Marquis Who's Who

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

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

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

In 1999, Forbes magazine published an article by Tucker Carlson, in which he reported that Marquis profited through direct mail marketers. 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. 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. 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.