A political biographical dictionary by birth date in English

[Iñaki]

Yesterday I make a thread about thinking of how useful would be have a biographical dictionary ordered by birth date and not by alphabetical date for use of creating timelines, initially I was beginning this project only in castilian -spanish- but I realize of the fact that the web of www.infoplease.com have between other things the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia sixth edition (2006) and I think why not ordering the political biographies articles by birth date and putting into word format, because it was in english, it would be useful for the AH community.

So I decided to begin two projects: one for personal use that would be in castilian -spanish- language (a mixture of Encarta 2002 + Planeta Agostini Electronic Encyclopedia edition 2004) and another in english using the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia sixth edition 2006 for use of the board.

This will be a very patient and long work, because this I decided that better than expect to end the work and also because it would be another motive to continue regularly with the project I decided to put my progress in this thread so the members could use this Political Biographical dictionary by birth date from the beginning and not wait until the end of the project.

The structure:

The structure will be ordered in blocks of two centuries: this means for example that all the political persons born in 1801-until nowdays will be in an archive, another for 1601-1799, etc, the exception will the two first blocks that ordered from XXXcentury BC-VI century BC because the less number of biographies presents and the V-III centuries BC to permit the other blocks to make in two centuries to end in XIX-XX century. (naturally because there is a limit of space in adding word docs is possible that in the future the structure could change).

For persons that is only known the death year or is not known what birth or death year is I attempt to put them in the part of the word doc that I think more or less saw they to be born.


Also I will send a PM to Max or Glen if it is possible to stick this thread because the special nature of the thread.

[Iñaki]

for the moment the little thing that I have in XIX-XX centuries:

XIX-XX centuries.zip

[Iñaki]

Also the little thing in XVII-XVIII centuries:

XVII-XVIII centuries.zip

[Iñaki]

By last the little thing that for the moment I have in XV-XVI centuries:

XV-XVI centuries.zip

[Iñaki]

A little note, because in Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia there is a division by biographies by country, the first section that I decided to begin was US biographies, so because this for the moment the updates that you will see will be of political or military US figures, when I finish with US, I will begin with british personalities, after french... until the end (but ever the dictionary will be ordered by birth date not by nation).

Also, apart of politics, is included militars and persons that could exercise a direct influence in politics or in military operations like for example the spyes or leaders of social movements.

Updated: XIX-XX centuries:

XIX-XX centuries.zip

[Iñaki]

Updated XVII-XVIII centuries:

XVII-XVIII centuries.zip

[Iñaki]

Updated XV-XVI centuries:

XV-XVI centuries.zip

[Iñaki]

A new update will be presented tomorrow, to make less tedious for me apart of continuing with US biographies I am also beginning to order by birh dates two other fronts of the Columbia Encyclopedia of 2006: british and irish biographies (this means that also is included Scotland and Wales) and Ancient Rome biographies, so this means that new words docs are opened: the centuries BC and the first centuries.

To not put too much posts, all the words archives of the new updates will be included in an only zip archive named centuries (in this zip archive you will find a serie of words docs: V BC-III BC, II BC-I BC,(..) XVII-XVIII, XIX-XX) or if this archive exceeds of the zip limit to add in a post will be divided in centuries(I), centuries (II).., in fact the thing is becoming of important extension: the XIX-XX centuries this morning ,in my last incursion of work it, have a total of 290 kb of information and only included apart of some british entries until the ar (Argyll in concret) US biographies until Cheney, Dick so this means that with this only little part of the work made the doc word for XIX-XX centuries is 290 kb, and it still faults all the US biographies from Cheney until Z, the british from Argyll to Z + japanese, italian, french, spanish, latinoamerican...

Uff! When this become finished, no doubt that in an important part we have solved the problem to know with more or less exactitude who politicals and militars was living in a determinated time

Note: As I say this dictionary only will refer to political and military persons, so Galileo Galilei, Miguel Angel, Tiziano.. not will be included in dictionary (one need to limit only to political and military because: a) if not it would be not a patient work also a neverending work; b) I think that we could find more easily in a normal history book the great figures of art and literature while it is more hard to know all the military and political persons that are living in a determinated year -apart that power is on political and military so this mades very important to TLs to know who could influence the power decisions in a determinated moment-)

[Iñaki]

Updated:

centuries.zip

[Iñaki]

Updated (also I have began to see also the sections of japanese and russia/soviet biographies in the Columbia Encyclopedia so you will begin to find also japanese and russian biographies):

centuries.zip

-Almost 425 kb of information in word docs- (so soon it will have to split in two zip archives, the limit for zip addings in the board is 488 kb). -It is still a long way until the end, for the moment for example US biographies of Columbia Encyclopedia are only ordered until Eisenhower, Dwight David, so E it lacks a lot until Z-

[Akiyama]

How about putting a chronological list of birthdates on the wiki, with links to the appropriate Wikipedia articles?

[Iñaki]

In fact, in wikipedia exists a list of persons by birth date:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Births_by_year

I knew about the existance of this list in Wikipedia but I would prefer to make a list in which you can see a profile or little biography of the political and militaries in an only one list because if not you has to point in wikipedia and click, after you has seen that person, another time point and click in the next...etc.

With a long list in word doc you not need to point and click only to go to the part of the word doc where is the year of your POD so for example 1781 to see who persons were born before the POD and after the POD without the need to see by each person, you have the whole list in one document.

But you has made a good point that I also would want say, my list is based in Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia 6th edition 2006, so this is only a guide (but as I say when the complete work will be finished we will have in an important part a very useful help to make TLs) I would recommend that apart of using the profiles included in the word docs you will use the wikipedia to get more information of all the persons included in the list and also is no doubt that wikipedia is the most complete encyclopedia in the web so is sure that some politicals and militaries could not appear in my list because not appear in Columbia Encyclopedia but surely appear in Wikipedia.

[Iñaki]

Updated, the thing has become large, principally in the doc about XIX-XX centuries, so this is the time to split the zip archive in two parts, first part will be XIX-XX centuries:

XIX-XX centuries.zip

[Iñaki]

The next zip archives contains the remainder centuries:

Centuries.zip


It has still a long way until the end.

[Elcolo]

This is an excellent idea but falls flat as the zip files are corrupted. They will neither open nor extract. I'd recommend reposting strictly the word files...why bother zipping them at all?

[Iñaki]

Yes, I have realized that the zips are corrupt , the problem for the word files is that there is a limit in the extension of the word files to add in the forum (a problem that is solved using the zip format), I will try to repost another time all the files and to see if the zips are now corrupted.

[Iñaki]

Well making an attempt to add a not corrupt file

XIX-XX centuries.zip

[Iñaki]

Aarggh!! Confirmed another time corrupt

[Iñaki]

Trying another time

XIX-XX centuries.zip

[Iñaki]

Another time corrupt, I will not use the format zip, it seems having now serious problems, I will use .txt and this will mean dividing in various posts the updates of the dictionary (also I will expect to made big updates to post to not make too much posts in the thread).

For the moment all that I advance in XIX-XX century:

The XIX-XX century part 1

XIX-XX (1) centuries.txt