Who's Who in Science and Engineering

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Marquis Who's Who
Founded1898
FounderAlbert Nelson Marquis
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationBerkeley Heights, New Jersey
DistributionWorldwide
Key peopleErica Lee,
CEO and editor-in-chief
Nonfiction topicsBiographies
Official websitemarquiswhoswho.com Edit this at Wikidata

Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company (/ˈmɑːrkwɪs/ or /mɑːrˈkiː/), is an American vanity publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled Who's Who in... followed by some subject, such as Who's Who in America, Who's Who of American Women, Who's Who in Asia, Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, Who's Who in American Politics, etc.

Similar publications which offer biographical honors are regularly used in scams,[1][2] and Who's Who participates in direct marketing and blind outreach to populate its directories.[3]

Marquis states in its preface that Who's Who in America "endeavors to profile the leaders of American society; those men and women who are influencing their nation's development".[4] Entries in Marquis Who's Who books list career and personal data for each biography, including birth date and place, names of parents and family members, education, writings and creative works, civic activities, awards, political affiliation, religion, and addresses.[5]

History

Founded in 1898 by Albert Nelson Marquis as an American counterpoint to the UK-oriented publication of the same name (published by A.C. Black since 1849 and, notably, including substantial biographies since 1897), the first edition of the publication contained concise biographies of more than 8,500 "distinguished Americans". Albert Marquis wrote that the book's objective was to "chronicle the lives of individuals whose achievements and contributions to society make them subjects of widespread reference interest and inquiry."[4][6]

Originally independent, it was acquired by the conglomerate ITT. News Communications, Inc., which owns The Hill, bought Marquis in 2003.[7][8][9] In 2016, the company's assets, including all the trademarks were transferred to Marquis Who's Who Ventures LLC, which is privately owned.[10]

Publications

General publications

Marquis publications include:

  • Who's Who in America (ISSN 0083-9396)
  • Who's Who in the World (ISSN 0083-9825)
  • Who's Who in American Art (ISSN 0000-0191)
  • Who's Who in American Politics
  • Who's Who in the East
  • Who's Who in the West
  • Who's Who in the Midwest
  • Who's Who in the South / Southwest
  • Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare
  • Who's Who in Asia
  • Who's Who in American Law
  • Who's Who in Corporate America (ISSN 2159-9955)
  • Who's Who in Science and Engineering
  • Who's Who of American Women

Historical series

  • Who Was Who in America ISSN 0146-8081)
  • Who's Who in 20th Century America

Selection process

A 2005 New York Times feature describes some aspects of the selection process at the time: "An editorial team of 70, including 12 researchers, make the call on who's notable and who's not".

Since at least 2025, the company regularly solicits participants via Reddit and LinkedIn for inclusion, and markets commemorative copies for sale.[11]

As reference source

In 1999, Forbes magazine published an article by Tucker Carlson, in which he reported that Marquis profited through direct mail marketers.[12] Forbes adopted Who's Who in America as a source for compiling information on post-graduate success when it began ranking America's most prestigious colleges in 2007.[13] Forbes stopped referencing Marquis Who's Who in 2013, replacing it with various of its own lists, such as Power Women, 30 Under 30, CEOs on the Global 2000, Nobel and Pulitzer prize winners, Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellows, those elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and winners of major Arts awards.[14]

Two statisticians with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company used inclusion in Who's Who in America in a study conducted 1950–1961, which concluded that people listed in the publication lived longer than their unlisted peers.[15]

See also

References

  1. Kiger, Patrick J. "How to Avoid Who's Who and Vanity Award Scams". AARP. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  2. www.justice.gov https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/southampton-woman-pleads-guilty-elder-fraud-scheme. Retrieved May 12, 2026. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. "Is Who's Who in America a Scam? - JoinDeleteMe". joindeleteme.com. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  4. Marquis Who's Who (1994). Who's Who in America 1994. Chicago, Ill: Marquis Who's Who. pp. vi. ISBN 0-8379-0151-0.
  5. "Marquis Who's Who Bluesheet". Thomson Reuters. April 21, 2008. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved April 22, 2008.
  6. Leonard, John. W., ed. (1900). WHO'S IN AMERICA; A Biographical Dictionary of Living Men and Women of the United States 1899–1900 (1 ed.). Chicago: A.N. Marquis & Company. Retrieved September 14, 2016 – via Internet Archive.
  7. "Trademark Assignment Cover Sheet". USPTO. May 3, 2016.
  8. "Entity Filing Details". April 25, 2016.
  9. "Disqus – Who's Who Of Who's Who Scams". Disqus.
  10. "About the Database". www.marquisbiographiesonline.com. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  11. "Is Who's Who in America a Scam? - JoinDeleteMe". joindeleteme.com. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
  12. Tucker Carlson (March 8, 1999). "The Hall of Lame". Forbes Magazine. Retrieved October 17, 2007.
  13. Center for College Affordability and Productivity staff (August 11, 2010). "Methodology". Forbes.
  14. Howard, Caroline. "Ranking America's Top Colleges 2013". Forbes.
  15. Lawrence K. Altman, "Who's Who [in America] linked to longer lives. Listed American Men Are Found to Outlast Others," The New York Times, July 26, 1970, p. 60.

Further reading