55,000 people who shaped Britain5.5萬名對英國有影響的人物入選《牛津英國傳記大詞典》
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 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 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."
一套歷時12年編寫而成的、總共60卷的詞典收錄了將近5.5萬名對英國社會有重大影響的人物。
修訂這套《牛津英國傳記大詞典》花費了2500多英鎊，總共有1萬名作家參加了編寫工作。
(因種族歧視)被謀殺的斯蒂芬·勞倫斯和詹姆士·巴爾格也加入了維多利亞女王和甘地等人的行列。
1882年，《牛津英國傳記大詞典》首次出版，此次新版的詞典耗資7500英鎊，整套詞典放在書架上，足足佔滿了12英尺長的空間。
項目負責人羅伯特·費伯説，之所以把斯蒂芬·勞倫斯收入詞典，是因為他的死引起了“英國警察制度和社會政策方面巨大的發展”。
女性在詞條裏佔了10%，是之前比例的兩倍，其中包括伊麗莎白一世、達絲汀·史賓菲爾(60年代流行音樂巨星)、琳達·麥卡妮(甲克蟲樂隊著名歌手Paul McCartney的妻子)和弗吉尼亞·伍爾夫(英國女作家和女權主義者)。伍爾夫的父親參加了這本詞典第一版的編寫工作。
除了這些著名的.人物外，還有一些不太知名的人，例如斯諾克枱球的發明者、陸軍預備役軍人尼維爾·張伯倫。
斯蒂芬·勞倫斯和詹姆士·巴爾格雙雙入選詞典，因為他們的死引起人們“對教育和社會政策大範圍的反思和審視。”
費伯先生説：“他們不僅是單純的遇害者，他們也是有影響的人物。吉爾·當多(英國國家廣播公司主播，99年在她的寓所附近被槍殺)被編入字典不僅僅是因為她的職業，也因為她的死成為公眾關注的事件。”
“所以，這些人中的很多人都抓住了公眾的想象力並且成為公眾議論的對象。”
Vocabulary:
reservist: a member of a military reserve(預備役軍人)
soul-searching : reflection(真摯的自我反省、深思)
