Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

A place in The Dictionary of National Biography has sometimes been described as the final accolade. The 748 men and women, whose lives are recorded in this supplement, died between the years 1971 and 1980, and their collective experience spans almost the whole of the twentieth century to date.

Colin Matthew, editor of the New Dictionary of National Biography, shows how the work of an eminent Victorian, Leslie Stephen, relates directly to a great scholarly undertaking by today's academic community.