Several reference publications on prominent people
Who's Who (or Who is Who) is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a group of notable persons. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication Who's Who, a reference work on contemporary prominent people in Britain published annually since 1849.
Notable examples by country
Who's Who, the oldest listing of prominent British people since 1849; people who have died since 1897 are listed in Who Was Who.
Marquis Who's Who, a series of books published since 1899 by Marquis, primarily listing prominent American people, but including Who's Who in the World.
Who's Who in New Zealand, twelve editions published at irregular intervals between 1908 and 1991
Who's Who in Switzerland, published from 1953 to 1996 and then Swiss Who's Who, a listing of prominent Swiss or leading figures living in Switzerland since 2015[1]
Who's Who Among American High School Students listing what it deems to be American high school and college students who particularly excel in the realm of academic achievement. The publishing company closed in 2007.
Who's Who in the CIA, a book published in East Berlin in 1968 with the assistance of the KGB and the HVA purporting to reveal the identities of thousands of CIA officers.
The title "Who's Who" is in the public domain, and thousands of Who's Who compilations of varying scope and quality (and similar publications without the words "Who's Who") have been published by various authors and publishers. Some publications have been described as scams; they list any people likely to buy the book, or to pay for inclusion, with no criterion of genuine notability.[5] They may offer vanity awards[6] or expensive trophies.[7]
One example was the Who's Who Among American High School Students which was criticized for questionable nomination practices as well as whether the listing's entries are fact-checked and accurate.[8][9] According to the admissions vice president of Hamline University, "It's honestly something that an admissions officer typically wouldn't consider or wouldn't play into an admissions decision," adding that "Who's Who... is just trying to sell books".[9]
Who's Who publications are not all of questionable value, but publishers that select truly notable people and provide trustworthy information on them are hard to identify. A & C Black's Who's Who is the canonical example of a legitimate Who's Who reference work, being the first to use the name and establish the approach in print, publishing annually since 1849. However, the longevity of a publication is not in itself a guarantee. In 1999 Tucker Carlson said in Forbes magazine that Marquis Who's Who, founded in 1898 but no longer an independent company, had adopted practices of address harvesting as a revenue stream, undermining its claim to legitimacy as a reference work listing people of merit.[10][obsolete source] A 2005 New York Times article observed that the entries in Marquis Who's Who were "not uniformly fact-checked".[11]
^"Le retour du "Who's who" suisse après vingt ans d'absence". Le Temps. 11 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
^"Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur | Recherche | Biographische Datenbanken". Stiftung-aufarbeitung.de. Retrieved 7 February 2016.
^"Kas yra kas Lietuvoje 2018". www.kasyrakas.lt. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
^Mannix, M.K.; Burchsted, F. (2015). Guide to Reference in Genealogy and Biography. American Library Association. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-8389-1295-9. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
^Kirchheimer, Sid. "Who's Who Directory Scams: With vanity publishers, fame and honors can cost you a small fortune". AARP. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
^Gewirtz, David (9 March 2020). "Oh, you won an award? Don't click that vanity scam spam link". ZDNet. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
^Harris, Sheryl (12 January 2019). "That 'Who's Who' invite aims at your ego — and your wallet: Plain Dealing". The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
^"Yvonne Zanos: What's what with Who's Who". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 5 December 2005. Archived from the original on 7 March 2007.
^ a bGruca, Terri (3 January 2006). "Student Questions 'Who's Who' Directory". WCCO. Archived from the original on 12 January 2010.
^Carlson, Tucker (8 March 1999). "The Hall of Lame". Forbes. ISSN 0015-6914. Archived from the original on 14 April 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2019. Who's Who in America ... appears to contain a lot of relatively unaccomplished people who simply nominated themselves. To make the process of self-promotion easier, Reed Elsevier, the publication's parent company and the owner of Lexis-Nexis, now has a site on the Internet where would-be biographees can complete a 'biographical data form.'
^Hamilton, William L. (13 November 2005). "Who Are You? Why Are You Here?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
