About the database

Marquis Biographies Online is a searchable database of more than 1.5 million profiles of accomplished people from every field: government, business, science and technology, the arts, entertainment and sports. Marquis Who’s Who has published biographical reference works since 1899.

Search by name, gender, occupation, place, education, hobbies and interests, religion and much more. Marquis print volumes remain available for libraries that keep a print collection.

What’s included

A subscription gives access to the current biographies of everyone who appeared in any of these Marquis print titles since 1985:

  • Who’s Who in America
  • Who’s Who in the World
  • Who’s Who in Asia
  • Who’s Who of American Women
  • Who’s Who in Science and Engineering
  • Who’s Who in American Law
  • Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare
  • Who’s Who in Finance and Business (formerly Who’s Who in Finance & Industry)
  • Who’s Who in 20th Century America
  • Who’s Who of Emerging Leaders in America
  • Who’s Who in the East
  • Who’s Who in the Midwest
  • Who’s Who in the South and Southwest
  • Who’s Who in the West
  • Who’s Who in Media and Communications
  • Who’s Who in Entertainment
  • Who’s Who in American Education
  • Who’s Who in American Nursing
  • Who’s Who in Religion
  • Who’s Who Among Human Services Professionals

Also included:

  • Who’s Who in American Art: today’s most prominent people in American art.
  • Who’s Who in American History: biographies from our archive of Who Was Who in America (1607–1985), about 400 years of American history. Learn about inventors, explorers, colonists, abolitionists and important figures in business, government, the military, education and literature.

Features

  • Concise, complete biographies organized under clear headings such as occupation, career and creative works.
  • Combine many criteria to build highly targeted searches.
  • Broad coverage: birth information, family, education and degrees, career history, creative works, awards, military service, achievements, memberships, interests and hobbies, and contact information.
  • Print any biography.
  • Works in any web browser, with remote access and nothing to install.

How candidates are selected and data is updated

The main selection criteria for Marquis Who’s Who publications are:

  1. a position of leadership at a significant organization,
  2. educational attainment,
  3. noteworthy achievement in creative works (writing, music, television, film and so on),
  4. significant publishing or public speaking experience, or
  5. contributions to the community.

For listees in Who’s Who in America, these accomplishments tend to be national in scope.

Marquis identifies candidates in several ways, including nominations by colleagues, family members and the candidates themselves, received through our website and by mail. Our research staff researches high-profile candidates so that the upper ranks of every field are represented. Marquis also acquires the membership lists of prestigious trade and professional associations.

Candidates are then invited to submit their biographical data. Our editorial staff reviews it against listing standards first developed for the first volume of Who’s Who in America in 1899 and refined every year since. The standards cover a broad range of professions, with more than 800 occupational designations.

Biographees can update their biographies several times a year, and our research staff also collects and updates biographical data regularly.