LibGuides: People Research: Strategies for Researching a Person: First Steps

People, what it helps to know!

Here are some questions to ask/answer as you begin to brainstorm a research strategy:

What is the complete name or any variant names of your subject?
What is their birth date? Age? Death date (if appropriate)?
Where are they from? Country/State/City/Address?
What is their occupation or career history? What are they known for?
What groups are they affiliated with? Trade associations, political parties, companies, universities, news channels, etc.

Finding answers to the above questions will help determine where you go looking for more information and help you validate the information you find.

Recommended first step resources.

Ancestry Library This link opens in a new window
Ancestry Library includes information on individuals from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and other countries. It contains billions of records in censuses, vital records, immigration records, family histories, court and legal documents, directories, family and gravestone photos, and more. Also included are an extensive collection of military records, and multimedia such as newsreels and maps.

Current Biography Yearbook
Call Number: Ref Desk CT100 .C8 [Annual]
Current Biography, available in hardcopy only, contains profiles of people in the news and includes politicians, athletes, businessmen, and entertainers. Published since 1940, the articles are annually collected into bound volumes called Current Biography Yearbook. Also includes obituaries of famous people who died during that year.

Biography in Context This link opens in a new window
Biography in Context includes over 400,000 biographies covering literary figures, science, multicultural studies, business, entertainment, politics, sports, government, history, current events and the arts. Searchable by name, nationality, occupation, and more.
Encyclopedia Britannica This link opens in a new window
Encyclopedia Britannica is an authoritative general-knowledge database of thousands of articles written by field experts, a World Atlas, and the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Also included: primary source material, multimedia sources, biographies, journal and magazine articles, and Web sites selected by Britannica editors.
World News Digest This link opens in a new window
World News Digest is a domestic and international news database covering all major political, social, and economic events since November 1940. World News Digest is updated twice weekly and includes a searchable hourly newsfeed. Its internal hyperlinks allow researchers to follow a story ahead and back in time, and lead to just the background information they need to understand its significance.