Internet Accuracy Project's roots date back to the mid-1980s, when our Project Director, Rod Mannix, a writer/researcher/archivist, found an increasing amount of his research time diverted by numerous errors in print. Dismayed by the sheer number of errors contained in major reference sources, he brought many of the errors to the attention of the authors, while offering corrected biographical data. While most were appreciative for the help, thousands, and in some cases, millions of volumes containing the errors remained in circulation. While the Internet has had a positive and most profound effect on the manner in which the public does research, it has also brought about the unfortunate widespread dissemination of erroneous data contained in many of the aforementioned reference books.

Internet Accuracy Project was founded early in 2005 to help make research, both online and off, a more satisfying, error-free experience for all researchers.

Not at all. Inaccurate information in a publication or website makes it less credible. The overwhelming majority of publishers wish to convey accurate information to the public, and are usually grateful to rid their sites or publications of errors. We're always polite when pointing out erroneous information to any site/publisher/author. Being courteous and respectful (and offering detailed, authoritative correction data) is key to successfully prompting a correction.

This is one of the reasons for the common errors section of our site, where we shine a spotlight on erroneous reference data.

We accept absolutely no advertising! No ads, period! By accepting no advertising whatsoever, our organization is free from sponsorship influence and interference. Moreover, it is our belief that all reference, educational and literary materials should be delivered free of charge, and free from all types of advertising. Advertising banners, direct marketing, video ads, and pop-up ads are a nuisance, and will never be welcome here!

NOTE: Regardless of the size or source of a contribution, our donors have no editorial influence over the project. We will never accept contributions or grants that make specific editorial demands.

This is the result of there often being an immediate cause of death, such as heart failure, and a long-term cause of death, such as cancer. The immediate cause of death is always listed first, followed by the long-term cause of death.

Visit latest updates for info on those pages that were recently updated and expanded. Toward the bottom of each page you'll find the date it was last updated or expanded. Look for the phrase "This page was last updated . . ." in the last line of text, directly above the Google search box.

Visit our contribute used books page for complete details. Generally speaking, biographical reference books, biographies, autobiographies, and older volumes of poetry and short stories would be most helpful.

Many older volumes are now in the public domain--meaning that no one owns a United States' copyright for these works. This allows us to present these short stories and poems to the public, at no cost and completely free of advertising. Share your love of classic literature with the world by giving any volumes of older poetry or short stories you no longer have use for.

We do not endorse any political party, group or politician -- We never have, and never will.

Any almanac or encyclopedia is better than none at all. Even though we specifically cite errors in them, we still highly-recommend The World Almanac and Book of Facts and the Time/Information Please Almanac. If you're looking for more in-depth information, and have a little more to spend, the Encyclopædia Britannica and the Collier's Encyclopedia, are both fine choices. Better yet, add more than one of the above reference books to your home library so you're not reliant on any one source. Since many almanacs and encyclopedias are now available on CD-ROM, they're even more helpful, handy, fun, and contain far more features than ever before.

In most cases, when biographical data is found to be completely contradictory, we conduct original research utilizing source documentation, such as birth and/or death records, to conclusively resolve the discrepancy. Yes, we are cognizant of the fact that even these documents sometimes contain errors, and always confirm the data they contain with birth certificates, baptismal certificates, birth announcements, school records, military records, death certificates and/or coroner's reports. Firsthand accounts of births or deaths are used in rare cases.

Information on additional source data utilized in our research can be found in most of our biographical profiles. Additional information on each error correction can be found by clicking on the link at the beginning and/or end of each entry.

Internet Accuracy Project researchers utilize an extensive private collection of celebrity birth certificates, death certificates, obituaries, autobiographies, biographies, interviews, and other private and public documents. There are literally thousands of non-fiction and reference volumes in this collection. We've also personally conducted many celebrity interviews over the years to help clear up inconsistent data, and glean information from those archives as well.

Information on sources can be found on our source information/references page, and is also addressed to a lesser extent on the individual biographical and autobiographical sources and references page.

Understand that we must be able to independently verify all errors. To avoid repetitious submissions of preexisting error corrections, please check errors in reference books to ensure we haven't previously addressed the error in question. If you verify that we have yet to tackle the error, please contact us with your information.

If you have celebrity birth certificates, marriage certificates or death certificates you'd like to share with our organization, stop by our contact us page and click on the email link. We welcome and are grateful for all such submissions. Thank you in advance.

Many readers are understandably irritated by typographical errors in novels, but consider for a moment all those individuals who rely on reference books, almanacs, encyclopedias and other non-fiction works in their daily work. Unlike a publishing mistake found in a novel, the errors found in almanacs, textbooks and reference books have a costly effect on the businesses, students, researchers and other individuals who count on their accuracy. Errors in educational materials, while common, are simply unforgivable. Literally millions of man-hours are wasted as a result of erroneous data contained in reference sources.

While most publishers take their responsibility to deliver accurate publications seriously, others are quite lax in their fact checking. Publishers argue that they can't possibly check the validity of every last fact, and thus cannot be expected to deliver error-free publications every time. But this does not justify the sheer number of inaccuracies contained in their reference books and websites. In fact, leading online encyclopedias (some of which you must pay to access) actually have disclaimers and provide no warranty as to their accuracy.
Admittedly, editorial perfection in the publishing industry is virtually unattainable at this point in time.

The origin of the faulty data, be it the result of research oversight, deliberate falsification, or simple typo, is irrelevant. Regardless of whether the author, editor or publisher is ultimately to blame for the errors, the erroneous data exists, and must be addressed to prevent its further dissemination.

Absolutely. If you have access to biographical source info such as celebrity birth certificates, celebrity death certificates, or marriage certificates for individuals of accomplishment, visit our contact us page to share them with us via email.

Consider contributing used biographies, autobiographies, and reference books you no longer have use for.

If you're a scholar with a passion for accuracy, check out our volunteer link for more info.

If you have extra items on hand such as a PDA, laptop, books, office supplies, postage, old computer equipment, etc. and would like to help support our organization, we would welcome them. If you're a graphic artist, printer or have other goods or services to contribute, and would like to help support our educational efforts, check out our contributions link for more info.

You can also help spread the word. If you have the ability to share information about Internet Accuracy Project in any media source, we would certainly appreciate your efforts.

Tell your friends and colleagues about Internet Accuracy Project, or link to our site from your webpage, blog or website. Word of mouth is a crucial component to our success.

If you find value in the work we do, please link to this site from your webpage, blog or website. Support Internet Accuracy Project's efforts to improve the accuracy of reference sources, both online and off, as well as provide advertising-free access to reference, educational and literary materials, by contributing surplus office supplies, or used books. Alternatively, consider recommending us to your friends and colleagues. Thank you in advance!