History 

Why use them?

Dictionaries and encyclopedias can help clarify a chosen topic and provide an overview of the period.  They can also refer you to further readings from books and journal articles which can be very useful in developing your bibliography.

 General

Blackwell Dictionary of Historians (1988)

Dictionary of Contemporary World History - Electronic resource

Dictionary of Historical Allusions & Eponyms (1998)

Dictionary of Historical Terms (Cook) (1998)

Dictionary of Political Biography - Electronic resource

Dictionary of the History of Ideas (1973-1974)

Dictionary of World History - Electronic resource

Encyclopedia of Cold War Espionage, Spies, and Secret Operations (2004)

Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence and Security, 3vols (2004)

Encyclopedia of Historical Treaties and Alliances, 2vols. (Phillips) (2001)

Encyclopedia of Invasions and Conquests from Ancient Times to the Present (1996)

Encyclopedia of Sacred Places (1997)

Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: a Political, Social and Military History, 3 vols. (Tucker) (1998)

Historical Dictionary of World Political Geography: an Encyclopaedic Guide to the History of Nations (Ramirez-Faria)

New Dictionary of the History of Ideas (c2005)

Oxford Companion to the History of Modern Science - Electronic resource

Oxford Dictionary of Local and Family History - Electronic resource

Oxford Reference Online - Brings together over 120 language and subject reference works into a single cross-searchable resource.

Penguin Dictionary of Twentieth Century History, 4th ed. (Palmer) (1992)

Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women. 4 vols. (2000)

Women in Espionage: a Biographical Dictionary (1993)
 

British

Dictionary of British History (Cannon) (2001) - Electronic resource, based on the Oxford Companion to British History

Encyclopedia of Romanticism: Culture in Britain, 1780's-1830's (1992)

Encyclopedia of the Victorian World (1996)

History Today Companion to British History (1995)

Kings and Queens of Britain - Electronic resource

Longman Handbook of Modern British History, 1714-2001 (Cook)

Oxford Companion to British History - Electronic resource

Twentieth Century Britain: an encyclopedia (1995)

Victorian Britain: an Encyclopedia (1988)
 

European

A Companion to Modern European History 1871-1945 (1997)

Dictionary of European History & Politics 1945-1995

Encyclopedia of Contemporary German Culture (1999)

History of the Holocaust: a Handbook & Dictionary (1994)

Longman Handbook of Modern European History (Cook) (1997)

Oxford Companion to World War II - Electronic resource

Australian

Australian Encyclopaedia. 6th edition

Australian Feminism: a Companion (1998)

Australian Political Facts (1997)

Australians: a Historical Library 12 vols. (1987)

Cambridge Encyclopedia of Australia (1994)

Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia (1994)

Historical Dictionary of the Discovery and Exploration of Australia [2003]

Historical Encyclopedia of Western Australia (2009)

Macquarie Atlas of Indigenous Australia: Culture and Society Through Space and Time (2005)

Macquarie Encyclopedia of Australian Events

Oxford Companion to Australian History- Electronic resource

Oxford Companion to Australian Military History

American

Concise Dictionary of American History

Dictionary of American History (Purvis) (1995)

Encyclopedia of American Indian Wars, 1492-1890 (1997)

Encyclopedia of the American Revolution (1974)

Oxford Companion to American Military History - Electronic resource

Oxford Companion to United States History - Electronic resource

Penguin Dictionary of Contemporary American History, 1945 to the present (1997)