Salem Press

Great Lives from History: The 18th Century

Great Lives from History: The 20th Century
Publisher's Note

Great Lives from History: The 20th Century, 1901-2000 (10 vols.) is the eighth installment in the revised and expanded Great Lives series, which provides in-depth critical essays on important men and women in all areas of achievement, from around the world and throughout history. The series was 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.); in 2006 by The 17th Century, 1601-1700 (2 vols.) and The 18th Century, 1701-1800 (2 vols.); and in 2007 by The 19th Century, 1801-1900 (2 vols.) and Notorious Lives (3 vols.). The entire series, when complete, will cover more than 4,400 lives in essays ranging from 3 to 5 pages in length.

Scope of Coverage
The 20th Century, 1901-2000 is broad in scope, both geographically and in terms of the individuals' areas of achievement. The personages covered are identified with one or more of the following regions: Africa (45), Asia (42), Australasia (14), Caribbean (8), Europe (614), Latin America (8), Middle East (30), North America (607), South America (19), and Southeast Asia (20).

The editors have sought to provide coverage that is broad in areas of achievement as well as geography, and have included those persons recognized for shaping history, coverage that is 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. The set also includes figures who have received little attention in the past, particularly women and people of color in all areas of achievement.

By category, the contents include persons whose achievements fall into one or more of the following areas: Anthropology and Archaeology (17 essays), Architecture and Engineering (48), The Arts (125), Aviation and Space Exploration (34), Business and Labor (64), Civil Rights (29), Computer Science (9), Diplomacy (98), Education (120), Exploration and Colonialism (10), Film (81), Government and Politics (375), History and Social Sciences (93), Invention and Technology (55), Journalism and Publishing (64), Language (7), Law and Crime (56), Literature (209), The Military (110), Music (97), Peace Movement (22), Philosophy (59), Physics and Mathematics (105), Physiology and Medicine (73), Psychiatry and Psychology (27), Religion and Theology (78), Sciences (170), Social Reform (114), Sports (46), Television and Radio (33), Theater and Entertainment (87), and Women's Rights (36).

Expanded Coverage
This ongoing series is a revision and major expansion 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 10 volumes, 901 original essays are from DWB/20th Century and Great Lives from History: Women Series. These essays are enhanced by more than 260 new entries and more than 160 updated entries; the set includes coverage of more than 240 women from around the world.
	Quotations from primary source documents as well as informative tables of facts and figures have been added as sidebars to enhance and supplement the text throughout.
	A section of world maps has been added to the front matter of each volume to allow students to locate personages and contextualize the century geographically.
	All essays from the original DWB on all twentieth century personages are reprinted in this new series with updated and annotated bibliographies; librarians may confidently weed their shelves of DWB/20th Century.

This ongoing series is a revision of the 10-volume Dictionary of World Biography (DWB) series (1998-1999). The expanded Great Lives differs in substantial ways from DWB:

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 and occupation or historical role follow on the second line, including reign dates for rulers.
	A summary paragraph highlighting the individual's historical importance indicates why the person is studied today.
	The Born and Died entries 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.
	Also known as lists other known versions of the individual's name, including full names, given names, alternative spellings, pseudonyms, and nicknames.
	Area(s) of achievement lists all categories of contribution, from Agriculture, Architecture, and Art through Social Reform, Theater and Entertainment, and Women's Rights.

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. Pronunciation guidelines are provided for those individuals whose names could be difficult to pronounce for English speakers. Where little is known about the person'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.
	Byline of contributing historian or independent scholar
	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 publications, Great Events from History: The 20th Century, 1901-1940 (6 vols., 2008); Great Events from History: The 20th Century, 1941-1970 (6 vols., 2008); Great Events from History: The 20th Century, 1971-2000 (6 vols., 2008).

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 all ten volumes.
	Key to Pronunciation: A key to in-text pronunciation of unfamiliar names appears in all volumes.
	List of Maps and Sidebars.
	Maps: The front matter of each volume contains a section of maps displaying major regions of the world during the twentieth century.

The back matter to Volume 10 includes several appendixes and indexes:

	Rulers and Heads of State, a geographically arranged set of tables listing major world rulers and leaders, from ancient times through the twentieth century, including their regnal dates or terms of office.
	Chronological List of Personages: individuals covered, arranged by birth year.
	Category Index: entries by area of achievement, from Agriculture to Zoology.
	Geographical Index: entries by region, from Africa to Asia, Europe to the Americas.
	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.
Throughout the set, 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.

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 Robert Gorman, Professor of Political Science at Texas State, 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.