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The World Biographical Information System (WBIS Online) is the most comprehensive biographical database available. It is based on the digitization of K.G. Saur's microfiche editions of Biographical Archives. Each Biographical Archive covers a different language and cultural area. For the individual archives the original texts of biographical articles from various reference works were taken and facsimile reproductions made. In WBIS Online these articles are presented as exact copies of the original articles. WBIS Online offers worldwide biographical information on persons covered in reference sources published from the 16^th century to the end of the 20^th century. From alchemists to zoologists: the strength of the Biographical Archives lies in the variety of the biographies covered. Men and women from all centuries, all areas of society and professions are included, from science, politics, culture and business. Besides painters, jurists, physicians and sailors, it also encompasses journalists, clerics, aristocrats and writers, to mention but a few. It thus portrays the population as they were in real life, with all their achievements and attainments, along with their curiosities and peculiarities.

With the World Biographical Index (WBI) as the entry point to the product, WBIS Online provides,

• biographies - data and digitized biographical articles - on over 6 million people
• 8.5 million original biographical articles, published from 1559 to the end of the 20^th century
• biographical articles of people who lived and were influential in all the countries and regions of the earth.

Currently 30 Biographical Archives are available in digitized form in WBIS Online:

• American Biographical Archive (ABA)
• Spanish, Portuguese and Latin-American Biographical Archive (ABEPI)
• French Biographical Archive (ABF)
• Italian Biographical Archive (ABI)
• African Biographical Archive (AfBA)
• Arab-Islamic Biographical Archive (AIBA)
• Australasian Biographical Archive (ANZO-BA)
• Biographical Archive of the Classical World (BAA)
• Biographical Archive of the Benelux Countries (BAB)
• Baltic Biographical Archive (BaBA)
• Biographical Archive of Christianity (BAChr)
• Biographical Archive of the Middle Ages (BAMA)
• Biographical Archive of the Soviet Union (1917-1991) (BASU)
• British Biographical Archive (BBA)
• Canadian Biographical Archive (CaBA)
• Chinese Biographical Archive (CBA)
• Czech and Slovakian Biographical Archive (CSBA)
• German Biographical Archive (DBA)
• Greek Biographical Archive (GBA)
• Indian Biographical Archive (IBA)
• Japanese Biographical Archive (JaBA)
• Jewish Biographical Archive (JBA)
• Korean Biographical Archive (KBA)
• Polish Biographical Archive (PAB)
• Russian Biographical Archive (RBA)
• Scandinavian Biographical Archive (SBA)
• South-East Asian Biographical Archive (SEABA)
• South-East-European Biographical Archive (SOBA)
• Turkish Biographical Archive (TBA)
• Hungarian Biographical Archive (UBA)

Access to digitized biographical articles is subscription based. Please go to your account and select Subscriptions to see which Biographical Archives are available to you.

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