Read about the launch of the NCB’s new Obituaries Australia website by ANU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Young, on 14 April, as well as an article by Dr Nigel Starck about the changing nature of obituary writing – which many have described as ‘the first verdict of history’ – over time. We also have an item about the troubles encountered in the late 1800s by producers of Australian biographical dictionaries, and take a glimpse at some of the people who have been chosen for entries in vols 19-20 of the Australian Dictionary of Biography, which covers the period 1991-2000.