"A Cyclopædia of Canadian Biography" is a collection of brief biographies of persons distinguished in the Professional, Military and Political Life, and the commerce and industry of Canada, in the Twentieth Century. The author explains, "Generally speaking, in comparing the biographies of the Canadians of to-day with those of 1886 and 1888, the reader gains a sense of this country's continuous expansion. The present century has witnessed a marvellous development in the Canadian West, so that in these pages we find numerous records showing not merely the commercial, but the intellectual, progress of the Provinces West of the Great Lakes—stories of brilliant careers built up by men who were mere children in the East when the first volume was published. The reader will also note in the biographies of business men which abound in these pages, the ever-increasing scale on which Canadian commerce and enterprise everywhere is conducted, so that what seemed large in 1886 is relatively small to-day. Though some of the men whose names figure in the index are of less importance than others, all play their part in our complex and vigorous social life, and the story of their progress and fortunes cannot be really tedious to any sympathetic student of humanity..."

This book is an outstanding collection of biographies of famous Canadian men. Hundreds of names are featured inside, with some whose contributions may have already been lost to history. The book is organized in alphabetical order, and features these individuals, amongst many others: Richard Pim, Evan John Price, John Ratcliffe, David W. Robb, Willis Russell, Henri C. Saint-Pierre, and Noah Shakespeare.

"A Cyclopædia of Canadian Biography: Brief biographies of persons distinguished in the professional, military and political life, and the commerce and industry of Canada, in the twentieth century" by various and edited by Hector Willoughby Charlesworth had the aim to give recognition of the emergence of Canada from colonial territory to something like a national status by recording something of the achievements of those who had contributed to the intellectual, industrial and commercial growth of the country, as well as of its political leaders. Many of the people in this book are woefully under-appreciated, thus this book has attempted to bring these important historical figures to light.