What’s New: October 2024

Welcome to the 115th update of the Oxford DNB, which adds biographies of four people of African or part-African descent in Britain and its empire, accompanied by a reference group article and seven new portrait likenesses. 

From October 2024, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford DNB) offers biographies of 63,053 women and men who have shaped the British past, contained in 65,299 articles. 12,254 biographies include a portrait image of the subject—researched in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery, London.

Most public libraries across the UK subscribe to the Oxford DNB, which means that you can access the complete dictionary free of charge via your local library. Libraries offer ‘remote access’ that enables you to log in at any time at home (or anywhere you have internet access). Elsewhere, the Oxford DNB is available online in schools, colleges, universities, and other institutions worldwide. Full details of participating British public libraries, and how to gain access to the complete dictionary, are available.

Campbell, Joanne Elizabeth (1964–2002), actress and singer

Branford, Robert (1817x20–1869), police superintendent

Gladstone, Jack (b. c. 1795), cooper and slave revolt leader

Quamina (c.1771–1823), carpenter, deacon, and slave revolt leader

Leaders of the Demerara slave revolt (act. 1823)

October 2024: summary of new articles

2023 marked the bicentenary of the Demerara revolt of 1823, a significant slave uprising in the British colonies prior to the abolition of slavery. A reference group article surveys the Leaders of the Demerara slave revolt of 1823 who orchestrated the mass uprising. They included the carpenter and deacon Quamina (c. 1771–1823), born in the Dutch (later British) colony of Demerara, who is celebrated today as a national hero in Guyana. His son, Jack Gladstone (b. c. 1795), a cooper and another of the revolt’s leaders, was captured, tried, and subsequently deported to St. Lucia in 1825.

Also included in the update is Robert Branford (1817x20–1869), who was born in Suffolk, the son of an unknown father of African descent. He worked as a police superintendent in Revel’s Row, one of the most poverty-stricken parts of London. He has the distinction of being the earliest known police officer of part African descent in the Metropolitan Police Service. Several newspaper reports confirm Branford's outstanding work in Southwark and his popularity with the community he served. The actress and singer Joanne Elizabeth Campbell (1964–2002), born in Northampton, successfully alternated television and stage roles throughout her career, appearing in episodes of such top-rated shows as Blind Justice (1988), Birds of a Feather (1993), and The Bill (1994). In the 1990s, she developed a second career as a drama therapist working mainly with troubled adolescents. 

In addition, portrait likenesses have been added to accompany five existing biographies: the rugby player, James [Jimmy] Peters (1879–1954), born in Salford the son of a West Indian travelling showman, who is remembered as the first black player to be selected for England at rugby union; the bandleader and singer, Edmundo Ros [real name Edmund William Ross] (1910–2011), born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, who came to London in 1937; the writer and broadcaster (Felix) Andrew Alexander Salkey (1928–1995), born in Panama to Jamaican parents, who emigrated to England in 1952; the nurse and midwife, Daphne Adrianna Steele (1927–2004), born in British Guiana (Guyana), who emigrated to England in 1951, and in 1964 became a hospital matron; and the historian and prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Eric Eustace Williams (1911–1981), born at Port of Spain, Trinidad, whose academic legacy is animated by continuing debates arising from his 1944 book Capitalism and Slavery.

The Oxford DNB is updated regularly throughout the year, giving you access to the most up-to-date and accurate information available. Nearly all public libraries in England, Scotland, and Wales - and all in Northern Ireland - subscribe to the Oxford DNB. This means you can access tens of thousands of biographies, free, via your local library - anywhere, anytime. Full access to all biographies is also available by individual subscription.

Discover a full list of entries added this year.