George Ranald Macdonald (1891 - 1967) was a farmer and local historian in Canterbury, New Zealand. After retiring he began volunteering at Canterbury Museum. When Museum visitors mentioned there was a need for a biographical dictionary of colonial personalities to help with research, Macdonald volunteered for the project.

Compiled by Macdonald between 1952 and 1964, and comprised of over 12000 index cards with biographical information on over 22000 people, the dictionary took about 12 years to complete. Since then it has been accessed by hundreds of people wanting to know more about nineteenth century Canterbury personalities. The dictionary was considered progressive for its inclusion of people from all strata of society. The information included often goes beyond the basic facts and gives a rare insight into the lives of early residents, the businesses they founded, the institutions they were prominent in and the areas in which they lived.

While a monumental achievement, one of the dictionary’s weak spots has been a lack of information on women and children. Most of the entries are organised by male heads of household with women relegated to the role of wife or daughter. In an effort to make women and children more easily findable, a joint public history project between Canterbury Museum and the University of Canterbury is underway. The aim is to tag all the names mentioned in the dictionary.