Biographical Dictionaries
Czech and Slovakian Biographical Archive = Cesky biograficky archiv a Slovensky biograficky archiv.
Kramme, Ulrike.; Urra Muena, Zelmíra. K.G. Saur, 1993-2000.
U of I Library Call Number: International & Area Studies Microforms Room MFICHE 920.0437 C425. 680 fiches. With other Reference Fiche.
As with the other K.G. Saur biographical archives on microfiche, they have copied the entries from biographical reference books and accumulated all of the entries for one individual together. Thus, the entries are replicas of the original source with a citation to the original source at the head of each entry. This source is valuable because it eliminates checking numerous books for information and also provides access to sources that the U of I Library may not own. The Czech and Slovakian biographical archive contains entries for approximately 110,000 individuals from 214 sources published between 1559 and 1992. Entries include Czechs and Slovaks living in their native lands or in exile. Depending on the original sources, the entries may or may not have bibliographical references and may appear in languages other than Czech and Slovak. Beware that sometimes the entries for different people with the same name may be conflated.
A list of sources covered by the microfiche set is available on microfiche at the beginning of the set. You can search for a person listed in the Czech and Slovakian Biographical Archive in the World biographical index, which is available for U of I students and faculty through the SFX link resolver. If you are not affiliated with U of I you may want to check with your institution or your local library: it is possible that they provide access to the World biographical index. However its entries contain only brief biographical data, not the actual entries that are on the microfiche. The results of the search will tell you which sets contain entries for the individual and from which reference books they were taken.
Beware: Although this archive is a valuable resource, do not be deceived into thinking that use of this source will cover all bases. It is impossible to include all of the biographical resources that exist. If you rely on the Archive alone, you will miss some potentially useful material.
Follow the link for two entries for Alexander Duchnovic, a Rusyn pedagogue, from two different sources as they appear on the microfiche.
Postavy a osobnosti (seznam zivotopisu a osobnich monografii).
Gintl, Zdenek; Herman, Miroslav. Praha: Tiskem a nákladem Melantricha a.s., 1936. 836 p.
U of I Library Call Number: International & Area Studies Slavic–Czech/Slovak Reference 016.92 P88p
This bibliography contains citations for works of a biographical nature that could be found at the Central Library of the City of Prague in 1935-1936 including both articles and books. The entries are divided into two sections, one for works about a specific person and one for works by a particular author about other people. There is a listing of biographical dictionaries between the two main sections of the book. This source itself does not provide biographical information, rather it leads you to works by and about people worldwide, contemporary and historical, thus it would be particularly useful for literary scholars and historians. Entries in the first section are arranged alphabetically by the name of the subject, in the second section by the surname of the author. Names are spelled as they appear in their original language. Call numbers are printed in bold face to the left of each entry. See some sample entries below from the first section.
Kto je kto na Slovensku. 1969.
Slusna, Ol’ga. Bratislava: Slovakopress/CSTK, 1970. 494 p.
U of I Library Call Number: International & Area Studies Slavic–Czech/Slovak Reference 920.043735 K949
This biographical dictionary includes articles about Slovaks alive in 1969 who were notable in a range of disciplines such as politics, higher education, literature, art, economics, sports, etc. The entries provide a full name followed by titles and/or a profession. Dates and places of birth, education, previous positions held, and a current address (for 1969 anyway) are also given. Follow the link for the entry for Jozef Telgarsky, a scholar associated with Matica slovenska.
Kdo je Kdo
This resource is no longer free. Created by the publishers of Kdo je kdo (the Czech Who’s who), this site provides basic biographical and contact information for 5,000 famous Czech who are currently alive. The site is searchable by surname or by subject. For example, there are numerous categories for locating people such as Culture and Art which includes subcategories like music, architecture, literature, etc. Biographies provide the following information: date of birth, names of family members (spouse, children, parents), educational data, career information, a brief bibliography if applicable, contact information at home and at work, among other things. Many Czech academics are listed here. Czech fonts are needed for the search mechanism.