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Brian Harrison, editor of the Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography, poses with a set of the
books at the National Portrait Gallery in London, Wednesday
Sept. 22, 2004. It has taken 12 years and more than $45
million to update the dictionary, founded in 1882 by Leslie Stephen, father of author Virginia Woolf.
(AP) | |
Almost 55,000 people who have had a major impact
on British society are profiled in a new 60-volume book that has taken 12
years to compile.
It has cost more than ￡25m and taken 10,000 writers to update the
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Murder victims Stephen Lawrence and James Bulger are among those
joining the likes of Queen Victoria and Gandhi.
The new version of the dictionary, which was founded in 1882, costs
￡7,500 and takes up 12 feet of shelf space.
Projects director Robert Faber said Stephen Lawrence was included
because his death triggered "dramatic developments in British policing and
social policy".
Women make up 10% of the entries - double the previous share - and
include Queen Elizabeth I, Dusty Springfield, Linda McCartney and Virginia
Woolf, whose father compiled the first edition.
Alongside the famous names are lesser known individuals such asthe
inventor of snooker, army reservist Neville Chamberlain.
Stephen Lawrence and James Bulger were both included because of the
"overwhelming soul-searching
and examination of education and social policy" which followed their
deaths.
Mr Faber said: "These are not just people who were killed but people
who had an impact. Jill Dando is there as much for her career but also
because her death became a public event.
"So many of these people have seized the public
imagination and have contributed to public
debate."
(Agencies) |
一套历时12年编写而成的、总共60卷的词典收录了将近5.5万名对英国社会有重大影响的人物。
修订这套《牛津英国传记大词典》花费了2500多英镑，总共有1万名作家参加了编写工作。
（因种族歧视）被谋杀的斯蒂芬·劳伦斯和詹姆士·巴尔格也加入了维多利亚女王和甘地等人的行列。
1882年，《牛津英国传记大词典》首次出版，此次新版的词典耗资7500英镑，整套词典放在书架上，足足占满了12英尺长的空间。
项目负责人罗伯特·费伯说，之所以把斯蒂芬·劳伦斯收入词典，是因为他的死引起了“英国警察制度和社会政策方面巨大的发展”。
女性在词条里占了10%，是之前比例的两倍，其中包括伊丽莎白一世、达丝汀·史宾菲尔（60年代流行音乐巨星）、琳达·麦卡妮（甲克虫乐队著名歌手Paul
McCartney的妻子）和弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫（英国女作家和女权主义者）。伍尔夫的父亲参加了这本词典第一版的编写工作。
除了这些著名的人物外，还有一些不太知名的人，例如斯诺克台球的发明者、陆军预备役军人尼维尔·张伯伦。
斯蒂芬·劳伦斯和詹姆士·巴尔格双双入选词典，因为他们的死引起人们“对教育和社会政策大范围的反思和审视。”
费伯先生说：“他们不仅是单纯的遇害者，他们也是有影响的人物。吉尔·当多（英国国家广播公司主播，99年在她的寓所附近被枪杀）被编入字典不仅仅是因为她的职业，也因为她的死成为公众关注的事件。”
“所以，这些人中的很多人都抓住了公众的想象力并且成为公众议论的对象。”
（中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2004-09-24 10:11