author
Frederick Martin
1830–1883
Best known for founding and editing The Statesman’s Year-Book, this Swiss-born British writer helped turn statistics, politics, and public affairs into something readers could actually use. He also moved in major literary circles, working closely with Thomas Carlyle before building a career of his own.
1 Audiobook
The Life of John Clare
by Frederick Martin
About the author
Born in Geneva on November 19, 1830, and educated at Heidelberg, he later settled in England and built a wide-ranging career as a writer, editor, and compiler. His background in languages and research made him especially well suited to serious reference work.
For several years after 1856, he served as secretary and amanuensis to Thomas Carlyle, assisting with historical research. He went on to write and edit books on biography, insurance, taxation, and public affairs, and he also contributed articles to the ninth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica.
He is most closely associated with The Statesman’s Year-Book, the influential annual reference work he founded and edited for about twenty years. His work helped make complex political and economic information more accessible to readers, and the yearbook remained an important resource long after his death in London on January 27, 1883.