New York by Cambridge University Press.
      ISBN: 0522844596 (index vol.), 0522843808 (vol. 11), 0522852149 (supplement 1580-1980), 0522849970 (vol.16), 0522844375 (vol. 12), 0522841082 (vol. 6), 0522839096 (vol. 3), 0522845126 (vol. 13), 0522841856 (vol. 7), 0522842364 (set), 0522842194 (vol. 8), 0522842739 (vol. 9), 0522843271 (vol. 10), 0522840345 (vol. 4), 052284717X (vol. 14), 9780522853827 (v. 17.), 0522848435 (vol. 15), 0522840612 (vol. 5), 9781760464127 (vol.19)

Works about this Work

Reimagining the ADB Melanie Nolan , Michelle Staff , 2024 single work essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , July no. 466 2024; (p. 42-44)
'Unfamiliar readers may assume that the Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) is a dusty, dense, traditional encyclopedia, its pages filled with dull entries on those whom posterity has deemed worthy of remembrance. Consisting of twenty heavy tomes (plus addenda), nine million words, and almost 14,000 scholarly biographies, it may seem like an unreadable piece of work that is of little relevance.' (Introduction) 
The First Three Fleets and Their Families : The Lives and Legacies of Australia’s Early Colonial Settlers Christine Fernon , 2023 single work criticism
— Appears in: Australian Journal of Biography and History , no. 7 2023; (p. 123-133)
'As the Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) edits the last batch of entries for those who died in the 1990s, we are also preparing for our next project, revising its earliest volumes—dealing with the colonial period—published in the 1960s. Those articles will be revised or rewritten where appropriate, and many new entries added. We are also undertaking several online biographical research projects focusing on the colonial period. The First Three Fleets and Their Families is one of them. For the ‘Fleeters’ project, we are creating biographical entries on the ADB’s companion website, People Australia (PA), for all those who set sail from the United Kingdom for the New South Wales colony, be they convict, sailor or colonial administrator, in the first three fleets from 1787 to 1791. Those who died en route are included as well. It is estimated that about 4,500 men, women and children made that perilous journey. We are also adding entries for the children and grandchildren of Fleeters (mostly convicts) who remained in the colony. The bulk of the biographical records created so far fall within the colonial period or early twentieth century, though a few of the Fleeters’ grandchildren died in the 1940s and the spouse of one grandchild died as late as 1971. Entries are being indexed using the same terms applied to all ADB entries: birth and death dates and place, cultural heritage, religion, cause of death, the ship arrived on, education, occupation, workplace, military service, involvement in key events and organisations, awards, as well as terms developed specifically for this project (more about that later).' (Introduction)
‘Biography and Life-Writing Can Re-Make the Nation’ : A Review of Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 19, 1991-1995 (A-Z) Tanya Evans , 2022 single work review essay
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , vol. 53 no. 3 2022; (p. 473-488)

— Review of Australian Dictionary of Biography 1966- reference biography

'In late 2014 I co-organised a workshop at Macquarie University on ‘The Self and History’ with my former colleague Kate Fullagar. This was linked to another workshop I co-organised as Director of the Centre for Applied History with Australian Dictionary of Biography (hereafter ADB) colleagues on family history. We planned a masterclass with higher degree research students and early career researchers as part of the proceedings and asked participants to prepare an ADB entry about themselves in advance to share with others at the workshop. We hoped this task would encourage people to think carefully about how we construct life-stories, what sources are available to us when we do this work, as well as the limits and possibilities of what authors can and might reveal about their lives, given the opportunity to do so. It was one of the most enjoyable projects I have shared with friends, colleagues, peers, and students. We all learned much about the construction of historical knowledge as well as ourselves and each other in the process. I have reflected many times on the activity since, when writing up life-stories in different formats and for varied audiences. I also draw upon the task when I talk to my students about historical significance. Scholars agree that examining the construction of life-stories can provide us with unprecedented insight into how history is undertaken, imagined, and discussed by ‘ordinary people’.' (Introduction)

Reframing Australian Portraits Frank Bongiorno , 2019 single work essay
— Appears in: Meanjin , Winter vol. 78 no. 2 2019; (p. 88-94)
'In the corridor where the Australian Dictionary of Biography team does its work at the Australian National University in Canberra, there is a gallery of photographs of those who have led the project since 1962. The first is of Douglas Pike (general editor, 1962–73)—rouseabout, shearer, teacher, clergyman and historian. Pike, the son of missionaries to China, looks squarely at the camera, pipe in mouth: a stereotype of the academic. (Introduction)
An Indigenous Australian Dictionary of Biography Shino Konishi , 2019 single work criticism
— Appears in: ‘True Biographies of Nations?’ The Cultural Journeys of Dictionaries of National Biography 2019; (p. 139-158)
'An Indigenous Australian Dictionary of Biography (IADB) is a new Australian Research Council–funded research project I am leading with Malcolm Allbrook and Tom Griffiths, which seeks to redress the long-standing underrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within the Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) by doubling the number of Indigenous biographies within the online ADB, and producing a stand-alone published volume of Indigenous short biographies. Yet, rather than just producing 190 new entries, our aim is also to rethink how Indigenous biographies can be conceptualised, being attentive to how and why Indigenous biography is distinctive, and how Indigenous people, who have long been marginalised and excluded from the national imaginary, can now be better accommodated with the ADB, and hence be better incorporated within the national story.'  (Introduction)
 
History Is Catching Up with Us Jim Davidson , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 19 January 2008; (p. 19)

— Review of Australian Dictionary of Biography 1966- reference biography
Grasping Our National Evolution Through Historymakers Dennis Glover , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 2-3 February 2008; (p. 12-13)

— Review of Australian Dictionary of Biography 1966- reference biography
Pick a Letter Geoffrey Blainey , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , February no. 298 2008; (p. 14-15)

— Review of Australian Dictionary of Biography 1966- reference biography
The Australian Dictionary of Biography : A National Asset Diane Langmore , 2008 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Papers , Summer vol. 20 no. 1 2008; (p. 22-30)

— Review of Australian Dictionary of Biography 1966- reference biography
Figures Woven into Fabric of Nation Mark McGinness , 2013 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 13-14 July 2013; (p. 30-31) The Age , 13 July 2013; (p. 24) The Canberra Times , 13 July 2013; (p. 23)

— Review of Australian Dictionary of Biography 1966- reference biography
Heroes and Villains Brought to Book 2009 single work column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 2 December 2009; (p. 10)
On 1 December 2009, The Australian National University celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
The Genesis of the ADB 2009 single work column
— Appears in: Biography Footnotes , no. 3 2009;
Laurie Fitzhardinge is remembered at the Australian Dictionary of Biography for having started the Dictionary’s Biographical Register in 1954.
Life Sentences Karen Fox , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: ANU Reporter , Spring vol. 42 no. 3 2011; (p. 8)
'Karen Fox explores the intersections between the Australian honours system and the Australian Dictionary of Biography.'(Editor's abstract)
Portraits in Words Warwick Hirst , 2003 single work essay
— Appears in: Upfront , Winter vol. 15 no. 2 2003; (p. 8)
The Godfather : Peter Corris on the Pleasures of Biography Peter Corris , 2013 single work essay
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , January 2013;

Awards

1966-1967 winner Ernest Scott Prize for  Vols. 1 & 2
Last amended 22 Feb 2021 12:26:53
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