The literal meaning of 'martyrology' is a register or history of martyrs and the word 'martyr' is usually defined as a person who has undergone a penalty of death for persistence in the Christian faith, obedience to the law of the Church or as an act of heroic charity for others. However, the Roman Martyrology is not merely a register or history of martyrs, but also of other holy persons who the Catholic Church has beatified or canonised. These include those who have died a natural death after leading an exceptionally holy life and who the Church considers are worthy of veneration. This accords with the original meaning of 'martyr', from the Greek word martys in the New Testament, which is a person who bears witness to their religious faith. It was during the persecutions in the early history of the Christian Church that the word 'martyr' developed the stricter meaning it is given today. The Roman Martyrology was first published in 1583. It was compiled from various sources, including the Dialogues of Pope Gregory I, the 9th century martyrology of the French Benedictine monk Usard, works of the Fathers of the Church, and a catalogue of Greek saints known as the Menologion of Sirlet. A new edition comprising an 844 page volume, with a 147 page index, listing 6,500 people who have been beatified or canonised up to 2004, was released by the Vatican on 4 December 2004, but an authorised English translation is yet to be published. The version of the Roman Martyrology contained in this Kindle book is the out-of-copyright public domain edition of 1749 published by order of Pope Benedict XIV, as revised in 1914 and translated into English by James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore from 1877 to 1921. Gibbons became only the second person to attain to the office of Cardinal in North America. He served as the first Chancellor of the first Catholic University of America and has been described as one of the 50 most influential people in the history of the United States. A prolific writer, James Cardinal Gibbons gave his Imprimatur to a new edition of the Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible in 1899 and a few years later participated in the Roman Conclave that elected Pope Saint Pius X (Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto). Unlike recent paper reprints that are merely scans of old hard copy books with all their errors and imperfections, this version of the Roman Martyrology is a native Kindle ebook that has been built from the ground up. Numerous typographical errors in the original print version have been corrected. This Kindle ebook is illustrated throughout with pictures of ancient Russian icons. It also contains an extensive preface, an introduction and a short biography and photograph of its translator. The Active Table of Contents contains hyperlinks to every month and day of the year. It is hoped that this affordable Kindle edition of the 1749 Roman Martyrology, as translated and revised in 1914, will make the work accessible to many more people than has been the case until now, and, in particular, may prove useful to scholars for its historical value and significance.