Who’s Who and Who Was Who – online biographies
Library members and our library computers have full access to Who's Who and Who Was Who online, a directory of influential people from around the world.
‘Who’s Who’ contains over 33,000 short biographies of living people who have influenced British society. It includes notable individuals from other countries who have made an important contribution to international life.
The people in Who's Who write their own biographies. When they die, their details move to Who Was Who, which lists people who died from 1897 onwards.
You can search the articles for a person, or key words and phrases.
Advanced search lets you combine various options such as occupation, address, and even preferred recreations. For example, you could search for broadcasters born in London before 1960 who are members of the Garrick Club, or for Welsh people with an MBE.
For information about the history of Who's Who and how people are selected and write their entries, visit the A&C Black website.
Ways to use it
At home
If you are a library member, you can use your library card number and personal identification number (PIN) to search the full version of Who’s Who and Who Was Who from home.
In the library
Users of our library computers can access the full subscriber version of Who's Who and Who Was Who.
To use our computers just bring along some identification or your library card if you are a member. You don’t need to book but we recommend it to make sure you get a place.
More biographies online
See our page reference books and online databases.
Library members have full access to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and we’ve provided links to other useful sites under the heading ‘biographies’.
