Table Of ContentOxford Dictionary of
National Biography
Volume
1
Oxford Dictionary of
National Biography
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
The British Academy
From the earliest times to the year 2000
Edited by
H. C. G. Matthew
and
Brian Harrison
Volume
1
Aaron-Amory
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INTRODUCTION
TheOxfordDictionaryofNationalBiography,inassociationwith and may assist research: on archives, likenesses, and
theBritishAcademyisthefirstpointofreferenceforanyone wealthatdeath.
interestedinthelivesofthepeoplesoftheBritishIslesand Accompanying about one article in five is an image of
theirconnectionsoverseas, fromtheearliesttimestothe the personwho is the subject ofthe article—generally a
endoftheyear2000.Itistheproductofresearchinstituted portrait, but sometimes an effigy, coin, or other mono-
at the University of Oxford and funded by the British graphic material. Selection ofthe 10,057 likenesses was
—
Academy Britain’snationalacademyforthehumanities organizedbytheNationalPortraitGallery,drawingonits
—
andthesocialsciences andbyOxfordUniversityPress.It owncollectionsandonabout1500othersources.Chosen
isthe achievement of10,000 contributors andadvisers, a toensurethattheiroverallbalancereflectscoverageinthe
worldwide community co-ordinated by project staff in Dictionary, the images are wherever possible authentic
Oxford. likenessestakenfromthelife.
The OxfordDNB aims to provide full, accurate, concise, Thisintroductionseekstoexplainthehistoricalcontext
andreadablearticlesonnoteworthypeopleinallwalksof fromwhichthe OxfordDNBcame, itsgestation, itsprinci-
life, which present current scholarship in a form acces- plesofinclusion,howitsinformationwasgathered,howit
sible to all. No living person is included: the Dictionary’s ispresented,andhowithasbeencompiledandpublished
articles are confined to people who died before 31 inprintedandelectronicforms.
December2000.Itcoverspeoplewhowerebornandlived
in the British Isles, people from the British Isles who HistoryoftheDNB
achievedrecognitioninothercountries,peoplewholived The DNB was from the outset a remarkable enterprise.1
tinimteerrwihtoerniesthfeoyrmweerrleycionncnoencttaecdttwoitthheBBrriittiisshhrIusllee,s aatnda The publisher George Smith—ofSmith, Elder 8; Co.—at
peoplebomelsewherewhosettledintheBritishIslesfor fhiirsstmpordoejelcttehdeafdoircttyi-ovnoalruymoefBwioorglrdapbhiieogurnaipvehrys,eltleak(iPnagriass,
significantperiodsorwhosevisitsenabledthemtoleavea
1843-63). In 1881-2 he discussed this idea with Leslie
markonBritishlife. Stephen,whowasthenworkingwithhimaseditorofthe
TheOxfordDNBcomprises50,113substantivearticlesina ComhillMagazine,andin1882waspersuadedtoscaledown
singlealphabeticalsequence.49,705oftheseconcernindi- his ambition and instead to fund a dictionary ofBritish
viduals,and408coverthelivesofseveralpeopleinasingle national biography. Stephen then resigned from editing
entry under the name of a family or group—the Grey theComhilltobecometheDNB’sfirsteditor.Onceaquarter
family,forexample,ortheTolpuddleMartyrs.5217people from 1885 to 1900 the DNB's sixty-three volumes succes-
appear in subsidiary notices forming part of another sively rolled out from the presses in alphabetical order
article. In total, the Oxford DNB includes lives of 54,922 ‘with unbroken punctuality’,2 as Sidney Lee (the DNB’s
people. It incorporates in rewritten or revised form all secondeditor)wrotein1900, castingasidelongglance at
38,607 lives contained in the Dictionary ofNational Bio- the slow progress made with similar publications else-
graphy, the precursor of the Oxford DNB, published be- whereinEurope.TheDNB’s27,236articlescovered29,333
tween 1885 and 1900, and in its supplements, published people.3Leecounted653contributors,butidentified‘one
between1901and1996. hundredregularandvoluminouscontributors’who‘have
Articles in this dictionary present the lives ofone or written nearly three-fourths of the whole’.4 Fie rightly
more personswrittenbyoneormore authors.Theybear calledit‘anundertakingofexceptionalmagnitudeinthe
thenamesofthoseauthors,andinthecaseofarticlesfrom history of publishing’,5 and the organizational skill
theDNBthathavebeenrevisedfortheOxfordDNBtheform involvedstillseemsimpressive.Smith’sfeatwasalsophil-
—
ofthesignatureindicatesthefactoftheirrevision.Inaddi- anthropic:heinvested£70,000intheDNB theequivalent
tiontooutliningaperson’sactivities,character,andsignif- ofabout£5millionatthestartofthetwenty-firstcentury.
icance, each article aims to include, where feasible, ThetasktaxedStephen’shealthaswellasSmith’sfunds,
certainstandardfactsabouttheperson’slife:datesand,as and in 1891 Stephen gave wayto his successor as editor,
appropriate,placesofkeylifeevents(suchasbirth,educa- SidneyLee,whobroughttheplannedprojecttofruitionin
tion, marriage, death, and burial), information about 1900. Flowever, by 1901 the DNB’s revision had already
parents and spouses, and places ofresidence. All articles begun: three supplementary volumes to the original
contain bibliographical sources. Further references are dictionary were published in that year. Again edited by
providedwhichlistmaterialthatsupplementsthearticle Lee, these volumes included 965 articles covering 1007
INTRODUCTION
vi
people who had died between 1885 and 22January 1901 for revision could be met only by a completely new
(thedateofQueenVictoria’sdeath),togetherwithothers edition. This would have the ancillary advantage of
unintentionallyomittedfromearlieryears.Giventhatthe restoringthecontinuousalphabeticalsequenceofnames
DNB’svolumeshadbeenpublishedquarterlyinalphabet- thathadbeencumulativelysubvertedbyeachsupplement
ical order, materialforthe supplementatthe endofthis published from 1901 onwards. At this point OUP could
process was inevitably weighted heavily towards the perhaps haveabandonedtheentireventureastoocostly,
alphabet’s earlier letters. A volume ofcorrigenda to the butin1989thedelegatesandseniorofficersofOUPidenti-
entire dictionarywas publishedin 1902, and some ofthe fiedanewDNBas‘anurgentpriority’.7
accumulated corrections to the articles in the DNB’s first Aninitiativewasencouragedatthistimebytheadvent
edition and first supplement were incorporated into the ofnewtechnologyandbyOUP’sexperienceoftwocompa-
main body ofthe work when Smith, Elder reissued the rableprojects.In1984thePresshadbeguncomputerizing
sixty-threeoriginalvolumesandthethree-volumesupple- the OxfordEnglish Dictionary. This entailed integratingthe
mentintwenty-twovolumesduring1908-9. original text with its supplements, and the whole was
Thereafterthe originalDNB remained unmodified, but published as a second edition in 1989, electronically on
chronological supplements on the recently deceased compact disc in 1992, and online in 2000. In 1986 a new
continuedtobepublishedbetween1912and1996.Thefirst AmericanNationalBiographyhadbeencommissionedbythe
ofthesecoveredpeoplewhodiedbetween 1901and1911, American Council ofLearned Societies; it was published
included1632articles on1659 people, andwaspublished byOUP’sNewYorkofficeintwenty-fourprintvolumesin
bySmith,Elderin1912;itwasthelastamongLee’sheroic 1999,andonlinein2000.Keydecision-makersintheinitial
laboursfortheDictionary.In1917theSmithfamilygavethe phase of planning the Oxford DNB were Ivon Asquith
DNBtotheUniversityofOxford,whichentrustedittoOUP. (managingdirectorofOUP’sArtsandReferenceDivision,
Thereafter OUP kept in print the twenty-two-volume set and later ofthe wider Academic Division), Nick Wilson
and the supplementfor1901to 1911, and published nine (commercial directoroftheArts and Reference Division,
furthersupplementsundereighteditors,addingatotalof and formerly publishingeditorresponsible forthe DNB),
5551 new articles on 5570 people who had died up to SirAnthonyKenny(presidentoftheBritishAcademyand
31 December 1990. In 1975 OUP published a two-volume adelegateofOUP),andSirKeithThomas(adelegateofOUP
‘compact edition’ ofthe DNBwith supplements covering andchairmanofitsfinancecommittee).
the period to i960, micrographically reproduced. The InitialplansputtoOUP’sdelegatesinMarch1990envis-
volumeentitledMissingPersons(1993), editedbyChristine agededitorialworkcontinuingovertwentyyearsthrough
Nicholls,added1082articleson1083peoplewhohadbeen to 2010, and proceeding alongside publication ofthree
omittedfromallearliervolumesupto 1985. In1996 OUP volumesayearforfifteenyearsfrom1995.Externalfinan-
alsopublishedtheDNB complete upto 1985 onCD-ROM, cial support was thought essential to fund the necessary
and some selections ofDNB articles were published sepa- researchandwriting,andinApril1990thedelegatesasked
ratelyinthematicprintvolumesbetween1997and2002.6 the British Academy for help in securing government
TheConciseDNBupto1900hadbeenpublishedin1903as funding for those elements of the work. Under Sir
theIndexandEpitome asecondpart(covering1901to1950) Anthony Kenny the Academy endorsed the plan, and in
,
in1961,witharevisedversion(1901to1970)in1982,anda January 1992 received for the purpose a substantially
consolidatedthree-volumeedition(fromtheearliesttimes increased grant from what was then the Department of
to 1985) in 1992. The DNB (including all its supplements EducationandScience.On21February1992theAcademy’s
and Missing Persons contained 36,466 articles on 38,652 Council agreed to contribute towards research costs
)
people; ofthese, 45 had been entered twice, so the total throughanannualsubventiontotheUniversityofOxford.
numberoflivesincludedwas38,607. That subvention, set at £250,000 a year in 1992/3 and
subsequently rising in line with inflation, made it poss-
PlansforanewDNB ible formally to establish the project. A Supervisory
Committee was appointed, with representation for the
Throughout the twentieth century the case for revising Academy,theUniversityofOxford,and(byinvitation)the
theDNBanditssupplementssteadilybuiltup.Erratawere Royal Society (the members are listed on page xxi).
collected at the Institute of Historical Research and for Meetingatleastonceayear,itwaschairedthroughoutits
manyyears were published in its Bulletin. Yet errors and lifefrom1992to2004bySirKeithThomas.TheCommittee
omissions could not be comprehensively corrected exercised general oversight of the project, which then
without resetting the entire dictionary. OUP did not feel assumed the workingname ‘New Dictionary ofNational
abletomeetthehugecostofdoingthis,givencontempo- Biography’.
—
rary printing methods nor in the 1960s could it tempt Themostcrucialearlydecisionwastheappointmentof
subsidies from charitable foundations. By the 1980s far the editor. The leading candidate identified in 1991 was
more than mere correction was needed, forthe century- Colin Matthew—then fellow of St Hugh’s College,
old work now required complete rejuvenation. Modern Oxford—who co-editedoreditedthe lasttwelvevolumes
scholarshipcalledforarticlesonnewtypesofpeopleand of W. E. Gladstone’s diaries (14 volumes, 1968-94). At
a fresh approach to those already there. Missing Persons the end of February 1992 he was formally invited to
madeastartongatheringadditionalnames,buttheneed becomeeditorofthenewventure,andinMarch1992the
INTRODUCTION
vii
University ofOxford announced the project’s establish- in Stephen’s own view that ‘great as is the difference
ment under his leadership from September 1992. between a good and a badwork ofthe kind, even avery
ComparinghistaskwiththatoftheDNB’sfirsttwoeditors, defective performance is immensely superiorto none at
Matthew noted that the university-based professional all’.11
expertise available to them had been small, whereas by
the1990sthepoolofsuchauthorityintheBritishIsles,the Principlesofinclusion
United States, the Commonwealth, and continental
Europewasvast; ‘mobilisingandcoordinatingthisexper- At an early stage in the planning, Matthew decided to
tise',hewrote,‘willbeachiefdutyoftheEditor’.8 retain in the newdictionaryeveryone intheDNB and its
Evenbeforetakinguphisnewroleon1September1992, supplements. ‘My approach to the DNB has been
Matthewstartedworkonreconstitutingtheproject’splan throughoutconservative’, hewrote inhis internalreport
with NickWilson, whowas the OUPdirectorresponsible ofApril 1993, ‘bothas to the distribution ofsubjects and
fortheprojectuntil1997.Theplanin1992stillenvisaged thecontentofindividualarticles’;thenewdictionarywas
writing and publication extending over twenty years. ‘thus a development from the presentDNB, nota denovo
Afterwide canvassing ofspecialist views about the DNB, replacementofit’.HefeltthattheDNBwastoovaluableto
and working closely with OUP and the chairman ofthe set aside completely: the taskfor the makers ofthe new
Supervisory Committee, Matthew rapidly made several wasnottostartagain,butrathertoretaintheDNB’srange
important recommendations. The most far-reaching and character while updating and extending it. All the
amongthemwere that the project be completed in only DNB’sarticlesweretoberewrittenorrevisedinthelightof
twelveyears insteadoftwenty, and thattheDictionarybe socialand intellectualchange since Stephen’s day.12This
published as a complete set rather than in instalments. decisionimmediatelybuiltintothenewdictionarymuch
Such a change carried practical consequences for the ofthepragmatismoftheold.
balance offunding: OUP would be able to take up only All the plans for the Oxford DNB envisaged including
three-fifths ofthe promised public funds, would have to many articles on lives absent from the DNB. Initial OUP
fundthelargebalanceofresearchcosts,andwouldhaveto estimates,informedbysurveysoftheDNBandbytheexpe-
forgothe incomefrompublishingtheDictionaryin instal- rience ofcompilingMissingPersons, indicated the needto
ments.Nonetheless,theOUPdelegateson21January1993 expand the number ofarticles byabout a fifth; the 7500
approved the revised project plan, agreeing to proceed newarticlesoriginallyprojectedproducedatotalofsome
withtheDictionary‘asaservicetoscholarship,innoexpec- 45,000. Matthew’sinitialcanvassingofspecialists in1992
tationofacommercialreturn’. Matthew-askedthe Super- subsequentlyidentifiedmoreclearlytheareasthatneeded
visory Committee formally to record in its minutes his strengthening. Allowance also had to be made for the
‘delight’atthisdecision.Tothetotalgovernmentfunding people who died between 1991 and 2000. So Matthew
of £3.7 million which the Oxford DNB received between adoptedatargetof50,000articlesforthenewdictionary,
1992 and 2004, OUP eventually added £19.2 million, and anincreaseofabout13,500articles(37percent)overthe
spenta further £3 million on the production costs ofthe totalnumberofarticlesintheDNB.
completeprintandonlineeditions. His aim was to recapture the DNB’s late-Victorian
The detailed plans for the new dictionary—practical, breadthofselectionintermsofnumbers,fieldsofactivity,
—
financial, and intellectual were outlined in the editor’s andformalnationality.Matthewwroteofa‘returntothe
reporttotheSupervisoryCommittee’smeetingon5April integrationalistapproachoftheoriginaledition,inwhich
1993, and were approved collectively by the British manyminorfigureswereincluded,ofteninhalfacolumn
Academy, the University of Oxford, and OUP at that We seektodaytoreflectinourextraentries theincor-
...
meeting. Within the project thereafter Matthew’s ‘April poration of areas ofhistorical interest and significance
report’providedanauthoritativestatementofobjectives. whichhavedevelopedsincethe1880s.’The‘useoftheDNB
He publicized his proposals morewidelyinhisarticlefor as a sort of establishment roll-call of national pre-
History Today in September 1993, in his presentations to eminence’, he added, ‘is recent and in myview undesir-
conferences and institutions, and in his Leslie Stephen able’.13Ashewrotelater,thenewdictionary‘isnotmerely
lecture at Cambridge in 1995 (published two years later). aroll-callofthegreatandthegood,butalsoagallimaufry
Contacts were established with other national biograph- oftheeccentricandthebad’.14Matthewalsodecidedthat
ical dictionaries and scholarlyprojects. Public discussion the OxfordDNB should include a smallnumberofarticles
oftheDictionary’saimscontinuedinoccasionalinterviews about families and groups. This was an experimental
fornewspapersandmagazines;asLeesaidoftheDNB,the feature,buildingagainontheprecedentoftheDNB,which
workwasbeing‘conductedinthefulllightofday’.9Allthis had treated a few medieval families in this way. These
lent the project a clear intellectual aim, and gave it the articles would reflect new attitudes to biography,
strong editorial momentum that became one of its much of whose interest, he wrote, ‘springs from the
definingfeatures. tension between individual characteristics and develop-
Behind his recommendations lay Matthew’s judicious ment and the family, social and class background to
combination ofscholarship and pragmatism. ‘From my which such characteristics relate. Biographical research
pointofviewasEditor’,hewrote,‘itisimportantboththat increasingly takes the form of books about groups of
itbedonewellandthatitbedone.’10Hefoundreassurance people.’15
INTRODUCTION
viii
With the Oxford DNB’s overall scope decided, detailed Australia, Canada, India, NewZealand, and South Africa.
implementation required important subordinate deci- The Oxford DNB, while maintaining and increasing that
sions. It was decided to continue the DNB’s policy of coverage,aimedtoextendthe‘known-to-Whitehall’prin-
including no living person, and to choose 31 December ciple within other former colonial territories, such as
2000 as the terminal date—a century after the original thoseinotherpartsofAfricaandintheCaribbean.
DNB’scoveragehadended.Moredifficultwasnationality. BoththeDNBandtheOxfordDNB havesoughttoreflect
MatthewfeltthatStephen’stitlefortheDNBwas‘brilliant’ the fullrangeofnational life, andto include noteworthy
— —
because it did not require him to define nationality; like peopleofallkinds.Influence whetherforgoodorill is
the queen’s head on postage stamps, ‘the DNB asserted the principal criterion for admission. Coverage includes
nationality but carefully avoided defining it’.16 This manypeopleofachievement,merit,orworth,butisbyno
allowed a policy on inclusion that would be, like meansconfinedtothem:itisconcernedalsowithimpact,
Stephen’s,pragmaticandflexible.17NeithertheDNB’sfirst whichmaysometimesstemfromcelebrityandevenfrom
article (on Jacques Abbadie, 16547-1727) nor its penulti- notoriety. As Lee wrote ofthe DNB: ‘Malefactors whose
mate article (on William Zuylestein, 1645-1709) centred crimes excite a permanent interest have received hardly
uponapersonbominBritain;bothhadsettledthere.Such less attentionthanbenefactors.' Healso pointedoutthat
an integrative policy on inclusion fitted well with the theDNBincludedelevenarticles‘onlegendarypersonages
libertarian, free-trading, and internationalist outlook or creatures of romance who have been mistaken for
prevalentamonglate-VictorianLiberals,andwasperhaps heroesofhistory’,18citingamongothers KingArthurand
inevitableinaworkwhosearticlesincludedmanypeople Merlin. A century ofscholarship has exposed more such
wholivedintheBritishIsleslongbeforeanyrecognizable figments (St Bega, for example), whose continued pres-
stateexistedthere.ThechronologicalspanoftheDNBand ence is, in a sense, accidental. But Matthew sought to
its supplements encompassed periods ofRoman, Anglo- augment the various examples inherited from the DNB
Saxon,Danish,Norman,andAngevindominion;separate withasmallbutsignificantselectionofarticlesonimagi-
kingdoms within what became England, Ireland, Scot- naryoratbest shadowysubjectswithaniconic status in
land, andWales;andthesubsequentdramaticexpansion the nation’s political orcultural life (forinstance,Junius
andcontraction in Britishrule overseas. Inpreparingthe andTommyAtkins),togetherwithfigureswhosestanding
OxfordDNB, MatthewproposedinhisreportofApril1993 inthenationalpastisentirelysymbolic(suchasBritannia
toadoptaworkingdefinitionofnationality,oftenimplicit andJohnBull).
butunstatedintheDNB,whichtreatedtheinhabitantsof The plan for the Oxford DNB envisaged adding new
theBritishIslesasa‘nation-in-effect’.Atthesametimehe peopleineveryperiod(seeTable1below)andineveryfield
emphasized the inherent pluralism of its constituent ofactivity, because ‘even in well-covered areas time and
nationalities, and aimed to enhance the Dictionary’s changing historical interests have revealed gaps’.19
coverageofIreland, Scotland,Wales, theIsleofMan, and Matthew also sought to build up coverage in fields that
theChannelIslandsbyincludingpeoplefromtheregions were poorly represented in the DNB: women; people in
oftheBritishIslesandBritishterritoriesoverseas. business and theworld oflabour; Britain’s Roman rulers
The DNB had included people who lived in overseas (whosenameswerenotonlyfamiliartoanyoneinterested
territories underBritishrule, andwho might neverhave intheBritishpastbuteven,inthecaseofHadrian’sWall,
set foot in the British Isles. By occasionally including embedded in the landscape); pre-independence Ameri-
peoplesuchasCommonwealthprimeministers, theDNB cans;andtwentieth-centurysubjects.InadditionMatthew
supplements had continued this earlier practice, though aimedtoexpandthecoverageofpeopleofnotefromthe
onamorelimitedscale.AswithallthepeopleintheDNB, regionsoftheBritishIslesandBritishterritoriesoverseas;
Matthew included them in the new dictionary, and in people born abroadwho spent a significant part oftheir
assessingtheclaimsoffurthersuchentrantshewasinflu- livesin Britain;visitorswhobecame importantobservers
enced by how far they had interacted with British or interpreters of British life; and Britons who lived in
concerns—by whether they were ‘known to Whitehall’. Europeandplayedasignificantpartinthelifeoftheirnew
This meant that people in overseas territories were not country.
included iftheywere notable onlywithin those areas or The twentieth century acquired more new entrants
cultures. On the other hand, people who played some thananyother. Quiteapartfromthe needtoinclude the
significant part in the territory’s relations with British livesofthosewhodiedbetween1991and2000,forwhom
—
imperial power whether as clients and government there had been no supplement, this increase sought to
—
servants, or as opponents ofthat power could still be repairthereducedscaleoftheDNB’schronologicalsupple-
considered for inclusion, as could those whose signifi- ments.20TheDNBhadincludedanannualaverageofabout
cance extended into Britishcultural and intellectual life. 160peoplein thelate-Victorianand Edwardianyears, but
Morearticleson Eire since1922werewarranted, bothon inthechronologicalsupplementscoveringthosewhodied
the ‘known-to-Whitehall’ principle (given that Eire after1911thishadfallentoabout80ayear.Ifthematerial
remainedintheCommonwealthuntil1949)andtoaccom- in the DNB and its supplements was all to be included,
modate peoplewho had been British subjects duringthe the Oxford DNB needed to ensure that all periods were
creation ofthe new state. As for former colonial territo- treatedmoreconsistently.Inextendingtwentieth-century
ries, the DNB tended to focus on the governments of coverage, Matthew saw the need as being not only to
INTRODUCTION
IX
expand existing categories and to include more new- were not completed for want ofadequate information.
comersfromthegeneralcategories alreadyidentified for Some newcomers were captured late in the project,
enlargement, but also to expand the treatment ofsuch thankstoafortunateconjunctureofideaandcontributor.
areasastechnology,sport,media,andentertainment. Serendipity and practicalities, as well as accumulated
The shortage ofarticles on women, and the way their editorial policies, inevitably influenced the final selec-
—
lives were treated, had come to seem perhaps the DNB’s tion a pointwhich needs to be remembered byanyone
—
most notorious weakness and it was the one most embarkingupon a quantitative surveyofthe Dictionary’s
frequentlymentionedwhenopinionswere canvassedon contents.
theneedforanewdictionary.Womenwerescarceinthe
DNB partly because the division between ‘public’ and Theshapeofthearticles
‘private’ life had been particularly salient when it was
beingcompiled.Manyareasofwomen’sactivitywerethen MatthewhadaclearviewofwhatanarticleintheDictio-
categorized as private, thus seeming beyond the Dictio- nary should be like: it ‘should be accurate, informative,
nary’s remit. A century later this would no longer do, if clear, and interesting to read. Its purpose is to give a
onlybecausethe line betweenthe privateandthepublic completeandbalancedaccountofthelifeandworkofits
had always been blurred, and had subsequently shifted subject bysupplyingboth detailed personal information
markedly. Many pathways into public life led out ofthe andageneralassessmentofthesubject’ssignificance.’23It
Victorian woman’s distinctive domestic role—nursing, shouldremainaliterarytext,whileatthesametimedeliv-
voluntary work, and charity, to name only three. In ering essential factual information predictably. Authors
selecting the Oxford DNB’s new lives, policy was set were encouraged to write accessibly for the general
in such a way as to avoid limiting the recognition of reader,andtotreatlivesintheroundratherthanfocuson
women as valid candidates for inclusion (see Table 2 one aspect to the exclusion ofothers. The article should
below).21 The Dictionary’s advisers were urged to identify take the form ofabiographical narrative, as in the DNB,
womenwhocouldjustifiablybeadded,andinconsidering with some modifications to the earlier pattern: most
all articles to reviewthetreatmentofwomen’s activities notablyanamplertreatmentofcontext,amoreintegrated
andinfluence. treatment ofpersonal relationships, and (in longer arti-
The DNB’s view of‘public’ activity had also limited its cles)fullerattentiontotheperson’slong-termreputation.
coverage ofbusiness and the world of labour. When it Withinthegeneralshape,however,manyvariationswere
included businessmen and labour leaders, it often did so possible, dependingon subject matter. Matthewfeltthat
onthebasisoftheirotherorsubsequentinterests,suchas simultaneous publication electronically and in print
politics or philanthropy. It was less interested in how shouldnotchange the article’sessentialcharacteristicas
entrepreneursmadetheirmoneythaninhowtheyspent ‘primarilyapieceofproseandnotadatabasewithprose
it,anditassessedtheirsignificanceaccordingly.Norcould added’.24
theDNB’sindividualistformatfullyreflecttheimportance The Oxford DNB’s editorial aims and conventions were
—
of family dynasties a factor which accentuated the setoutinNotesforContributors,abookletsenttoallauthors,
neglect of women in business and other contexts. which went through several editions between 1994 and
Stephen’sDNB,wroteMatthewin1993,‘was ...withafew 1998. Articles begin with the DNB’s customary opening:
exceptions for medieval families, a dictionary ofindivid- immediatelyaftertheentryname,lifedates,andoccupa-
ualsveryindividuallyhandled’.22Yetmanypeople deeply tionalstatement,anaccountisgivenoftheperson’sbirth,
influence British society without leaving behind much parentage, and other family information. They usually
evidence about their careers because their impact stems place personal relationships in their chronological loca-
onlyfromparticipatinginalargergroup.TheDictionary’s tion ratherthan (as in theDNB) atthe end ofthe article,
group and familyarticles offeraway ofdrawing in such andtheaccountofdeathandburialgenerallyoccursator
people. neartheend. Longerarticlesaredividedbysubheadings,
By identifying the gaps in the DNB that needed to be andnormallyendwithanaccountofthesubject’sposthu-
—
filled, editorial priorities could be established and prac- mousreputation thatis,withasummaryoftheperson’s
ticallimitssettothework.Theinitialallowancesfornew continuing and often changing significance, including
entrants were not based on any predetermined and reference to drama, novels, films, television, and other
immutable scheme for assigning space between compo- popularmedia.TheOxfordDNBhasfollowedthetwentieth-
nentareasinrelationtotheworkasawhole.Theeditorial century supplements, however, in not including a
plan,whichinheritedtheDNB’sbalanceofselection,was complete list ofa person’s published works within the
designed to be flexible in the face ofnew perceptions as account of the life. Now that library catalogues are so
thework progressed. The overall balance ofcontentwas abundantandfull,thecomprehensivebooklistsvaluedby
keptcontinuouslyunderreview,andnewallocationswere the Victorians are no longer required. Instead, contribu-
madeasnewrecruitstotheDictionarywere(orsometimes tors have been encouraged to bring out in the text the
were not) found. Suggestions for new entrants arrived significanceoftheperson’sprincipalpublications.
throughoutthewritingprocess,partlybecausetheproject As for the supporting apparatus at the foot of each
team monitored many sources in pursuit of the over- article, the aim has been that ofthe DNB: to make it ‘an
looked.Afewlessimportantliveswerecommissionedbut indispensable condition that writers should append to
INTRODUCTION
eacharticleafulllistofthesourceswhencetheirinforma- bothstaffandcontributors,andtopreventduplicationof
tion was derived’.25 However, thewiderrange ofsources work. He began by dividing the subject matter (the
available by the 1990s required a fuller and more exact existingDNBarticlestobereassessed,andthespacesavail-
bibliographicaldescription,andmoreavenuesofresearch ablefornewsubjects)intotwelveresearchareas.Eachwas
werebythenavailableonwhichreaderssoughtguidance. treatedasaseparatesub-project,operatingaccordingtoa
So the Oxford DNB provides not only bibliographical separate timetable within the overall project, and each
sources, but also other relevant material not necessarily wassupervisedbyoneconsultanteditor,appointedbythe
useddirectlyincompilingthearticle:listsoftheperson’s editor(theconsultant editors are listed on page xxi). The
archives (paper, sound, andfilm), likenesses, andrecords consultant editor proposed to the editor a strategy for
ofwealthatdeath. improving the area’s coverage, and also for reviewing
WhatMatthewcalled‘thegrammarofaNewDNBarticle’ completedwork.
wasthusestablished—asrelevantforanearlyWelshsaint All the people included in the new dictionary were
asforarecentbusinessman.26Withinthisframeworkthe assigned to areas, defined chronologically and themati-
individual authorialvoicewas prized. InDecember1995, cally. Everyone included upto 1500 formeda single area.
inthefirstNewsletterdistributedtocontributors,Matthew ThereafterMatthewplacedsomepeopleinthematicareas
expressed a fear that authors might be ‘a little too for specialist attention: art and architecture, 1500-2000;
consciousofthedignityofaDNBarticle’;itwas‘important literature, 1500-1779; literature, 1780-2000; business and
nottobetooacademic’, he said, forlivelinesswas ‘avital the world oflabour, 1500-2000; science, 1500-2000; and
ingredientofaDNBarticle’.Contributorsshouldnothesi- medicine, 1500-2000. The remainder were divided into
tate to record ‘their candid assessment’ oftheir subject, five ‘general’ chronological areas, one for each century
andsignificantanecdotewaswelcomed.27The treatment from the sixteenth to the twentieth. Matthew and his
ofpersonalmatterswastobefrank(thoughnotprurient): successoraseditoractedasconsultanteditorforthenine-
‘the memoir is not a panegyric’.28 Here, as elsewhere, teenthandtwentiethcenturies.Inadditiontoconsultant
Matthew was carrying forward DNB practice into a new editors for the twelve subject areas, Matthew appointed
context.AtthedinnerforthecontributorsheldbyGeorge twoconsultanteditorswithresponsibilitynotforspecific
SmithattheHotelMetropoleon8July1897,CanonAinger articles but for aspects of the edition as a whole. The
haddescribedtheDNB’stoneas‘noflowers,byrequest’.29 consultanteditorforwomenwasappointedtopromptand
Hisdictumappliesasmuchtothenewdictionaryastothe reviewwomen’sinclusioninallsubjectareas;theconsul-
old. tanteditorforlikenessessupervisedtheselectionofallthe
imagesusedasillustrations.
Editorialstructureandprocedure Soon after being appointed, Matthew consulted acad-
emicadvisers abouttheDNB’s strengthsandweaknesses.
The decision to publish the new dictionary as a single In the first months after the start of the project in
entity within twelve years brought significant editorial September 1992 the focus was on detailed planning
benefits. It would now be easier to maintain the Dictio- (including the appointment of consultant editors), on
nary’s coherence because it would emerge from a single circulatingannouncements,andonsolicitingsuggestions
generation of contributors, editors, and staff. To the forentries andoffers to contribute. Tens ofthousands of
editors ofthe Encyclopaedia Britannica’s eleventh edition, questionnaires were circulated to the memberships of
evenfourteenyears(1875-89) had seemed ‘animpossible learnedsocietiesandreadersofjournals,andweredistrib-
system’,preventinganyoneeditorfromseeingtheproject utedwidelyatconferences andthroughcorrespondence;
through and denying the volumes ‘proper unity ofcon- all suggestionswere registered forfurtherassessmentby
ception or uniformity of treatment’.30 Matthew was editors. Responses to the questionnaires helped to shape
determinedtoavoidsuchdangers.Thedecisiontopublish many ofthe early strategic decisions. During this initial
the Dictionary only when it was complete had the period Matthewappointed the first project staff: inaddi-
effect of emancipating the writing phase from the tiontotheprojecteditor(whobecameprojectdirectorin
tyranny ofthe alphabet which had governed the DNB’s 1997),theseweretheprojectsecretaryandpersonalassis-
preparation from 1882 to 1900. Instead, the text could tanttotheeditor(January1993)andtheresearchdirector
be prepared through mounting a series of what were (May1993).Healsobeganrecruitingadditionaltemporary
in effect subordinate research projects on specific areas orpart-timehelpfromamongOxford’sgraduatestudents.
of subject matter, whose subdivisions could be moni- Their intelligent interest and willingness to work on a
toredbyspecialists. greatvarietyoftasks, from research to keyingin datato
ForMatthewthe projectforthe newdictionaryconsti- filing, proved important in completing the Dictionary. In
tuted ‘a formidable challenge to our generation’.31 It May1993thestaffmovedinto37AStGiles’,ahouseowned
requiredacarefullyconsiderededitorialstructure.Thishe by OUP, which was thenceforward the new dictionary’s
devised in consultation with Nick Wilson and Robert base. As Matthew sometimes observed, its location half
Faber,theprojecteditor,whowasMatthew’sfirstappoint- waybetweentheBodleianLibraryandOUP’sheadquarters
ment to the project staff. Matthew aimed to secure an in Great Clarendon Street symbolized the project’s dual
appropriatespecialistlevelofadviceandeditingforevery nature, and the collaboration between scholarly and
article, to make the editorial responsibilityforitclearto publishingconcernsthatwasintegraltoit.
INTRODUCTION
XI
Researchbeganinearnestinthesecondhalfof1993on about the recent past, where scholarship is usually
threeareaschosenforthecontrastingacademicandprac- thinnerand perspective relativelylacking. The editor, in
tical challenges that they posed: the general nineteenth- hiscapacityasconsultanteditorforthetwentiethcentury,
century area, pre-1500, and business and the world of assumeddirectoversightofthesearticles,workingwitha
labour.Workstartedonotherareasin1994(science),1995 researcheditorwhowasappointedinJuly1998.Theproce-
(medicine), 1996 (literature, 1780-2000), 1997 (art and durefordealingwiththerecentlydeceasedgrewoutofthe
architecture, general eighteenth century, general twen- system for consulting panels ofadvisers that had been
tieth century), and 1998 (general seventeenth century, establishedbythe editors oftheDNB’s supplements; but
generalsixteenthcentury,andliterature,1500-1779). thiswasextendedinscale,geography,andexpertise.Many
Although refined over time, the organization of potential candidates were identified as ‘possibles’ for
researchwasessentiallythesameineacharea.Atthestart inclusion through drawing upon newspaper obituaries,
ofworkonanarea,itsconsultanteditorrevieweditsDNB specialist journals, and suggestions. These were sorted
coverage and content, and recommended a structure for into occupational groups, and guidance on selection
subdividingitinto‘blocks’:thatis, intosmallergroupsof withinthemusuallycame from practitioners eminentin
people who fell into broadly similar fields of activity. theirfield.Thenumberofadvisersforeachgroupranged
Matthew allocated an allowance of new spaces to each fromthreetomorethantwenty,dependingonthegroup’s
consultant editor, who then distributed them between sizeanddiversity, andtheeditor’s decisionwasbasedon
blocks.Theconsultanteditorrecommendedspecialistsas collating all the advice received. TheDictionary's advisers
associateeditors, subsequentlyappointedbyMatthew, to ontherecentlydeceased, numberingsome400, havenot
adviseoneachblock.Therewereeventually373associate been named publicly and were unpaid, but their
editors, whose names appear on pages xxii-xxiii. They anonymityshouldnotallowtheirimportantservicestogo
advised on blocks ranging from 6 to 500 articles (the unrecognized.
average blockcomprised about 140 articles). Theirinitial For twelve years the consultant editors, associate
responsibilities were: first, to review each DNB article in editors,andadvisersontherecentpastshapedtheedito-
theblock,andrecommendwhetheritshouldbereplaced rial effort, forming an indispensable network ofjudge-
byanewlywrittenarticle,revisedsubstantially,orrevised ment and expertise. The OxfordDNB and its readers owe
morelightly;second,toproposenewpeopleforinclusion, muchtotheirlabours.
from the associate editor’s own expertise and through
assessingalltherelevantsuggestionsforintroducingnew WritingtheDictionary
peopleintotheDictionary andthird,for-eacharticletobe
;
included,torecommendacontributor,awordallowance, After receiving the advice of consultant and associate
andwhetheranillustrationshouldbesought. editors on every article, the decision to commission a
At the start ofwork on each research area, Matthew contributor for each article was taken in house, and the
(togetherwiththe researchand projectdirectors andthe editor signed every invitation. Word limits and Notesfor
relevant consultant editor) appointed one or more Contributors provided necessary discipline, especially in
research editors as the in-house stafffor that area. Each ensuring that comparable people received comparable
block was assigned to one associate editor for specialist coverage. The editors did not view the lengths initially
academicadvice,andtooneresearcheditoronthestaffof prescribedasfinal:whereagoodcaseforchangingthem
the Oxford DNB. In some cases, a research editor had wasmade,wordallowanceswereoftenadjusted. Inaddi-
responsibility for all the blocks in an area; the blocks in tiontothetextofthearticle,contributorsprovidedalistof
largerareas were divided between two orthree research thesourcesandotherreferencestobeprintedbeneathit.
editors.Theaverageremitofeachresearcheditorcovered Theywereaskedalsotoprovideanabstractoftheessential
between two thousand and three thousand articles. The life details covered in the text, such as date and place of
researcheditors,generallypost-doctoralresearchscholars birth, education, death, and burial; this recorded (with
withanappropriatespecialism,werecentraltothewhole commentarywherenecessary)thesourcesusedforeachof
process of commissioning, researching for, and writing thesekeyevents, andenablededitorstoensurethatsuch
the Dictionary. Each brought distinctive and widening detailswerecoveredas fullyandreliablyaspossible.The
contactstothetask, forwhichsubstantialorganizational aimthroughout,asintheDNB,wastosecureclearpresen-
anddiplomaticskillswereessential.Theircoredutywasto tation, conciseness, predictable scope, well-balanced
pilot eacharticle from the commissioningstageonwards treatment, andtheclearseparationoffactfrominterpre-
until it met the Oxford DNB’s editorial standards. They tationorspeculation.
sometimesalsoactedasassociateeditorsforblockswhere When commissioned to revise rather than rewrite an
they had specific expertise, and they contributed many article, the author was asked to check the DNB text for
articles.In-housestaffrevisedorwrotesome9percentof accuracy, remove archaisms, reinforce both text (espe-
theOxfordDNB’sarticles. cially in respect of core biographical data) and biblio-
No DNB supplement existed to cover people who died graphy, and if possible provide information about the
between1991and2000.Althoughthecareersofmostwho person’sarchives, likenesses,andwealthatdeath.Arevi-
died in that period hadbeen pursued manyyears earlier, sion could, however, become a rewriting when this
sucharticlescarriedtoanextremethedifficultyofwriting seemed justified. Some articles in recent supplements.
