The mass murderer Harold Shipman has been added to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, earning a place alongside the likes of Peter Ustinov, John Peel and Alistair Cooke.

The dictionary, published since 1885, describes individuals who have left their mark on British society and the latest online edition features 211 men and women who died in 2004.

Shipman, a Manchester GP who hanged himself in Wakefield prison – apparently to protect his wife’s pension rights and financial entitlements – has been blamed by an official public inquiry for 215 murders and 45 other suspicious deaths.

The dictionary says: “it may be said that he had a superiority complex”, adding: “He wanted to feel omnipotent, realised that the ultimate power is that of deciding life and death, and made himself Britain’s most prolific serial killer out of vanity”.

He joins other infamous murderers such as Jack the Ripper and Myra Hindley. Dr Lawrence Goldman, the editor, explained: “The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) is not a roll call of the ‘great and good’ but a record of those who left a mark on any aspect of British history, for good or ill.

“The DNB has always included criminals, particularly those whose crimes led to sustained public interest and debate about legal or medical issues, as in the case of Harold Shipman.

“Not only was Shipman a heinous mass murderer but the nature of his crimes led to a public inquiry and to intense discussion on the relationship between doctor and patient.”

Other new entries include the scientists Francis Crick, who co-discovered the structure of DNA, Godfrey Hounsfield, who invented the CT scanner, and Norman Heatley, a key figure in the development of penicillin.

Brian Clough and John Charles earn places for their contributions to football, while broadcasters and journalists include the former steeplejack Fred Dibnah and the columnists Paul Foot and Lynda Lee-Potter.

Frances Shand Kydd, the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the dramatist Jack Rosenthal are also new additions to the online edition, which is updated three times a year.

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