Learn more about the project to find out about the kind of information you can expect to find in the biographical articles in the DWB.
You can change between languages by clicking on 'English' or 'Cymraeg' at the top right hand corner of any page.
There are three ways to search:
1. A-Z list of articles
Articles are listed alphabetically in the following places:
Click on a letter to see a list of articles for personal names and pseudonyms beginning with that letter.
Click on a highlighted name to open an individual article.
It is not possible to see results for more than one letter of the alphabet at a time.
Articles are listed according to the English alphabet rather than the Welsh.
2. Main 'Search' box on homepage
This will search both for personal names in article headings and also for any data in the main body of articles, so you can search for personal names, place-names or any other terms that appear in the data.
To start your search, type the term you want to search for into the box, click on the magnifying glass icon on the right hand side of the box (or press the return key on your keyboard), and your results will appear.
3. 'Free text search' box
The 'Free text search' box is at the top right hand side of every page on the site, so there is no need to return to the Home page to start a new search.
This will search both for personal names in article headings and also for any data in the main body of articles, so you can search for personal names, place-names or any other terms that appear in the data.
To start your search, type the term you want to search for into the box, click on the magnifying glass icon on the right hand side of the box (or press the return key on your keyboard), and your results will appear.
Other points to note about searching:
Your search results will be arranged by surname or pseudonym, with each result showing part of the article, usually the heading. Where a result is found within an article but not in the heading, the relevant part of the article is shown.
Where there is a large number of search results, they will be displayed over a number of pages. To navigate these pages, go to the bottom of the results page and use the next page or previous page arrows, or select the page number.
Relevance of search results
The order in which search results are shown is weighted for relevance, which means that it takes into account the number of results within each article, and also the importance of names in article headers over those in the body of articles. However, these considerations can conflict with one another, and some names appear both as surnames and as forenames (and also in non-final surnames and double-barrelled surnames), so you may find that results are not always prioritised as you would expect. We hope to improve this in the future.
To view an article, click on the highlighted link.
You can refine your search by adding more search terms to your search in the search bar.
Remember that, as well as adding more search terms, you can also use asterisks for wildcard searches (see 'How can I search the DWB?' above).
You can browse every article on the site by using the A-Z list of articles. This list can be found:
Click on a letter to see a list of articles for personal names and pseudonyms beginning with that letter, and then click on the highlighted names to open individual articles.
Articles are listed according to the English alphabet rather than the Welsh.
To view an article, click on the highlighted link.
When you open an article, the information within it is arranged as follows:
Where an article has been corrected, the corrections can be seen by clicking on the 'Corrections' button in the bottom left hand corner of the page.
Where the contents of an article have been substantially revised after publication, an 'Archived article' is displayed, so that the original and revised versions of the article are shown together.
To print the article, click the 'Print' button which appears at both the top and bottom right hand corners of the page, and follow the instructions to print.
To cite an article (e.g. for academic research and publications), open the article and click the 'Cite' button which appears at both the top and bottom right hand corners of the page. This will open a pop-up of a downloadable official citation. To save the citation, click the 'Copy to Clipboard' button, and then paste the citation into a document on your own device in the usual way (e.g. paste into a Word document using CTRL+V).
Every data element in the DWB, including the biographical articles and every aspect of the website itself, is protected by copyright. Some uses of the data on the site are permitted by copyright, while others require the permission of copyright holders. The holders of copyright in the DWB site include the authors of articles, their legal heirs and assigns, the National Library of Wales, and The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. Go to the Copyright page for further details.
If you cannot find a particular person, it is worth considering the following:
For reasons regarding cyber security, the Dictionary of Welsh Biography website is now static. Articles already published are still available for consultation. New articles will be published provisionally on the DWB section of the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies website. We apologise for any inconvenience.
Please contact us to let us know about corrections, additions or errors.
Check to see if the person is on the list of articles that need to be created.
To nominate a person as a subject for an article, please contact us.
The Guidelines for Authors include details of the basic requirements for each article.
Check to see if the person is on the list of articles that need to be created.
To suggest an author for an article, please contact us
To find out more about the DWB, including the background to the project and the kind of information you can expect to find in the biographical articles, please visit the About the DWB page.
Please visit the DWB Advisory Board page for a list of the current members.
The four project sponsors include:
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If this Help page does not answer your query, please contact us.