The Biographical Dictionary of America/Preface
PREFACE
It may not be strictly true, though more than one great writer has said it, that history is nothing more than biography; but certainly it is true that biography is a very large and important part of history, and it is not possible to write biography without writing history. When the ancient Greek poet, in a famous ode, declared that men constitute the state,—"high-minded men, men who their duties know, but know their rights, and, knowing, dare maintain," — and when a modern writer pointed out the fact that the men behind the guns are the real power, they both indicated the foundation of history and the motive force of civilization.
Our country is not old in centuries, nor rich in traditions, but it is strong in men and glorious in achievement; and an adequate collection of American biography may well be regarded as a household treasure. The present work has been prepared with a view to the utmost fulness consistent with the terseness that is becoming in a book of reference, and with a bulk that permits easy handling and frequent use. It differs from all other works of the kind, some of which are unquestionably excellent, in three notable particulars: It gives the genealogies of the subjects, so far as they can be ascertained; it notes their marriages—an important event in most lives, but unmentioned in the ordinary biographical dictionaries; and it gives full and specific information as to scholastic degrees and other honors that have been conferred.
All this has not been accomplished by the editors alone. They have been assisted by a very large number of special contributors, and by librarians and college secretaries throughout the country. In every instance where it was possible to apply for data to the subject himself, or to his immediate family, this has been done; and a large amount of fresh and exclusive information is the result. Of course other books of reference have been consulted and compared, as well as printed family records (which are now very numerous) and local and general histories. In short, no conceivable source of information has been neglected, and to this have been added the skill and diligence of careful compilers and the oversight of expert editors.
Recently every volume has undergone revision, to bring down to the present year every article that needed alteration or addition. The reader should bear in mind that a work as large as this cannot be put through the press in a day. The world moves, and all move with it, revolutions sometimes culminate in an hour, and Byron is not the only man that has risen in the morning to find himself famous. In a certain memorable year of our history the two great parties made their nominations for the presidency, and in an admirable and extensive work of reference, just completed, neither of the candidates was mentioned. With due allowance for such unavoidable occurrences, it is believed that these volumes will be found to contain the full story of the life of every subject, at least to a late date in 1903. The portraits and other illustrations are designed to supplement the text, and not merely to serve as ornaments.