The ''Dictionary of African Biography'' is a six-volume

biographical dictionary A biographical dictionary is a type of encyclopedic dictionary limited to biographical information. Many attempt to cover the major personalities of a country (with limitations, such as living persons only, in ''Who's Who'', or deceased people o ...

, published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. Published in 2012, the editors-in-chief are Emmanuel K. Akyeampong and Henry Louis Gates, Jr., both of the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute of

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. The print version of the dictionary has 2,100 entries covering the whole of the continent of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, from 1490 BC to today; entries continue to be added online.

Awards

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

Booklist Editors' Choice: Reference Sources (2012)

References

External links

Dictionary of African Biography
from Oxford
Oxford African American Studies Center
(online version)

Books about Africa {{ref-book-stub