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The University Libraries

History Resources


Online Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Etc.


General

World History Encyclopedias from Gale

Biography Resource Center

Dictionary of Contemporary World History

Dictionary of World History

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World

The People's Chronology: a Year-by-Year Record of Human Events from Prehistory to the Present

Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science

Encyclopedia of Modern Ethnic Conflicts

Oxford Companion to Military History

Oxford Companion to World War II

St. James Encyclopedia of Labor History Worldwide

Countries of the World and their Leaders, 2009

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United States

U.S. History Encyclopedias from Gale

  • Includes 7 encyclopedias covering U.S. history.

Dictionary of American History

  • A major authoritative and comprehensive source for United States history covering all aspects of history and culture. Although the title says "dictionary" it's a ten volume encyclopedia in print with definitive articles.
  • Published 2003

A Dictionary of American History

  • Brief definitions of facts, events, people and data.
  • Published 1997

Encyclopedia of the New American Nation

  • Covers 1774-1829.
  • Includes coverage of history, politics, culture, and daily life.
  • Published 2006.

Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy

  • Includes concepts, doctrines and policymaking ranging from anti-imperialism to environmental diplomacy, from refugee policies to terrorism and countermeasures.
  • Includes a chronology.
  • Published 2002

Encyclopedia of North American Indians

  • Articles on tribes, individuals, and events in the history of North American Indians.
  • Published 1996
Encyclopedia of Recreation and Leisure in America
  • Surveys a variety of leisure pastimes from the Colonial era to the present. Particular attention is paid to how leisure activities have varied by region, class, ethnicity, gender and age.
  • Published 2004

Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America

  • Essays on specific culture groups in the United States, emphasizing religions, holidays, customs, and languages in addition to providing information on historical background and settlement patterns.
  • Published 2000

Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History

  • Provides comprehensive coverage of American economic history from the Paleolithic Age to the present with an emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
  • Published 2000

Major Acts of Congress

  • Includes entries on 262 acts selected by the editorial board based on such criteria as historical significance, contemporary impact, and contribution to the understanding of American government.
  • Published 2004

Oxford African American Studies Center

  • Provides articles, biographies, timelines, images, maps, primary sources, and more.

Oxford Companion to American Military History

  • From brief factual pieces to extensive essays, the entries examine every major war from the Revolution to the Persian Gulf.
  • Published 2000.

Oxford Companion to United States History

  • Covers not only America's political, diplomatic, and military history, but also social, cultural, and intellectual trends; science, technology, and medicine; the arts; and religion.
  • Published 2001.

Encyclopedia of Immigration and Migration in the American West

  • Covers the West and its population during various periods of migration, including American Indians, African Americans, and the often-forgotten role of women in the West’s development.
  • Provides biographies, community histories, economic analysis, demographic studies, and more.
  • Published 2006.

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Canada

The Oxford Companion to Canadian History

  • Provides 1,700 entries covering Canada's earliest times to the present.
  • Published 2004.

Europe

Ancient Europe 8000 B.C.--A.D. 1000 : Encyclopedia of the Barbarian World

  • Explores the many peoples of early European civilizations responsible for such accomplishments as the rise of farming in the Neolithic era and the building of Stonehenge. Coverage expands from prehistoric origins through the early Middle Ages (8000 BC to AD 1000).
  • Published 2004

Dictionary of British History

  • A compact reference work on all aspects of the history of Britain from 55 BC to the present day. (A more concise version of the Oxford Companion to British History below).
  • Published 2001

Encyclopedia of Russian History

  • Spans the time from the earliest beginnings of the Russian nation (among the ancient Eastern Slavic tribes) to the end of czarist Russia and on through the rise and fall of the Soviet Union. A four-volume work in print.
  • Published 2004

Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages

  • 3,000 concise and detailed articles on all aspects of the period from the fifth to the fifteenth century. It explores art, architecture, religion, law, science, language, philosophy, and theology, as well as cultural, religious, intellectual, social and political history.
  • Published 2001

Europe 1450 to 1789 : Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World

  • Explores European history from the print revolution to the French Revolution. Includes 1,150 articles written by eminent scholars covering major topics in art, government, and education as well as providing biographical entries on key figures of the period.  A six-volume work in print.
  • Published 2004

Historical Dictionary of Late Medieval England, 1272-1485

  • Includes entries on places, event, and people. Also includes a chronology.
  • Published 2002

Kings and Queens of Britain

  • Covers English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish monarchs.
  • Published 2001.

Encyclopedia of Enlightenment

  • Covering the “long” Enlightenment, from the rise of Descartes' disciples in 1670 to the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy in 1815.
  • Published 2002

Medieval France : an Encyclopedia

  • An introduction to the political, economic, social, religious, intellectual, literary, and artistic history of France from the early 5th to the late 15th century.
  • Published 1995

Oxford Companion to British History.

  • Covers all aspects of the history of Britain from 55 BC to the present day.
  • Published 2002

The Oxford Companion to Irish History

  • Covers all aspects of the history of Ireland with 1,800 entries.
  • Published 2002

The Oxford Companion to Scottish History

  • Covers more than 20 centuries of history.
  • Published 2001

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Asia

Encyclopedia of Modern Asia

  • Covers modern Asia from a global perspective. Historical articles emphasize people, places, events, and developments that have had a lasting influence on Asia. Articles also cover Asian relations with Western nations, the relations between nations within Asia, and the flow of people, goods, and ideas within Asia and globally. Six volumes in print.
  • Published 2004

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