TheDictionary of Welsh Biography (DWB) (alsoThe Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940 andThe Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970) is abiographical dictionary of Welsh people who have made a significant contribution to Welsh life over seventeen centuries.[1][2] It was first published in 1959, and is now maintained as a free online resource.[3]
Robert Thomas Jenkins was assistant editor, then joint editor, ofY Bywgraffiadur Cymreig and its English-language counterpart, theDictionary of Welsh Biography, writing over 600 entries.[4] His joint editor wasJohn Edward Lloyd, but theDictionary was not published until 1959, twelve years after his death. It is properly known asThe Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940,[5] and its supplementary volume asThe Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970 (2001). Originally published by theHonourable Society of Cymmrodorion, recent editions have been published by theUniversity of Wales Press.
The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940 contains about 4,900 entries[6] within its 1157 pages on the careers and accomplishments of notable Welsh men and women who had distinguished themselves, providing a representative portrait of Welsh society and history up to the 20th century. However, it did not include anyone who was still living in 1940; its supplementary volume,The Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941 to 1970 did, containing an additional 600 entries within its 318 pages.[7]
The Welsh Biography Online resource has about 4,325 biographies online including clergy, princes, members of the gentry, poets and writers, government officials, ministers, artisans, sportsmen, workers, soldiers, industrialists and farmers.
Welsh Biography Online is a bilingual resource with every entry inWelsh and English. Welsh Biography Online combines the two volumes,The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940 andThe Dictionary of Welsh Biography, 1941–1970 with the three Welsh language volumes,Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd 1940,Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig, 1941–1950 andY Bywgraffiadur Cymreig, 1951–1970, all originally published by theHonourable Society of Cymmrodorion of London between 1953 and 2001.[1]
The idea of transcribingThe Dictionary of Welsh Biography into digital form came because of the constant enquiries the staff of theNational Library of Wales receive from users and the constant use made of theDictionary in the Library. The National Library of Wales also has a long and close association withThe Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Several National Librarians have served as editors and many members of staff have undertaken editorial and research work for the publication. The National Library of Wales then decided to make the online resource a live data-base.[1]
^The Dictionary of Welsh Biography Down to 1940 Published under the auspices of theHonourable Society of Cymmrodorion, London (1959) Editors: John Edward Lloyd & R. T. Jenkins