Salem Press

Great Lives from History: The 18th Century

Great Lives from History: The 18th Century
Publisher's Note

Great Lives from History: The Eighteenth Century, 1701 1800 is the fifth installment in the revised and expanded Great Lives series, initiated in 2004 with The Ancient World, Prehistory 476 C.E. (2 vols.) and followed in 2005 by The Middle Ages, 477 1453 (2 vols.) and The Renaissance, 1454 1600 (2 vols.), and in 2006 by The Seventeenth Century, 1601 1700 (2 vols.). It will be joined by Great Lives from History: The Nineteenth Century and The Twentieth Century. The entire series, when complete, will cover more than 3,000 lives in essays ranging from 3 to 5 pages in length.

Expanded Coverage
This ongoing series is a revision of the 10 volume Dictionary of World Biography (DWB) series (1998 1999), which in turn was a revision and reordering of Salem Press's 30 volume Great Lives from History series (1987 1995). The expanded Great Lives differs in substantial ways from DWB:

The coverage of each set has been increased significantly. In the current two volumes, 221 original essays from Dictionary of World Biography: 17th & 18th Centuries (1999) are enhanced by more than 125 new entries covering more than 345 major figures, including 47 women.

Tables, quotations from primary source documents, and lists have been added to enhance and supplement the text throughout.

A section of maps has been added to the front matter of each volume to allow students to locate personages geographically

Essays from the original DWB on all personages falling into the time frame are reprinted in this new series with updated and annotated bibliographies.

Scope of Coverage
Both the geographic and the occupational scope of the individuals covered in Great Lives from History: The Eighteenth Century, 1701 1800 is broad. The individuals covered are identified with one or more of the following countries or regions: Arabia (1), Austria (), Brazil (1), Burma (1), Canada (5), China (5), Denmark (1), England (109), Ethiopia (1), France (5), Germany (21), Haiti (1), Hawaii (1), India (2), Iran (3), Ireland (8), Italy (14), Jamaica (1), Japan (5), Lithuania (1), Mali (1), Mexico (1), Netherlands (1), Nigeria (1), Ottoman Empire (4), Peru (1), Poland (2), Portugal (1), Prussia (2), Russia (10), Scotland (15), Spain (5), Sweden (3), Switzerland (4), Thailand (1), Ukraine (1), United States (58), and Vietnam (1).

The editors have sought to provide coverage that is broad in areas of achievement as well as geography, while at the same time including the recognized shapers of history essential in any liberal arts curriculum. Major world leaders appear here, as well as the giants of religious faith who were central to the century: philosophers, educators, and theologians who left their imprint on political as well as spiritual institutions. Also, however, the set includes figures who have received little attention in the past from Abd al Wahhab to Peg Woffington and Yongzheng.

By category, the contents include figures whose achievements fall into one or more of the following areas: Agriculture (1), Anthropology (1), Architecture (8), Art (26), Astronomy (1), Biology (5), Botany (2), Business (6), Chemistry (10), Dance (1), Diplomacy (5), Economics (6), Education (8), Engineering (7), Exploration (10), Geology (1), Government and Politics (112), Historiography (7), Indigenous Peoples' Rights (4), Invention (13), Law and Jurisprudence (10), Literature and Media (50), Mathematics (7), Medicine and Health (7), Military (51), Music (16), Philosophy (28), Physics (8), Psychology (2), Religion and Theology (31), Science (45), Social Reform (8), Society (1), Theater (11), and Women's Rights (2).

Essay Length and Format
Each essay ranges from 1,500 to 3,000 words in length (roughly 3 to 5 pages) and displays standard ready reference top matter offering easy access to biographical information:

The essay title is the name of the individual; editors have chosen the name as it is most commonly found in Western English language sources.

The individual's nationality or ethnicity and occupation or historical role follow on the second line, including reign dates for rulers.

The "Born" and "Died" lines list the most complete dates of birth and death available, followed by the most precise locations available, as well as an indication of when these are unknown, only probable, or only approximate; both contemporary and modern place names (where different) are listed. A question mark (?) is appended to a date or place if the information is considered likely to be the precise date or place but remains in question. A "c." denotes circa and indicates that historians have only enough information to place the date of birth or death in a more general period. When a range of dates is provided for birth or death, historians are relatively certain that it could not have occurred prior to or after the range.

A summary paragraph highlighting the individual's historical importance indicates why the person is studied today.

"Area(s) of achievement" lists all categories of contribution, from Architecture and Art through Social Reform and Theater.

"Also known as" lists all known versions of the individual's name, including full names, given names, alternative spellings, pseudonyms, and common epithets.

The body of each essay is divided into three parts:

"Early Life" provides facts about the individual's upbringing and the environment in which he or she was reared, as well as the pronunciation of his or her name, if unfamiliar to English speakers. Where little is known about the individual's early life, historical context is provided.

"Life's Work," the heart of the essay, consists of a straightforward, generally chronological, account of the period during which the individual's most significant achievements were accomplished.

"Significance" is an overview of the individual's place in history.

"Further Reading" is an annotated bibliography, a starting point for further research.

"See also" lists of cross references to essays in the set covering related personages.

"Related articles" lists essays of interest in Salem's companion publication, Great Events from History: The Eighteenth Century, 1701 1800 (2 vols., 2006).

Special Features
Several features distinguish this series as a whole from other biographical reference works. The front matter includes the following aids:

Complete List of Contents: This alphabetical list of contents appears in both volumes.

Key to Pronunciation: A key to in text pronunciation appears in both volumes.

List of Maps, Tables, and Sidebars.

Maps: The front matter of each volume contains a section of maps displaying major regions of the world during the eighteenth century.

The back matter to Volume 2 includes several appendices and indexes:

Rulers and Heads of State, a geographically arranged set of tables listing major world rulers and leaders, including their regnal dates or terms of office.

Chronological List of Entries: individuals covered, arranged by birth year.

Category Index: entries by area of achievement, from Architecture to Women's Rights.

Geographical Index: entries by country or region, from Africa and Albania to the Ukraine and Wales.

Personages Index: an index of all persons, both those covered in the essays and those discussed within the text.

Subject Index: a comprehensive index including personages, concepts, books, artworks, terms, battles, civilizations, and other topics of discussion, with full cross references from alternative spellings and to the Category and Geographical Indexes.

Usage Notes
The worldwide scope of Great Lives from History resulted in the inclusion of names and words transliterated from languages that do not use the Roman alphabet. In some cases, there is more than one transliterated form in use. In many cases, transliterated words in this set follow the American Library Association and Library of Congress (ALA LC) transliteration format for that language. However, if another form of a name or word has been judged to be more familiar to the general audience, it is used instead. The variants for names of essay subjects are listed in ready reference top matter and are cross referenced in the subject and personages indexes. The Pinyin transliteration was used for Chinese topics, with Wade Giles variants provided for major names and dynasties. In a few cases, a common name that is not Pinyin has been used. Sanskrit and other South Asian names generally follow the ALA LC transliteration rules, although again, the more familiar form of a word is used when deemed appropriate for the general reader.

Titles of books and other literature appear, upon first mention in the essay, with their full publication and translation data as known: an indication of the first date of publication or appearance, followed by the English title in translation and its first date of appearance in English; if no translation has been published in English, and if the context of the discussion does not make the meaning of the title obvious, a "literal translation" appears in roman type.

Throughout, readers will find a limited number of abbreviations used in both top matter and text, including "r." for "reigned," "b." for "born," "d." for "died," and "fl." for flourished. Where a date range appears appended to a name without one of these designators, the reader may assume it signifies birth and death dates.

Contributors
Salem Press would like to extend its appreciation to all who have been involved in the development and production of this work. Special thanks go to John Powell, Associate Professor of History at Oklahoma Baptist University, who developed the contents list and coverage notes for contributing writers to ensure the set's relevance to the high school and undergraduate curricula. The essays were written and signed by historians, political scientists, and scholars of regional studies as well as independent scholars. Without their expert contributions, a project of this nature would not be possible. A full list of their names and affiliations appears in the front matter of this volume.