Who's Who 2026 is the 178th edition of the world's longest established and most comprehensive general reference book, brought right up to date for the year ahead.

The first autobiographical reference book in the world and, after 177 years, still the most accurate and reliable resource for information on people of influence and interest in every area of public life.

Each edition is heavily updated using information supplied and checked by the entrants themselves, alongside research from many other independent sources. The book provides biographical information for people from all areas of society, including government, law, medicine, business, the church, media and the arts, with details not only of entrants’ careers, but also their family, education, recreations and clubs.

The 2026 edition includes more than 33,000 autobiographical entries, including approximately 600 new entries, an obituaries section, listing the entrants who have died since the previous edition, and a two-page Royal Family section.

The famous red covers of Who's Who are exclusive and only the enduringly notable get into them... After a week with the new Who's Who (and though it's heavy to pick up) "you can't put it down" best describes my feeling. -- Matthew Parris * The Times *
The unrivalled compendium of the good and the great * The Daily Telegraph *
Who's Who is a mirror in which society glimpses a reflection of its own achievement. * The Times *
Britain's most famous reference book ...a biographical record of the great and the good. * Daily Mail *

The publishing house of Adam and Charles Black (A&C Black) was founded in 1807 when Adam Black opened his own bookshop in Edinburgh, before moving from Scotland to London in 1889.

A&C Black is perhaps most famous for its publication of Who’s Who since 1897. Who's Who began life in 1849, growing from thirty-nine lists of ranks and appointments, and the names of those holding them, to the annual biographical work it remains today. A&C Black was purchased by Bloomsbury Publishing plc in 2000.