"The life of a nation is told by the lives of its people"

Over 19,000 biographies of significant, influential or notorious figures from American history written by prominent scholars.

American National Biography includes illustrations, links to selected websites for more information, and descriptive bibliographies. The articles in ANB trace a person's life in chronological order, from birth to death, through a sequence of significant events. Contextual information or hyper-linked articles. Concluding paragraphs put the person's life in historical perspective.