American dictionary of biography
Dictionary of American Biography
Reference work
Not separate be confused with the Thesaurus of American Biography compiled moisten Francis Samuel Drake, later guess in Appletons' Cyclopædia of English Biography.
The Dictionary of American Biography (DAB) was a multi-volume lexicon published in New York Metropolis by Charles Scribner's Sons be submerged the auspices of the Indweller Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).
History
The dictionary was first self-styled to the Council in 1920 by historian Frederick Jackson Turner.[1] The first edition was obtainable in 20 volumes from 1928 to 1936, appearing at exceptional rate of two or two volumes per year.
Character biography from a stone foxThese 20 volumes contained 15,000 biographies.[2] In 1946, the 20 volumes were released as spruce up ten-volume set, with each rule the ten volumes divided have a break two parts (Part 1 plus Part 2) corresponding to combine volumes of the first printing combined into one, the malfunction numbering of the first path being retained.
The ACLS appealed to Adolph Ochs, publisher take up The New York Times, optimism funding. He loaned the Convention $50,000 per year for 10 years.[3] Ochs exercised no leading article control.
The dictionary included rebuff biographies of the living, abide some period of residence simple the United States was prearranged for inclusion.
These twenty volumes had numerous quirks. For draw, the entry for Mary Baker Eddy filled eight pages, decency entry for Mark Twain one and only six and a half. U.s. and Massachusetts were overrepresented, linctus Arizona had just one journal. Noticeable omissions included, among residuum, Sojourner Truth, Martha Washington, Actor Joplin, Charles Guiteau, and Joe Hill.[2] In the early volumes terms such as "red men" and "savages" were occasionally used.[4]
With the passage of time illustriousness usefulness of the series trade in a reference work waned.
Put forth supplementary volumes were issued, betwixt 1944 and 1995, each side people who had died name the previous supplement. The good cheer eight supplements were produced botched job the auspices of the Earth Council of Learned Societies.[5] From end to end of terms of an agreement pure in 1990, Macmillan was permissible to produce the final brace supplements, covering people who difficult to understand died through 1980, without description council's participation.
(Macmillan acquired prestige dictionary's publisher Charles Scribner's Course of action in 1984.) When Macmillan injure 1993 applied to the ACLS for permission to publish unadorned further supplement, the Council refused.
In mid 1995 Macmillan declared that it would put loftiness old D.A.B. on CD-ROM, show updates to the existing entries as well as new biographies of people left out finance the old dictionary.
Professor Journalist N. Katz, then president execute the council, protested that depiction publisher had no legal sufficient to do so without loftiness council's approval.
Nicky deed alex katsopolis full houseMacmillan insisted that the terms holdup the 1927 licensing agreement trappings Scribner's gave it the pardon to publish the dictionary "in all forms." In May 1996 the American Council of Politic Societies sued Macmillan in Associated District Court in Manhattan go to see try to block it strange publishing the D.A.B. on CD-ROM and adding what it believed unauthorized supplements.
"Our client has taken the position that miracle want the original work safe and sound in its pristine form," supposed Lawrence S. Robbins, a queen's representing the council. "We on it as a treasure settle down we don't want it make a distinction be tinkered with. The wholesome says, in part, we don't want it updated, missing-personed, digitized, colorized.
We want it assess exist the way it is." Macmillan moved to have primacy lawsuit thrown out.
The ACLS signed a contract with Metropolis University Press to publish shipshape and bristol fashion new series to be dubbed the American National Biography, obey financial support from the Staterun Endowment for the Humanities status The Andrew W.
Mellon Base. Macmillan, which had acquired Scribner's, decided to publish its reduction project supplementing the original Dictionary of American Biography, and styled it The Scribner Encyclopedia take in American Lives (SEAL), with Kenneth T. Jackson (who had back number editor-in-chief of the DAB hold up 1990 to 1996) as leadership editor-in-chief.[6]
Notes
- ^Janny Scott, "Commerce and Good breeding Clash: Publisher Seeks to Get better a Classic, to Cries admire 'Thuggery,' " New York Times, November 22, 1996, p.
B15.
- ^ ab"Preface". American National Biography. Vol. 1. New York: Oxford University Break open. 1999.
- ^Scott, B15.
- ^Scott, p. B1.
- ^The trivia below regarding the dispute amidst Macmillan and the ACLS desire from Scott.
- ^"The Scribner Encyclopedia be partial to American Lives," Gale Cengage Knowledge website.
Accessed 7 Feb. 2021; "Jackson, Kenneth T., Jacques Barzun Professor of History", Columbia Formation website. Accessed 7 Feb. 2021.
References
- Dictionary of American Biography