Sir Frederick Madden, an English antiquary, born in Portsmouth in 1801, died in London, March 8, 1873. In 1825 he was employed to assist Mr. Roscoe in preparing a catalogue of the MSS. at Holkham, the property of the earl of Leicester of Holkham, and from 1826 to 1828 he was engaged in the British museum to assist in compiling the classed catalogue of printed books. He then became assistant keeper of the department of MSS., and in 1837 succeeded to the keepership. He became an editor of the Collectanea Topographica et Geographi-ca in 1834. During his administration the department was considerably enlarged. In 1832 he was made by William IV. a knight of the Hanoverian order, and in 1834 he was gazetted as one of the gentlemen of the privy chamber. In 1866 he retired from his office in the British museum, and devoted himself to private literary research. He published many works relating to literary antiquities; among them are editions of the romances of "Havelok the Dane" and "Sir Gawayne," the Saxon poem of "Layamon's Brut," Wycliffe's Bible, "The Privy Purse Expenses of the Princess Mary," and the letterpress to Shaw's "Illuminated Ornaments selected from MSS. and Early Printed Books." He also contributed many articles to the "Archaeologia," among which one entitled " Observations on the Autograph of Shakespeare " attracted much attention, as supporting the authenticity of the celebrated autograph of the great poet found in a copy of a translation of Montaigne's "Essays."