The State Library has a comprehensive and constantly growing collection of Tasmanian biographical resources, including biographies - and autobiographies - of individuals; family histories (which often include information about individual family members); and collective biographies, which contain short biographies of people from a particular period, place, occupation or other field of activity.
To find biographies, autobiographies and family histories in the State Library catalogue, search for the full or family name in which you're interested and add "biography", "autobiography" or "family history" as appropriate.
The best-known Tasmanian collective biographies are the Cyclopedia of Tasmania (1900), Prominent Tasmanians (1924) and the Tasmanian cyclopedia (1931). These are very useful publications; but note that people paid to be included and could control what was written about them.
Who's who in Australia, which has been published under various titles since 1906, is more authoritative and reliable. There is now also a Who's who in Tasmania (first published 2008).
Prominent (and occasionally not-so-prominent) Tasmanians are well represented in the Australian dictionary of biography, the printed volumes of which are progressively covering the period from 1788 and are now up to the 1980's. All volumes except the one most recently published are available online. This is supplemented by A biographical register 1788-1939: notes from the name index of the Australian dictionary of biography. Many Tasmanian artists are in the Dictionary of Australian artists online. There are short biographical articles in the Companion to Tasmanian history.
A rich source of biographical information is the obituaries published in newspapers and magazines. The Tasmanian Index provides access to obituaries in Tasmanian publications from 1966 to 1994 and from 1994 to the present.
Listed here is a selection of further resources.
| Date range | Title | Resource type | ||
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| - | Australian family histories: a bibliography and index / compiled by Ralph Reid |
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| - | Australian family histories: a bibliography and index / compiled by Ralph Reid |
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| - | Australian dictionary of biography / general editors, Douglas Pike, Bede Nairn, Geoffrey Serle |
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| - | Australian dictionary of biography - Online Edition |
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| - | Dictionary of Australian artists online |
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| - | Leask's genealogical guide to some Australian families their antecedents and genealogies / compiled and edited by B. Chalmers Leask |
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| 1787-1788 | The founders of Australia: a biographical dictionary of the First Fleet / Mollie Gillen; with appendices by Yvonne Browning, Michael Flynn, Mollie Gillen |
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| 1788-1841 | Australian biographical and genealogical record: Series 1: 1788-1841 with Series 2 supplement / ed. by John T. Spurway; assistant ediitor Allison Allen |
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| 1842-1899 | Australian biographical and genealogical record. Series 2. 1842-1899. Volume 2 / edited by Kenneth J. Cable, Jane C. Marchant |
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| 1788-1939 | A Biographical register 1788-1939: notes from the name index of the Australian dictionary of biography / compiled and edited by H.J. Gibbney and Ann G. Smith |
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| 1788-2000 | Australian genealogy sources: pioneer registers, biographical dictionaries, bibliographies / compiled by Ralph Reid |
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| 1787- | First fleet families of Australia: containing genealogical details of four hundred & fifty six first fleeters, their children & grandchildren / compiled by C.J. Smee |
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| 1789- | Second Fleet families of Australia: containing genealogical details of three hundred & forty nine second fleeters, their children & grandchildren / compiled & edited by C.J. Smee |
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| 1791- | Third fleet families of Australia containing genealogical details of three hundred & eleven third fleeters, their children & grandchildren / compiled & edited by C.J. Smee |
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| 1792- | Fourth fleet families of Australia containing genealogical details of two hundred & five fourth fleeters, their children & grandchildren / compiled & edited by C.J. Smee |
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| 1927 | Who's who in Australia |
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