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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"
