Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
This is a short note published by the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society listing entries in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB) that pertain to individuals with Malaysian or Singapore connections.
Summary
The note provides brief background on the ODNB, noting that it replaced the original 1897 Dictionary of National Biography in 1994 and now contains approximately 57,000 entries by around 10,000 contributors (p. 117). The Society compiled the list for the information of Malaysian historians and researchers, with the consent of Oxford University Press, and clarifies that it is not an agent for OUP access arrangements (p. 117).
The list itself comprises approximately 40 entries spanning figures from the early colonial period to the modern era, including colonial governors (e.g., Swettenham, Templer, Clifford), the Brooke Rajas of Sarawak, EIC officials (e.g., Raffles, Marsden, Low), Malay rulers and prime ministers (e.g., Tunku Abdul Rahman, Abdul Razak, Hussein Onn), and scholars and writers (e.g., Winstedt, Skeat, Parkinson) (pp. 117–120). Annotations indicate which entries replace or revise articles from the old DNB.