David Steele (1803–1887) was a nineteenth-century author writing in English, whose life is now difficult to trace in detail. Public information is limited: his nationality, education, occupation, and specific experiences are not reliably recorded, so little can be said about his biography without speculation. What is known is that he left a work entitled Notes on the Apocalypse, which deals with the Book of Revelation and belongs to the genre of biblical commentary and eschatological discussion. Such works typically follow the scriptural text chapter by chapter and verse by verse, offering explanations of visions, symbols, and prophecies, a common form of religious writing in the nineteenth century. Because sources are scarce, the book's publication details, the circumstances of its composition, and its reception among contemporary readers cannot be confirmed, and its influence remains to be examined further. On the available evidence, Steele is known chiefly through this single commentary, and any study of him or his work must depend on the discovery and arrangement of further documents.
