The General Biographical Dictionary is a bestselling book written by British author John Gorton.
The first edition, by Gorton, was published in two volumes in 1828, with an appendix. A new edition, with a supplement by Cyrus Redding, bringing the work as far as 1850, was published in four volumes in 1851. It "is compiled from rather obvious sources of information". It "has an extended Life of Athanasius, well drawn up".
Reception
The book was one among several books of similar name that were available in the 19th century. Nevertheless the book has been in print since its first edition. It was one of the few books of its time to provide a comprehensive listing of biographies.
References
John Gorton's General Biographical Dictionary Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA