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Oxfordshire Lives

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography is the national record of people who’ve shaped British history, worldwide, from the Romans to the 21st century. The ODNB currently includes the life stories of over 60,000 men and women who died in or before 2016.

William Morris

Of these 60,000 people, more than 15,000 have ties to Oxford or Oxfordshire.

Below you’ll find some famous (and less-well-known) Oxfordshire faces, including car-maker William Morris (above) and Agatha Christie and John Betjeman (below). Click on an image to read more.

Agatha Christie William Kimber Ronnie Barker John Case  
John Betjeman Edward the Confessor Flora Thompson Mike Hailwood
Lucius Cary JRR Tolkien James Sadler Beatrix Havergal
Humphrey Carpenter Alice Hargreaves Thomas Bodley

Who and how? in Oxfordshire

As well as looking for people by name, you can also search by place, for example:

(NB: You'll need to be logged into your library's subscription for these searches.)


How do I search?

The Oxford DNB includes the life stories of more than 60,000 men and women. Online you can search for where they were born, baptized, lived, died or were buried, by date range or location.

  • The advanced search ‘life event’ feature can be used to find people near you—be they men and women baptised in Edinburgh (189), those born in Whitby (28), or those buried in Exeter (133). Used in this way the ODNB is an excellent resource for school projects or family history.
  • Text searching across the Oxford DNB’s 68 million words, you can also make links between people and places: for example, we’ve 102 references to “Clapham Common”, 27 to the “River Trent”, and 51 to “Snowdonia”.


What else does the Oxford DNB offer?

  • Our free, twice-monthly biography podcast—now with over 250 episodes. Download and listen to the stories of Roald Dahl, Eric & Ernie, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Margaret Thatcher, and many more.
  • Follow us on Twitter for more historical figures in the news.

Plus, life stories of over 60,000 men and women, from the Romans to the 21st century. The Oxford DNB is available—free, online, and at home—via nearly all UK public libraries.

Don't forget: the ODNB online is available free—anywhere, anytime—via Oxfordshire libraries: just type L + your library membership number in the box here.


> Read the Oxford DNB, free and at home, using your library's subscription
> More about the Oxford DNB
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