l Biography is a rollcall of the great and the good, the eccentric and the bad that contains the biographies of almost 55,000 people.

Like its Victorian predecessor, the new edition, published recently, contains people from all walks of life who made an impact on Britain between the 4th century BC and 2000, but the spectrum is much broader now. "The main change is that we've had a much more inclusive attitude," Alex May, one of the dictionary's five research directors, told Reuters. "We've moved away from the establishment attitude, and included more people from popular areas such as entertainment and sports," said May.

Sir Charles Isham, who introduced the garden gnome to Britain, sits alongside punk icon Sid Vicious and black murder victim Stephen Lawrence, stabbed to death by a gang of whites. Entries on historical heavyweights such as Queen Victoria, Mahatma Gandhi and 19th century British Prime Minister William Gladstone have been updated with the latest historical research. Compilers have increased the number of entries for women three-fold because they felt their contribution had been overlooked.

The updated version will put Diana, Princess of Wales on a par with important royal figures such as Queen Elizabeth I. They are joined by unusual characters such as Doreen Valiente, a 20th century witch, who deserves the title of "mother of modern pagan witchcraft" according to the dictionary. The new edition, the first major overhaul since it was first published more than 100 years ago, took 12 years to compile and cost 25 million pounds, publishers Oxford University Press said. Founded in the late 19

th century by Leslie Stephen, father of writer Virginia Woolf, the dictionary had been a trustworthy source of information but was beginning to show its age despite regular updates, said May. Only people who died before December 31, 2000, are included. Not all are British-born but those like Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud made an impact on society during their time in Britain. At a cost of 7,500 pounds ($13,440), or 195 pounds a year for an annual online subscription, Oxford University Press expects the dictionary mainly to be bought by libraries or other public institutions.

Reuters