The Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885. The updated Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) was published on 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes and online, with 50,113 biographical articles covering 54,922 lives. 

Seeking to emulate national biographical collections published elsewhere in Europe, such as the "Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie" (1875), in 1882 the publisher George Smith (1824–1901), of Smith, Elder & Co., planned a universal dictionary that would include biographical entries on individuals from world history. He approached Leslie Stephen, then editor of the "Cornhill Magazine", owned by Smith, to become editor. Stephen persuaded Smith that the work should focus on subjects from the UK and its present and former colonies only. An early working title was the "Biographia Britannica", the name of an earlier eighteenth-century reference work. 

The first volume of the "Dictionary of National Biography" appeared on 1 January 1885. In May 1891 Leslie Stephen resigned and Sidney Lee, Stephen's assistant editor from the beginning of the project, succeeded him as editor. A dedicated team of sub-editors and researchers worked under Stephen and Lee, combining a variety of talents from veteran journalists to young scholars who cut their academic teeth on dictionary articles at a time when postgraduate historical research in British universities was still in its infancy. While much of the dictionary was written in-house, the "DNB" also relied on external contributors, who included several respected writers and scholars of the late nineteenth century. By 1900, more than 700 individuals had contributed to the work. Successive volumes appeared quarterly with complete punctuality until midsummer 1900, when the series closed with volume 63. The year of publication, the editor and the range of names in each volume is given below. QUESTIONS:

Q1:
1. What was the date of publication of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography?
2. When did the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography first come out?
3. On what precise date did the publication of the ODNB occur?
Q2:
1. What was the number of volumes in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography?
2. How many volumes did the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography have?
3. How many volumes were contained in the ODNB?
Q3:
1. What was the date of publication for the first Directory of National Biography?
2. When was the first Directory of National Biography published?
3. On what date did the first volume of the Directory of National Biography come out?
Q4:
1. What did Sidney Lee do?
2. What was Sidney Lee's role?
3. How was Sidney Lee employed?
Q5:
1. When Leslie Stephen resigned, what position was given to Sidney Lee?
2. What job did Sidney Lee get when Leslie Stephen left it?
3. After the resignation of Leslie Stephen, what was Sidney Lee appointed as?
Q6:
1. When did the DNB series closed?
2. What year marked the end of the Directory of National Biography?
3. In what year did the Directory of National Biography come to a close?
Q7:
1. What was the last volume of the DNB?
2. What volume marked the end of the DNB?
3. How many volumes total were there of the Directory of National Biography?
Q8:
1. By 1900, how many people had contributed to the DNB?
2. How many contributors had the DNB had by 1900?
3. How many people had made contributions to the Directory of National Biography by 1900?
Q9:
1. What is the Directory of National Biography a reference of?
2. What can be referenced within the DNB?
3. What could one use the DNB to find?
Q10:
1. What is a European work similar to the DNB?
2. What European volume resembles the DNB?
3. What is another such work, similar to the Directory of National Biography in Europe?
