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BIO: A vocabulary for biographical information
type: Ontology
date: 2010-05-10
abstract: This document describes a vocabulary for describing biographical information about people, both living and dead.
description: The BIO schema contains terms useful for finding out more about people and their backgrounds and has some cross-over into genealogical information. The approach taken is to describe a person's life as a series of interconnected key events, around which other information can be woven. This vocabulary defines the event framework and supplies a set of core event types that cover many use cases, but it is expected that it will be extended in other vocabularies to suit their needs. The intention of this vocabulary is to describe biographical events of people and this intention carries through to the definitions of the properties and classes which are person-centric rather than neutral. For example the Employment event puts the person being employed as the principal agent in the event rather than the employer. Please see https://github.com/iand/vocab-bio for the master version of this schema.
creator: Ian Davis
creator: David Galbraith
rights: Copyright © 2002-2010 Ian Davis and David Galbraith
issued: 2003-03-07
history note: Added keywords property
  date: 2003-07-28
  creator: Ian Davis
history note: Major expansion of properties and classes
  date: 2010-05-10
  creator: Ian Davis
history note: Added biography property
  date: 2010-06-05
  creator: Ian Davis
history note: Added subproperty and equivalent property relations for bio:father, bio:mother and bio:child
  date: 2010-06-06
  creator: Ian Davis
change note: Added Creative Commons license
  date: 2004-03-05
  creator: Ian Davis
change note: Added examples
  date: 2005-04-01
  creator: Ian Davis
change note: Minor changes to improve publishing process
  date: 2009-05-19
  creator: Ian Davis
change note: Added change history
  date: 2010-04-20
  creator: Ian Davis
change note: Batch of revisions based on community feedback
  date: 2010-05-20
  creator: Ian Davis
discussion list: FOAF-DEV mailing list
preferred namespace prefix: bio
example: A Biography of Henry VIII, King of England
term group: Properties of a person
term group: Types of event
term group: Properties of an event
term group: Properties that relate an event to an agent
term group: Properties that relate an event to another event

Ian Davis
type: Person

Person
type: Class
equivalent class: Class
  intersection of: Restriction
    cardinality: 1
    on property: Father
  intersection of: Restriction
    cardinality: 1
    on property: Mother

Event
type: Class
comment: An event is an occurrence that brings about a change in the state of affairs for one or more people and/or other agents. Events are assumed to occur over a period of time and may not have precise start and end points.
usage note: This class is intended to describe biographical events, i.e. events in the life of a person.
subclass of: Event
history note: Made equivalent to cyc:Event
  date: 2010-05-04
  creator: Ian Davis
history note: Removed subclass of owl-time ProperInteval
  date: 2010-05-20
  creator: Ian Davis
term status: testing
change note: Marked as a stable term
  date: 2010-05-04
  creator: Ian Davis
change note: Marked as testing status
  date: 2010-05-20
  creator: Ian Davis

Individual Event
type: Class
comment: A type of event that is principally about a single person. Other agents may be involved but the event is most significant for the principal agent.
subclass of: Event
subclass of: Restriction
  cardinality: 1
  on property: Principal
term status: unstable

Group Event
type: Class
comment: A type of event that is principally about one or more agents and their partnership. Other agents may be involved but the event is most significant for the partner agent.
subclass of: Event
subclass of: Restriction
  min cardinality: 2
  on property: Partner
term status: unstable

Birth
type: Class
comment: The event of a person entering into life.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: testing
change note: Marked as testing
  date: 2010-05-04
  creator: Ian Davis
example: The birth of Albert Einstein
  type: SchemaExample
  comment: _:e a bio:Birth ; dc:date "1879-03-14" ; bio:principal <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Albert_Einstein> ; bio:parent <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Pauline_Koch> ; bio:parent <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Hermann_Einstein> ; bio:place <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Ulm> .

Marriage
type: Class
comment: The event of creating uniting the participants into a new family unit, sometimes accompanied by a formal wedding ceremony. This is intended to cover a broad range of marriages including those given formal legal standing, common-law, or by convention. It is not restricted to marriages of two people of the opposite gender, but also includes polygamous and same-sex unions.
subclass of: Group Event
term status: stable
change note: Marked as a stable term
  date: 2010-05-04
  creator: Ian Davis
equivalent class: WeddingEvent Generic
history note: Made equivalent to cyc:WeddingEvent_Generic
  date: 2010-05-04
  creator: Ian Davis
example: The marriage of Albert Einstein and Mileva Marić
  type: SchemaExample
  comment: _:e a bio:Marriage ; dc:date "1903" ; bio:partner <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Albert_Einstein> ; bio:partner <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Mileva_Mari%C4%87> ; bio:place <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Bern> .

Death
type: Class
comment: The event of a person's life ending.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: stable
change note: Marked as a stable term
  date: 2010-05-04
  creator: Ian Davis
example: The death of Albert Einstein
  type: SchemaExample
  comment: _:e a bio:Death ; dc:date "1955-04-18" ; bio:principal <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Albert_Einstein> ; bio:place <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Princeton,_New_Jersey> .

Annulment
type: Class
comment: The event of declaring a marriage void from the beginning as though it never existed.
subclass of: Group Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Divorce
type: Class
comment: The event of legally dissolving a marriage.
subclass of: Group Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03
example: The divorce of Albert Einstein and Mileva Marić
  type: SchemaExample
  comment: _:e a bio:Divorce ; dc:date "1919-02-14" ; bio:partner <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Albert_Einstein> ; bio:partner <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Mileva_Mari%C4%87> ; bio:place <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Zurich> .

Funeral
type: Class
comment: The event of marking a person's death with a ceremony.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Burial
type: Class
comment: The event of interring the remains of a person's body into the ground.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Cremation
type: Class
comment: The event of disposing of the remains of a person's body by fire.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03
example: The cremation of Albert Einstein
  type: SchemaExample
  comment: _:e a bio:Cremation ; dc:date "1955-04-18" ; bio:principal <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Albert_Einstein> ; bio:place <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Princeton,_New_Jersey> .

Adoption
type: Class
comment: The event of creating of a legal parent/child relationship that does not exist biologically.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Baptism
type: Class
comment: The ceremonial event held to admit a person to membership of a Christian church.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
change note: Revised comment, replacing 'the Christian church' with 'a Christian church'
  date: 2010-05-20
  creator: Ian Davis
issued: 2010-05-03

BarMitzvah
type: Class
comment: The ceremonial event held when a Jewish boy reaches age 13.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

BasMitzvah
type: Class
comment: The ceremonial event held when a Jewish girl reaching age 13, also known as "Bat Mitzvah."
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Execution
type: Class
comment: The event of a person being deliberately killed as punishment.
subclass of: Death
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-05

Assassination
type: Class
comment: The event of a person being deliberately targeted and killed.
subclass of: Murder
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-05

Murder
type: Class
comment: The event of a person being killed unlawfully with intent by the killer.
subclass of: Death
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-05

Ordination
type: Class
comment: The ceremonial event held when a person receives authority to act in religious matters.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Naturalization
type: Class
comment: The event of a person obtaining citizenship. Note that the place the naturalization event occurs at may be different from the state the person is obtaining citizenship of.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03
example: Albert Einstein becoming a citizen of the United States
  type: SchemaExample
  comment: _:e a bio:Emigration ; dc:date "1940" ; bio:principal <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Albert_Einstein> ; bio:state <http://dbpedia.org/resource/United_States> .

Emigration
type: Class
comment: The event of a person leaving their homeland with the intent of residing elsewhere.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03
example: Albert Einstein emigrating to the United States
  type: SchemaExample
  comment: _:e a bio:Emigration ; dc:date "1933"^^xsd:gYear ; bio:principal <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Albert_Einstein> ; bio:state <http://dbpedia.org/resource/United_States> .

Enrolment
type: Class
comment: The event of a person initiating attendence to a school or other place of learning.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Graduation
type: Class
comment: The event of a person being awarded educational diplomas or degrees.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03
example: Albert Einstein receiving his Doctorate from the University of Zurich
  type: SchemaExample
  comment: _:e a bio:Graduation ; dc:date "1905"^^xsd:gYear ; bio:principal <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Albert_Einstein> ; bio:organization <http://dbpedia.org/resource/University_of_Zurich> .

Imprisonment
type: Class
comment: The event of a person being detained in a jail or prison.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-04

Employment
type: Class
comment: The event of a person entering an occupational relationship with an employer.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Change of Position
type: Class
comment: The event of a person changing the position they hold with an employer.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Change of Name
type: Class
comment: The event of a person changing their name.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Promotion
type: Class
comment: The event of a person changing the position they hold with an employer to one with more importance or responsibility.
subclass of: Change of Position
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Demotion
type: Class
comment: The event of a person changing the position they hold with an employer to one with less importance or responsibility.
subclass of: Change of Position
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Retirement
type: Class
comment: The event of a person exiting an occupational relationship with an employer after a qualifying time period. In many cultures retirement is expected and even required once the person reaches a particular age.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Resignation
type: Class
comment: The event of a person voluntarily giving up or quitting their office or position.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Dismissal
type: Class
comment: The event of a person involuntarily giving up their office or position. Dismissal is often perceived to be the employee's fault and may be considered disgraceful.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Redundancy
type: Class
comment: The event of a person involuntarily giving up an office or position that is no longer needed. Redundancy is usually perceived to be the employer's fault and is usually due to conditions outside of the employee's control.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Investiture
type: Class
comment: The ceremonial event of a person taking a public office or honour.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Inauguration
type: Class
comment: The ceremonial event marking the beginning of a person's term of office as a leader.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Accession
type: Class
comment: The event of a person succeeding to the right to hold regal power. This event is often automatic on the death of the previous monarch and is usually followed by a coronation event.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Coronation
type: Class
comment: The ceremonial event of a person being invested with regal power to become a monarch.
subclass of: Individual Event
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Interval
type: Class
comment: A extended interval of time related to a particular state of affairs, such as the lifespan of a person or a period of employment.
subclass of: ProperInterval
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

One-line bio
type: Property
type: DatatypeProperty
comment: A one-line biography of the person.
domain: Person
range: Literal
history note: Declared that this is a datatype property
  date: 2010-05-03
  creator: Ian Davis
term status: stable
change note: Marked as a stable term
  date: 2010-05-04
  creator: Ian Davis

Key Words
type: Property
type: DatatypeProperty
comment: A comma delimited list of key words that describe a person.
domain: Person
range: Literal
sub property of: subject
issued: 2003-07-28
history note: Declared that this is a datatype property
  date: 2010-05-03
  creator: Ian Davis
term status: stable
change note: Marked as a stable term
  date: 2010-05-04
  creator: Ian Davis

Biography
type: Property
comment: An extended description or account of someone's life.
domain: Person
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-06-05
usage note: It is expected that the value of this property is either a literal formatted with HTML markup or a pointer to an HTML document.

Date
type: Property
plural: Dates
comment: The date at which an event occurred.
domain: Event
sub property of: date
usage note: The date should be formatted as specified in ISO8601. For example: 2003-03-15 corresponds to the 15th March 2003, and 2003-03-15T13:21-05:00 corresponds to 15th March 2003, 8:21 am, US Eastern Standard Time.
change note: Added a plural label
  date: 2010-05-03
  creator: Ian Davis
change note: Marked as a stable term
  date: 2010-05-04
  creator: Ian Davis
term status: stable

Place
type: Property
plural: Places
comment: The place at which an event occurred.
domain: Event
change note: Added a plural label
  date: 2010-05-03
  creator: Ian Davis
change note: Marked as a stable term
  date: 2010-05-04
  creator: Ian Davis
term status: stable

Position
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Positions
comment: The employment position or public office involved in an event.
domain: Event
range: Person
sub property of: Agent
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-05

Event Interval
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
comment: The interval during which the event occurs. This interval represents the exact interval of occurence for an event, it starts at the moment the event commences and finishes when the event concludes. In other words both the event and the interval start at the same instant of time and extend for the same duration.
domain: Event
range: Interval
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-06-05

Father
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
type: FunctionalProperty
comment: The biological father of a person, also known as the genitor.
usage note: Note that this is a strict definition of father that does not non-biological relationships. The Relationship vocabulary may be more suitable for broader types of parent/child relation.
domain: Person
range: Person
sub property of: differentFrom
sub property of: childOf
history note: Made subproperty of rel:childOf on suggestion of Gautier Poupeau
  date: 2010-06-06
  creator: Ian Davis
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Mother
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
type: FunctionalProperty
comment: The biological mother of a person, also known as the genetrix.
usage note: Note that this is a strict definition of mother that does not non-biological relationships. The Relationship vocabulary may be more suitable for broader types of parent/child relation.
domain: Person
range: Person
sub property of: differentFrom
sub property of: childOf
history note: Made subproperty of rel:childOf on suggestion of Gautier Poupeau
  date: 2010-06-06
  creator: Ian Davis
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03

Child
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Children
comment: A biological child of a person.
usage note: Note that this is a strict definition of child that does not include adopted children, step-children or similar non-biological relationships. The Relationship vocabulary may be more suitable for broader types of parent/child relation.
domain: Person
range: Person
sub property of: differentFrom
equivalent property: parentOf
term status: unstable
issued: 2010-05-03
history note: Made equivalent to rel:parentOf on suggestion of Gautier Poupeau
  date: 2010-06-06
  creator: Ian Davis

Preceding Event
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
plural: Preceding Events
comment: An event that occurs and concludes at some time before this event.
domain: Event
range: Event
sub property of: differentFrom
issued: 2010-05-06

Immediately Preceding Event
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Immediately Preceding Events
comment: An event that occurs and concludes immediately before this event.
domain: Event
range: Event
sub property of: differentFrom
sub property of: Preceding Event
issued: 2010-05-06

Following Event
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
type: TransitiveProperty
plural: Following Events
comment: An event that starts at some time before this event.
domain: Event
range: Event
sub property of: differentFrom
issued: 2010-05-06

Immediately Following Event
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Immediately Following Events
comment: An event that starts immediately after this event.
domain: Event
range: Event
sub property of: differentFrom
sub property of: Following Event
issued: 2010-05-06

Concurrent Event
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
type: SymmetricProperty
plural: Concurrent Events
comment: An event that occurs while this event is occurring. The events need not start or conclude at the same times.
domain: Event
range: Event
sub property of: differentFrom
issued: 2010-05-06

Initiating Event
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Initiating Event
comment: An event that marks the start of an interval. The event contributes to and/or causes of the state of affairs that hold during the interval. For example a period of study may be initiated by an Enrolment event.
domain: Interval
range: Event
sub property of: differentFrom
issued: 2010-05-06

Concluding Event
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Concluding Event
comment: An event that marks the end of an interval. The event changes of the state of affairs that held during the interval. For example a period of study may be concluded by a Graduation event.
domain: Interval
range: Event
sub property of: differentFrom
issued: 2010-05-06

Agent
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Agents
comment: A person, organization or group that plays a role in an event.
domain: Event
range: Agent
sub property of: differentFrom
inverse of: Life Event
issued: 2010-05-05

Employer
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Employers
comment: An agent that is involved in an event as an employer.
domain: Event
range: Agent
sub property of: Agent
issued: 2010-05-05

State
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: States
comment: A country or independent territory that is involved in an event.
domain: Event
sub property of: Agent
issued: 2010-05-05

Parent
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Parents
comment: A person that takes the parent role in an event.
domain: Event
range: Person
sub property of: Agent
issued: 2010-05-05

Principal
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Principals
comment: A person that takes the primary and most important role in an event. For example the principal in a Birth event would be the child being born and the principal in a Burial event would be the deceased person.
domain: Event
range: Person
sub property of: Agent
issued: 2010-05-05

Partner
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Partners
comment: A person that is involved in a event as a partner in a relationship.
domain: Event
range: Person
sub property of: Agent
issued: 2010-05-05

Officiator
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Officiators
comment: A person that officiates at a ceremonial event.
domain: Event
range: Person
sub property of: Agent
issued: 2010-05-05

Witness
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Witnesses
comment: A person that witnesses and can bear testimony to the occurrence of an event.
domain: Event
range: Person
sub property of: Spectator
issued: 2010-05-05

Spectator
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Spectators
comment: A person that is present at and observes the occurrence of at least part of an event.
domain: Event
range: Person
sub property of: Agent
issued: 2010-05-05

Organization
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Organizations
comment: An organization that plays a role in an event.
domain: Event
range: Person
sub property of: Agent
issued: 2010-05-05

Life Event
type: Property
type: ObjectProperty
plural: Life Events
comment: An event associated with a person.
domain: Person
range: Event
sub property of: differentFrom
history note: Made a subproperty of owl:differentFrom
  date: 2010-05-03
  creator: Ian Davis
change note: Added a plural label
  date: 2010-05-03
  creator: Ian Davis
inverse of: Agent

Properties of a person
item: One-line bio
item: Biography
item: Key Words
item: Father
item: Mother
item: Child
item: Life Event

Types of event
item: Event
item: Individual Event
item: Group Event
item: Accession
item: Adoption
item: Annulment
item: Assassination
item: Baptism
item: BarMitzvah
item: BasMitzvah
item: Birth
item: Burial
item: Change of Position
item: Coronation
item: Cremation
item: Death
item: Demotion
item: Dismissal
item: Divorce
item: Emigration
item: Employment
item: Execution
item: Enrolment
item: Funeral
item: Graduation
item: Imprisonment
item: Inauguration
item: Investiture
item: Marriage
item: Murder
item: Change of Name
item: Naturalization
item: Ordination
item: Promotion
item: Redundancy
item: Resignation
item: Retirement

Properties of an event
item: Date
item: Place
item: State
item: Position

Properties that relate an event to an agent
item: Agent
item: Parent
item: Employer
item: Officiator
item: Organization
item: Principal
item: Partner
item: Witness
item: Spectator

Properties that relate an event to another event
item: Concurrent Event
item: Following Event
item: Preceding Event
item: Immediately Following Event
item: Immediately Preceding Event

A Biography of Henry VIII, King of England
type: SchemaExample
comment: Based on information at Wikipedia and Hull University @prefix bio: <http://purl.org/vocab/bio/0.1/> . @prefix foaf: <http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/> . @prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> . _:henryviii a foaf:Person ; foaf:name "Henry VIII, King of England" ; bio:father _:henryvii ; bio:mother _:elizplantagenet ; bio:child _:child1, _:child2, _:child3, _:child4, _:child5, _:child6, _:child7, _:child8 ; bio:event _:birth, _:death, _:burial, _:accession, _:coronation, _:marriage1 , _:marriage2, _:marriage3, _:marriage4, _:marriage5, _:marriage6 . _:henryvii a foaf:Person ; foaf:name "Henry VII Tudor, King of England" ; bio:child _:henryviii . _:elizplantagenet a foaf:Person ; foaf:name "Elizabeth of York" ; bio:child _:henryviii . _:birth a bio:Birth ; rdfs:label "The birth of Henry VIII to Henry VII and Elizabeth Plantagenet on 28 June 1491" ; bio:date "1491-06-28" ; bio:place <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Palace_of_Placentia> ; bio:parent _:henryvii, _:elizplantagenet ; bio:principal _:henryviii . _:death a bio:Death ; rdfs:label "The death of Henry VIII on 28 January 1547" ; bio:date "1547-01-28" ; bio:place <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Palace_of_Whitehall> ; bio:principal _:henryviii . _:accession a bio:Accession ; rdfs:label "The accession of Henry VIII to the throne of England on 21 April 1509" ; bio:date "1509-06-24" ; bio:principal _:henryviii ; bio:state <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Kingdom_of_England> ; bio:immediatelyPrecedingEvent [ a bio:Death ; rdfs:label "The death of Henry VII on 9 May 1509" ; bio:date "1509-05-09" ; bio:place <http://dbpedia.org/resource/Richmond_Palace> ; bio:principal _:henryvii ] . _:coronation a bio:Coronation ; rdfs:label "The coronation of Henry VIII as King of England on 24 June 1509" ; bio:date "1509-06-24" ; bio:place <http://dbpedia.org/page/Westminster_Abbey> ; bio:principal _:henryviii ; bio:precedingEvent _:accession . _:burial a bio:Burial ; rdfs:label "The burial of Henry VII at St.George's Chapel, Windsor C…