Research Guides: Biography: Web Resources

Selected Biography Web Sites

Academy of Achievement
The Academy of Achievement brings young leaders face-to-face with the extraordinary visionaries and pioneers who have helped shape our world.
Biographical Guide to Congress
The primary source for biographical information on Members of the United States Congress and Continental Congresses
Biography.com
A division of A&E Network, Biograhy.com is specifically for biographical information on various individuals.
Black Past
Site dedicated to providing information on African American history in the United States and on the history of the more than one billion people of African ancestry around the world.
Digital History
Digital History is committed to providing high-quality historical resources for teachers and students for free and without advertising.
Encyclopedia of World Biography
Offers lengthy biographies of thousands of people from around the world, with an emphasis on famous people of the 20th century.
Noble Prize
The Nobel Foundation site includes the Nobel Prize winners from 1901 to date.

Presidents of the United States
This website offers in-depth biographies of all US presidents. For each president, the biography starts with a Life in Brief profile, then proceeds to sections about Campaigns and Elections, Foreign Affairs, Impact and Legacy, and other topics.
World of Scientific Biography
Search by branch of science, gender, nationality, historical periods.

You are more likely to find academic sources on .gov and .edu sites, but you still need to look at the purpose and other factors. Many .edu sites host student blogs, personal pages, news, etc. Not all pages with a .edu or .gov ending are academic, but they are good starting places for research. To limit to these sites, add site:gov or site:edu to the end of your search in Google or another search engine (note that there are no spaces).
.org sites may have some academic works, but again will require evaluation. Many nonprofits will publish research as reports or fact sheets. Note that many nonprofit organizations may have sponsors or a certain mission. Be sure that you are aware of this (look for a Mission or About Us page on their site). A specific mission may mean that there is bias in the information an organization is promoting.
Examine the tone and purpose of the site. Ideally, resources for college level research papers should be written to inform, educate, and/or share research. Some organizations may be trying to sell a product or persuade others of their point of view, which could affect the information they choose to present or highlight. Some organizations might also have a political stance that can affect their presentation of research. Even if a biased site supports your thesis, it lacks credibility and weakens your argument.