A Marxist historian, a renowned astronomer and the creator of Thunderbirds are among new additions to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB).

The new dictionary, which goes on sale today, includes the biographies of 222 more men and women who left their mark on British life.

All of those who will feature in the Oxford DNB from today died in 2012.

Among them is Eric Hobsbawm, widely regarded as the world's best known historian and lifelong advocate of communism, who became a prominent political commentator in the 1980s. 

Another familiar name is Sir Patrick Moore, an astronomer best-known for his BBC television series The Sky at Night, which ran for more than 55 years and missed only one episode. He was a commentator for the BBC on many of the Apollo missions.

Gerry Anderson, creator of the puppet adventure series Stingray, Captain Scarlet and Thunderbirds, also features in the Oxford DNB.

Readers of the new Oxford DNB may also recognise Allan Horsfall, described by his biographer as "one of the grandfathers of the gay rights movement in Britain", William Rees-Mogg, editor of The Times between 1967 and 1981, and Jim Marshall, inventor of the 'Marshall amp'.