October 25, 2004
Oxford book of British biographies draws on Purdue expertise
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Two Purdue University history professors have left their mark in the world's best-known reference book for British history and literature.
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History professors John J. Contreni and Melinda S. Zook are two of the 10,000 contributors to the 2004 "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography," which is composed of 60 volumes.
"This is a historic publication," said Lawrence J. Mykytiuk, associate professor of library science and history bibliographer. "It's quite an honor to have two people from Purdue recognized for their scholarship. Oxford University Press is tops, and this publication is the primary resource for British biographies."
The first edition was published in 1900, and 10 supplements were printed during the latter part of the 20th century. The Oxford University Press, a department at Oxford University in England, began working on the new edition in 1992. The finished product was published Sept. 23, and a copy is in the reference collection at Purdue's Humanities, Social Science and Education Library in Stewart Center. The collection, priced at $11,000 if purchased before Nov. 30, includes 54,922 essays, 60,000 pages and 62.5 million words. The online version is $295.
"What's amazing is that most presses are not pursuing huge projects like this anymore," said Zook, an associate professor who has 14 articles in the book. "The 'Dictionary of National Biography' includes more than the most famous British people, such as John Milton and William Shakespeare. It highlights anyone who left any sort of mark on British history. My students use it all the time because it is essential for British studies."
Other people use this reference for genealogy, she said. The articles from the 1900 version were updated in the new edition to include more modern language, new sources and updated biographies.
Zook even had a chance to set the record straight about Elizabeth Gaunt, the last woman in England to be executed for treason. She was burned at the stake in 1685. In the older edition, the Gaunt essay asserted she was innocent of treason.
"That is not true – she was indeed a conspirator," Zook said. "She was portrayed as a charitable woman who cared for the poor, but at the same time she was very involved in the political and religious opposition in London during the 1680s that attempted to overthrow King Charles II. She had strong ties with dissenters in the Netherlands and even carried messages for some political radicals."
Zook and Contreni also helped fill in the gaps for historical figures who were overlooked in the first edition.
"The new edition is a great opportunity to insert more women," said Zook, whose contributions included two women. "Mary Speke, a member of the gentry, was not in the first book. I was able to piece her life together based on letters written by a bishop who was assigned to watch her suspicious activities in Somerset.
"She was a supporter of Protestant dissenters and Whig politicians who favored a new parliamentary government. Four of her six children also were active Whig supporters. One of her sons was in the original book, and now it is great to see this intriguing woman made a part of history, too."
The people Zook profiled were radical political thinkers from the 17th century. She also is author of another book on British history, "Radical Whigs and Conspiratorial Politics in late Stuart England."
Contreni, dean of the Graduate School and professor of history, wrote articles about two 9th century Irish scholars who also were absent from the earlier edition. His essays are on Dícuil, known for his scientific approach to calendar and geography reform, and Martin of Laon, who participated in the educational reform started by Charlemagne. Charlemagne was the Holy Roman Emperor who ruled western Europe in the 8th and early 9th centuries and is recognized for establishing the foundations of European civilization.
"There is an increased recognition today about the contributions medieval scholars made to European culture, and this edition reflects that," said Contreni, who specializes in the intellectual culture of the 8th and 9th centuries. "Very little was known about these two individuals when the first edition was published. Their inclusion in the new edition of the 'Dictionary of National Biography' reflects the new research and scholarship of the 20th century.
"This version is not only much more inclusive for the modern period, but it's also very well edited. I was very impressed with the editorial work, copyediting and fact checking. These articles will stand the test of time. This is a monument of modern scholarship."
The original 22-volume "Dictionary of National Biography," which was printed by Victorian publisher George Smith, was retired from the reference collection along with its several updated volumes of the 20th century, Mykytiuk said. The older edition will be available both in the main collection of Humanities, Social Science and Education Library, and in libraries' storage area on the lower level of Hicks Undergraduate Library. There the books will be preserved in a climate-controlled environment. Both copies will still be accessible to library users who need to look up a reference in the older edition.
The Humanities, Social Science and Education Library contains the most extensive collections on the Purdue campus, featuring more than 806,000 books and bound periodicals, 1 million microforms and thousands of U.S. government publications. This library was opened in 1913 and served as the general library until the John W. Hicks Undergraduate Library opened in 1982.
The Department of History, housed in the School of Liberal Arts, offers more than 90 courses on the Middle Ages and early modern Europe; American Indians; the American business system; Asia and its historic tradition; Islam and the Middle East; Latin America; American military affairs; the African-American experience; women in European, Middle Eastern and U.S. history; the Holocaust; the history of medicine; the Crusades; Central America and Panama; Japan; China; Mexico; World War II; and the Vietnam War. There are 320 undergraduates majoring in history and 92 graduate students in the department.
Writer: Amy Patterson-Neubert, (765) 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Sources: Melinda Zook, (765) 494-4134, MZook@sla.purdue.edu
John Contreni, (765) 494-2604, contreni@purdue.edu
Larry Mykytiuk, (765) 494-3605, larrym@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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PHOTO CAPTION:
Purdue's Melinda Zook, associate professor, and John Contreni, dean of the Graduate School and professor of history, are two of the 10,000 contributors in the 2004 "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography," which is composed of 60 volumes. The collection, the world's best-known reference books for British history and literature, includes 54,922 essays about historic people. Zook contributed 14 essays about political radicals from the 19th century and Contreni wrote about two Irish scholars from the 9th century. (Purdue News Service photo/David Umberger)
A publication-quality photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2004/zook-contreni-oxford.jpg
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