The Biographical Treasury, a dictionary of universal biography (London, 1854) was a reference book written and published by British author Samuel Maunder. It reached a 13th edition in 1866, when it was rewritten by William Leist Readwin Cates.[1]
The biographies in the book were arranged in alphabetical order. A detailed bibliography was provided at the end of the book.
The book, essentially a who's who of important persons in Britain at that time, was one of the most popular books of the 19th century.[citation needed] It has proven to be popular even in the 20th century, and is available in several libraries worldwide.