Research Guides: Biographies: Home

Search By Name or Profession

A biography is an account of someone's life written by another person.

You can find biographies by searching by a person's name or by a profession.

To locate biographies pertaining to a particular profession or field in the library catalog, enter the (pluralized) name of a profession followed by the word biography; do a "words or phrase" search. For example: artists biography.

You can also use very specific Library of Congress subject terms to locate resources. Some examples include:

mathematicians biography dictionaries
politicians biography encyclopedias
presidents United States biography

Recommended Databases for Biographies

Use these MJC Library article databases to locate biographical information on the person you are studying.

To connect to any of the research databases from off campus you simply login just like you do for your MJC email and Canvas courses.

Gale In Context: Biography This link opens in a new window
This is a great database to use when you need to find information about a person.This Gale database includes more than 500,000 individuals from throughout history and from around the world.
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Use this database for preliminary reading as you start your research. You'll learn about your topic by reading authoritative topic overviews on a wide variety of subjects.
History Research Center This link opens in a new window
History Research Center is a family of five history databases that you can search simultaneously. These include: American History, African-American History, American Indian History, Ancient and Medieval History, and Modern World History. These databases include a wide variety of research sources including, in-depth overview essays, biographies, journal articles, images, primary sources, maps, videos, and more.
Oxford Music Online This link opens in a new window
This database includes: Grove Music Online, The Oxford Dictionary of Music, and The Oxford Companion to Music in addition to other Oxford music reference sources. You'll find thousands of articles written by music scholars on a wide variety of music, musicians, and instruments.
Gale Databases This link opens in a new window
Search over 35 databases simultaneously that cover almost any topic you need to research at MJC. Gale databases include articles previously published in journals, magazines, newspapers, books, and other media outlets.
EBSCOhost Databases This link opens in a new window
Search 22 databases simultaneously that cover almost any topic you need to research at MJC. EBSCO databases include articles previously published in journals, magazines, newspapers, books, and other media outlets.

MJC eBooks

These are some popular biographical sources you might consult to begin your research. The first title is online and the next three are in the print Reference Collection of the MJC East Campus Library.

Cite Your Sources

Your instructor should tell you which citation style they want you to use. Click on the appropriate link below to learn how to format your paper and cite your sources according to a particular style.

Get Help

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Call: East (209) 575-6230 / West (209) 575-6949

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Email: ask@mjc.libanswers.com

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