Questions
to consider:
1- Is
the person dead or alive? Think: obituaries.
2- What years did they live? Life-time indicates age of material.
3- What did they do? What do they do now? Inventions, discoveries, prizes,
honors all count for something, especially news coverage.
4- What was their occupation? Company histories are a good place to look;
like the International Directory of Company Histories, HD2721.I630
in RR.
5- Could they be associated with any particular time period (like
"the 60s") or movement (like "civil rights")
or person/group (think Ringo Starr and the Beatles)? Prominent
people may be featured in a book about something larger than just them.
Relying On
Tidbits
Tidbits: tiny pieces of information you can pick up from reputed sources
to form a picture of that perons's life. The less famous a person is,
the more you will have to rely on such tidbits. Reference materials
often provide such information.
Reference
Materials
In Regenstein Library (first floor reading room):
Current Biography, CT100.C94
Who's Who in America (brief info), E176.W62
Who's Who in the World (brief), CT120.W62
Concise Dictionary of American Biography, E176.D571 1997
St. James Guide to Biography, Z5301.S34 1991
American National Biography, E176.D58 1999
**Who's Who Among Outstanding Business Executives, HF5500.3.U54.W496
1995
**Who's Who Among Top Executives, HD38.25.U6 W36 1996
** Standard & Poor's Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives, HG4057.A1P81
Books
at Regenstein
Fame
often accounts for a lot in terms of biography. In the library
catalog, try a subject alphabetical browse on the name of
the person or the company they work for.
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Databases
African
American Biographical Database (1790-1950) includes photographs
and illustrations.
American National Biography Click
on "subscribers enter here". Deceased
people only. Excellent
cross-references.
Biography
Index (1984-) Includes individual and collective biographies from
all fields and nationalities. You can search by industry ( i.e. "computers"
and "executive"). Some full-text.
Articles often provide information. We suggest looking in Factiva, ABI/Inform and
OneSource Global Business Browser.
Pictures
The top two places to look for a picture
of your favorite executive: 1- company homepage. 2- annual report.
Web Sources
Try the company's homepage. Often
the top executives are listed and pictured within the company's info.
Try searching for your person's name if the site has a "search"
function. You never know what you may find.
Also, SEC documents, like proxy statements (form 14A), reveal the age,
position and brief backgrounds of top execs and directors. Check Lexis-Nexis
or FreeEdgar for this info.
Finding Obituaries
If you know where they lived (hometown),
or where their company was headquartered, the local paper may have written
something. Check the library catalog for newspaper holdings and get
ready to load up the microfilm. For national characters, check the big
newspapers: (N.Y. Times, L.A. Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune).
Obituary Index: CT210.o24, in RR1
In-person help:
Stop by, call or e-mail.
Reference and Business Information Center
First Floor, Regenstein Library
Monday-Friday: 9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday: closed
Phone: (773) 702-4685
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