INTRODUCTORY NOTE

THE brief biographical notices of sixty-six noteworthy families printed in this book are compiled from replies to a circular issued by me in the spring of 1904 to all living Fellows of the Royal Society. Those that first arrived were discussed in " Nature," August i r, 1904.

On Mr. Schuster's appointment by the University of London, in October, 1904, to the Research Fellowship in National Eugenics, all my materials were placed in his hand. He was to select from them those families that contained at least three noteworthy kinsmen, to compile lists of their achievements on the model of the above-mentioned memoir, to verify statements as far as possible, and to send what he wrote for final approval by the authors of the several replies.

This was done by Mr. Schuster. The results were then submitted by him as an appendix to his Report to the Senate last summer.

After preliminary arrangements, it was determined by the Senate that the list of Noteworthy Families should be published according to the titlepage of this book, I having agreed to contribute the

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