A Dictionary of Biography - Past and Present - Containing the Chief
Events in the Lives of Eminent Persons of all Ages and Nations. Preceded
by the Biographies and Genealogies of the Chief Representatives of the
Royal Houses of the World. This volume is a revised and greatly enlarged
edition of the work published in 1870, entitled "Haydn's Universal Index
of Biography," which was planned, and three-fourths compiled, by the
present Editor, as a suitable companion to the "Dictionary of Dates. In
the preparation of both these works, the Editor's chief difficulty has
been selection from too abundant materials and he is fully aware that in
each there will be perceived omissions and redundancies. In regard to
these he can merely plead his own limited ideas of utility and
impartiality, and state that he will gratefully receive notices of
errors, with suggestions for improvements. A list of the great number of
books consulted during the preparation of this volume would be useless
but in regard to contemporaries, he has to thank several eminent persons
for private information. The daily and weekly journals, together with
the publications of British and foreign scientific and literary bodies,
have been vigilantly searched, in order to bring the work down to the
time of publication and no small difficulty has been frequently
experienced in the endeavour to reconcile conflicting statements. In the
Addena will be found notices of Deaths and other changes which have
occurred during printing, which can be easily marked under the names in
the book, as well as a few additional articles"
