Jock,
Welcome back! It's certainly been a while, but we haven't forgotten.

Sounds like a valuable project you're working on, and I'm sure there are a few history buffs here who would be glad to help out. In fact, I expect it won't be long before you start to see some replies. As a starting point, are you filling in the details of an existing list of biographies, or are you still collecting a list of names?
Out of curiosity, is the text for a specific project? Will it be publicly available when complete?
Cheers
Mike