Burke, John, 1787-1848

John Burke (November 12, 1786 – March 27, 1848) was an Irish genealogist, and the original publisher of Burke's Peerage. Early on, Burke was engaged in literary work in London, but afterwards devoted himself to genealogical studies, and in 1826 he issued a Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the United Kingdom. For the first time such a work was arranged alphabetically, and peers and baronets were treated together. The convenience of its method at once gave it great popularity. The 'Peerage' was republished at irregular intervals until 1847, when it reached its ninth edition. From that date it has been issued annually. In 1831, Burke also issued what was intended to be the first of a series of annual handbooks, entitled The Official Calendar for 1831; but the series was not continued. Between 1833 and 1838, he published A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland,' in four volumes. He authored six other texts between 1833 and 1851, in addition to editing the short-lived periodical, entitled ‘The Patrician.'

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