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 (18241901), 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.

Now, provide a numbered list of answers to these questions:

1. When was ODNB published?
2. How many volumes did it have?
3. When did the first volume of Directory of National Biography appear?
4. Who was Sidney Lee?
5. What position did he get when Stephen resigned?
6. When did the series close?
7. With which volume?
8. How many people had contributed to it by 1900?
9. The DNB is a reference work on what?
10. Name another such European work?
1. 23 September 2004
2. 60
3. 1 January 1885
4. Stephen's assistant editor
5. editor
6. 1900
7. 63
8. 700
9. notable figures from British history,
10. national biographical collections