Dasent

Dasent, Sir George Webbe, was born in 1817 at St. Vincent, in the West Indies, where his father was attorney-general. He was educated at Westminster and at King's College, London, going from there to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 1840. In 1852 he was called to the bar, and proceeded to the degree of D.C.L. at Oxford. For some time he was assistant editor of the Times, and married the sister of the chief editor, Mr. Delane. He often examined Civil Service candidates, and was appointed a Civil Service Commissioner, being knighted in 1876. Among his achievements in the departments of philology and folk-lore were his Popular Tales from the Norse, a work which with its interesting preface is deservedly popular, The Saga of Burnt Njal, and The Story of Gisli. He also wrote some novels, the best known of which is perhaps Annals of an Eventful Life. He also did much in the cause of Icelandic literature. He died in 1896.