EGAN, PIERCE, THE ELDER

born 1772, London, Eng. died Aug. 3, 1849, London sporting writer whose works were considered indispensable reading for English men-about-town in the early 19th century. Egan made his reputation as a boxing reporter. His best-known work is Boxiana (181824), a racy but accurate account of the lives of famous pugilists. Egan also became an authority on other sports and developed a flair for sensational literature describing the contemporary fast life.