Sir William Smith was a man of tremendous intellect and remarkable memory.  His Dictionary of the Bible, originally published in three volumes in England nearly 150 years ago, has stood  the test of time.  Francis and Mary Peloubet later edited what was a very scholarly work to make it suitable for everyone to use.  Reader's of Smith's Handi-Reference Bible Dictionary will enjoy the easy-to-read type and handy size.

     Sir William Smith (1813-1893) was an English lexicographer.  His initial publications were dictionaries of Roman and Greek antiquities, biographies, mythology, and geography.  He later wrote a Dictionary of Christian Antiquities and a Dictionary  of Christian Biography.  Smith served as classical examiner for the University of London from 1853 to 1869 and as editor of the Quarterly Review from 1867 until his death. Knighted  the year before his death, Sir William Smith is best remembered for his three-volume Dictionary of the Bible (later in four volumes in the United States).  

     Francis Peloubet (1831-1920) was a graduate of Bangor Theological Seminary in Maine.  He served as pastor for twenty-six years, during which time he met and married Mary Abby Thaxter.  In 1875, Peloubet began an annual series of Select Notes on the International Sabbath School Lessons, a series that would continue through 1918.  In 1884, at the request of the publishers, Francis and Mary worked to abridge the one-volume edition of Smith's Dictionary, both to update the material and to abridge it for use by Sunday School teachers and students.