The sources of biographical knowledge in the case of these whose careers have very recently closed differ from the sources in the case of those who belonged to more or less remote generations. In the interests of accuracy and completeness it has been necessary here to test and supplement previous notices—often inaccurate and incomplete—in the press or elsewhere, by application to living representatives and associates. The thanks of the Editor and contributors are due to the many hundred persons who have corrected current errors from private knowledge or have supplied information which has not hitherto been published. The readiness with which such co-operation has been given calls for very warm acknowledgment. The service has invariably been rendered without any conditions which might tend to impair the essential independence of the Dictionary. Officials of public institutions of every kind have also been most generous in their assistance, and have offered welcome proof of their anxiety to make the Dictionary authentic at all points.
In agreement with the principle of the Dictionary the memoirs embrace comprehensively all branches of the nation's and the empire's activity. In any endeavour to classify the vocations of the persons commemorated, allowance must be made for the circumstance that in a certain proportion of cases the same person has gained distinction in more fields than one. If the chief single claim to notice be alone admitted in each instance, the callings of those whose careers are described in this volume may be broadly catalogued under ten general headings thus:
| NAMES | |
| Administration of Government at home, in India, and the colonies | 53 |
| Army and navy | 44 |
| Art (including architecture, music, and the stage) | 70 |
| Commerce and agriculture | 17 |
| Law | 19 |
| Literature (including journalism, philology, philosophy, printing, and lexicography) | 115 |
| Religion | 54 |
| Science (including engineering, medicine, surgery, and exploration) | 86 |
| Social Reform (including philanthropy and education) | 34 |
| Sport | 8 |
The names of twenty-five women appear in this volume, on account of services rendered in art, literature, science, and social or educational reform.
