Index to Dictionary of World Biography

Dictionary of World Biography #10

by Frank N. Magill (Editor)

Each volume of the Dictionary of World Biography contains 250 entries on the lives of the individuals who shaped their times and left their mark on world history. This is not a who's who. Instead, each entry provides an in-depth essay on the life and career of the individual concerned. Essays commence with a quick reference section that provides basic facts on the individual's life and achievements. The extended biography places the life and works of the individual within an historical context, and the summary at the end of each essay provides a synopsis of the individual's place in history. All entries conclude with a fully annotated bibliography.

10 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Dr. Frank Northen Magill (1907-1997) was a writer and editor of distinguished reference works for over forty years.

Magill also founded the Salem Press in 1949. Magill’s expertise became so recognizable in the hundreds of volumes of reference works published by Salem Press that librarians sometimes referred to the publications as “Magill books.”

Born in Smyrna, Ga., Magill earned an undergraduate degree at Georgia Tech and a master’s degree in engineering at Columbia University. He began working as an engineer, then served as a major in the Army Air Corps during World War II. While stationed in the Panama Canal Zone, Magill read widely and conceived of a book that he titled “Masterplots.” That was the first book to be published by Salem Press, in 1949.

Eventually the company branched into history, humanities, social science and sciences. Operating offices in New York and Los Angeles, Magill earned a doctorate and taught a popular reference course at USC.