Each biographical article comprises all or most of the following elements, generally in the order listed here:
- the subject's full name;
- life span in brackets;
- occupational description;
- birth date and place;
- parents' full names;
- parents' occupations at the time the subject was born;
- the subject's education;
- chronological sketch of career;
- family details (marriage and children);
- distinctions gained;
- a critical assessment of his or her work or place in Australian history;
- an evaluation of his or her character;
- a physical description;
- religious denomination;
- publications;
- portraits and their location;
- death--cause (where the subject died at age 70 or younger), date and place--details of burial or whether cremated; and
- a select bibliography
The biography page contains the article text and select bibliography of people as found in the print version of the ADB, as well as links to related ADB entries and more information. Here is a snapshot of the biography page for Joel Moses Gabb, with a description beneath that of the components of the page:
A) Next and previous record links, and article title
The names of the biography in the alphabetical list immediately before and immediately after the one displayed are listed here. The title of the biography displayed is listed under the previous record link.
In the example above, Joel Moses Gabb's record is being viewed, Sir Wilmot Hudson Fysh's record is the previous record and Charles John Gabriel's record is the next.
B) Details Box
The details box provides a snap shot of the person's life. Each entry in this box is a link to another set of data.
- Birth
- The day, month, year and place of birth (where known) of the subject, as revealed in the article text. Clicking on 21 November 1882 under Birth in the example above will retrieve a list of all people in the ADB Online who were born in the month of November in 1882.
- Death
- The day, month, year and place of death (where known) of the subject, as revealed in the article text. Clicking on 6 March 1951 under Death in the example above will retrieve a list of all people in the ADB Online who died in the the month of March in 1951.
- Cultural Heritage
- A 'cultural heritage' has been assigned to a biography subject in one or more of the following circumstances: the person had a parent or parents born outside Australia; he or she spent his or her formative years outside Australia; he or she identified with a particular culture in addition to, or other than, that of Australian. In the example above, selecting English will retrieve a list of all people in the ADB Online with English heritage.
- Religious Influence
- A 'religious influence' has been assigned to a biography subject if the text of the article reveals that he or she adhered to that religion. Where the text does not disclose a religion, attendance at a church school and the denomination of funeral rites have been taken as indicators of 'religious influence'. In the example above, selecting Methodist will retrieve a list of other Methodists in the ADB Online.
- Occupation
- 'Occupation' defines the occupations or spheres of activity of a person as interpreted from the article's text and recorded in the database. Major occupations are included. Occupations of little historical significance or importance to the life of the subject are excluded. Click on labour politician in the example shown to find other labour politicians in the ADB Online.
C) Navigational box
Below the details box is the navigational box, so called because it contains the name of the page you are on as well as hyperlinks to other relevant pages in the ADB Online. There are links to the Life Summary of the biographical subject; the Resources associated with the biographical subject; a list of Abbreviations used in the articles of the ADB; and, the Article History. The navigational box also a feature of the and Life Summary and Article History pages.
- Life Summary
- An expanded summary of subject's life. See the Life Summary help section for more details.
- Resources
- Lists the books, official documents, serials and archival materials used to write a given bibliography. See the Resources help section for more details.
- Abbreviations
- A general list of abbreviations and their meanings that appear in the articles and select bibliographies of the ADB.
- Article History
- This only appears when there have been corrections to the print version of the article. In the article shown above, there have been no corrections thus the Article History link does not exist. See the Article History help section for more details
D) Biography Text
The biography from the print edition has been republished here. At the bottom of the article the name of the author, select bibliography and print publication details are listed.
Generally, when the biography mentions a person who has a separate ADB Online entry, that person's name appears as a hyperlink. In the example above, Joel Gabb's biography links to the biographies of P.M. Glynn, W.M. Hughes and Prime Minister Scullin. Click on the link to go directly to that record.
E) Portrait
Some biographies display a portrait with a caption. These portraits were reproduced, with the permission of the participating institutions and copyright holders, from the National Library of Australia's PictureAustralia service. The portrait image in an ADB Online biography provides a link to the PictureAustralia record. From there you can view the full size digital image from the holding institution, and find more images related to the person.
