The general lack of resolution in molecular electronic absorption spectra has been a major obstacle to development in this field for decades, resulting in gradual loss of interest and effort compared to virtually all other areas of spectroscopy. Ironically, magnetic linear dichroism (MLD) has been known to atomic spectroscopists for more than a century, but ignored as a technique suitable for molecular studies. Here we demonstrate that the concerted application of MLD, in conjunction with magnetic circular dichroism and absorption spectroscopy, represents a significant advance in deconvoluting overlapping electronic transitions of randomly oriented chromophores. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.