Women who have made a "significant contribution" to American life will be featured in a biographical dictionary now being prepared under Radcliffe sponsorship. The work will contain brief write-ups of about 1,500 women and will comprise two or more volumes, according to Edward T. James '38, editor.

To be titled Notable American Women, 1607-1950, the dictionary will include distinguished feminine leaders from the colonial period to the present, both native and foreign born.

James is working with a 19-member committee headed by Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr., Francis Lee Higginson Professor of History, Emeritus. The group will assist in selecting persons and in naming "a qualified individual" to write each biography.

The project will be financed with $160,000 collected through the current Radcliffe 10 Year Program.