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This is the classification scheme for the main sequence of biographical entries. Each person or group in the directory is indexed under as many of these headings as possible.

Indexing is not an exact science. The index is definitely hampered by the lack of information available about most of the people included: probably no one is indexed as fully as he or she could be if all the information were to hand. In a few cases I have made what I hope to be accurate suppositions about things, based on available data, and in a few cases I have had to either choose between two or more conflicting sources of information or I have indexed a person under several mutually exclusive headings, because of conflicting sources.

The index is divided into three main sections:

Each of these divisions has a number of subdivisions. The full set of headings follows.

Generic Groups
Entries for whole groups of children who were adopted or fostered or in some other way removed from their parents

Mythological, Traditional and Divine Figures

Ethnic Background

• African | Arab, Middle Eastern | Asian | Australian Aboriginal | European | Hispanic | Indian | Jewish | Native American, Inuit | Polynesian, Melanesian |

Nationality or Citizenship
By birth, adoption or residence

• Ancient and Classical Civilizations:
  

• Arabia | Argentina | Australia | Austria | Belarus | Belgium | Benin | Botswana | Brazil | Bulgaria | Canada | Central African Republic | China | Cook Islands | Cuba | Czech Republic | Denmark | Easter Island | Egypt | Estonia | Ethiopia | Federated States of Micronesia | Fiji | Finland | France | French Overseas Departments and Territories | Georgia | Germany | Ghana | Greece | Greenland | Guinea | Guyana | Haiti | Hong Kong | Hungary | India | Indonesia | Iran | Iraq | Ireland | Israel | Italy | Ivory Coast | Jamaica | Japan | Kalaallit Nunaat | Kenya | Kiribati | Korea | Latvia | Lithuania | Liberia | Libya | Mexico | Morocco | Netherlands | New Zealand | Nigeria | Niue | Norway | Pakistan | Palestine | Panama | Papua New Guinea | Peru | Poland | Portugal | Romania | Rwanda | Russia | St. Kitts and Nevis | Samoa | Singapore | Slovak Republic | South Africa | Spain | Sri Lanka | Sudan | Sweden | Swaziland | Switzerland | Syria | Tanzania | Thailand | Tibet | Togo | Tonga | Turkey | Turkmenistan | Uganda | Ukraine | UK/Great Britain | USA | USA Overseas Territories | Vietnam | Yugoslavia | Zaïre | Zambia

Historical Period
Entered under centuries of birth and death

• BCE
• CE:
  1st to 10th Centuries | 11th Century | 12th Century | 13th Century | 14th Century | 15th Century | 16th Century | 17th Century | 18th Century | 19th Century | 20th Century

Career, Profession or Sphere of Influence
Entered here only where the position was important in itself, where it was a definite career choice, or where the individual is important in the history of the field, not where a job was merely "by accident" and was of no significance

• Agriculture
• Art, Architecture, Planning
• Business and Industry
• Civil Rights, Advocacy
• Computers
• Domestic Service
• Education, Teaching, Libraries
• Engineering, Technology, Aviation, Inventions
• Exploration and Adventure
• Fashion, Hairdressing, Modeling; Beauty Queens
• Finance
• Government, Politics, Civil Service, Public Administration
  
  • Diplomats
  • Rulers, Nobles, Chiefs, Presidents, Prime Ministers
• Journalism
  Including writers of all kinds of non-fiction, as well as news journalists
• Law
• Literature
  Including writers of novels, poetry, short stories and children's literature
• Medicine and Allied Professions
• Military and Defense
• Music and Dance
• Philanthropists
• Religion, Philosophy
  Listed here only if the individual made a significant contribution to, held office in, or had a major impact on the religion, not simply to denote membership
  • Buddhist | Christian | Hindu | Jewish | Muslim | Native American | Other Religions | Philosophers
• Restaurants
• Science, Parascience
• Social Sciences
• Sports
• Theater, Broadcasting, Cinema
• Trades
  Carpentry, Catering, Merchant Marine, etc.
• Transportation
• Unions, Labor

Self-Made Men and Women
People who became wealthy, starting from nothing, excluding people in literature, the arts and sports

Sexuality: Gay Men, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transsexuals

Adoptees/Fosterees Who Were Also Adopters or Foster Parents

Adoptees/Fosterees Who Were Also Birth Parents

Adoptees and Fosterees with Special Problems in Childhood or Adulthood

• Birth Identity Disputed or Deliberately Concealed by Adoptee, Parents or Authorities
  Including foundlings and feral children


• Ethnic or Religious Identity Confused or Concealed, Racism


• Exile or Persecution
  Religious, political or social


• Estrangement from Adoptive or Foster Family


• Late or Traumatic Learning of Adoption
  
  • Raised with Birth Parent without Knowing
• Poor Educational Opportunities, Self-Taught


• Mental Handicaps, Learning Difficulties


• Personality and Behavior Problems
  
  • Addiction or Abuse
    Drugs, alcohol, gambling
  • Anti-Social or Disruptive Behavior, ADHD
  • Mental Illness
    Including suicide or attempted suicide
• Criminal Convictions, Imprisonment
• Murdered, Assassinated
  Or died in suspicious circumstances
• Abuse in Family of Origin or Placement
  • Multiple or Unspecified
  • Physical
  • Sexual
  • Financial Exploitation
• Medical Problems
  • Physical Handicaps
  • HIV
• Financial Problems, Bankruptcy
• Homelessness, Drifting

Figures Whose Adoption or Fostering is Fictitious, Disputed or Unconfirmed
I.e., people who invented stories of their own adoption, where sources differ, or whose listing in other "famous adoptees" registers could not be independently confirmed

Formal, American/European-Type Adoption

Formal, American/European-Type Fostering

When Adopted, Fostered or Entered the Care System

• Birth or Infancy
• Pre-School Years
• School-Age Years, Adolescence
• Adopted as an Adult

Why Adopted, Fostered or Entered the Care System

• Orphaned (Both parents)
• Child Removed from Home by Social Services
• Parental Relationship Breakdown, Divorce
• Parental Illness (Mental or physical), Addiction
• Parent(s) in Prison or Labor Camp, Executed
• Parent(s) Left Home, Leaving Child Behind
• Child Ran Away or Left Home to Work
• Child Sent to Boarding School, Apprenticed or Fostered as Part of Traditional Child-Rearing Practices
• To Further Family or Political Alliances
• Child Committed Criminal Offenses
• Child's Illness or Handicaps
• War or Persecution
• Birth Parent(s) Relinquished Child
  • Unmarried Mother, Single Parent (Mother or Father) Unable to Cope
  • Child Abandoned or Rejected by Birth Parent(s):
    Foundlings and Feral Children
    To Avoid Prophecy Fulfillment
    Mother Married, But Not to Father
    Sent for Adoption when Parent Began New Relationship, Conflict with Step-Parent
  • Oblates, Dedicated to God
  • Poverty
• Adopter's or Foster Parent's Initiative
  
  • For Companionship, or for Charitable Motives
  • To Provide Heirs, as Protégés, etc.
    Honorific Adoptions
  
  
  • Abductees and Captured Children
    Abducted by Parent or Adopter
    Captured by Another Tribe or Group
    Government Policy, Assimilation
    Forced Religiousx.WhyPlaced.Converts"> Conversion
  
  
  • Slaves
• Adoptee's/Fosteree's Initiative