F. Niecks (1845-1924) is the author of the first comprehensive b

from: http://www.iconsofeurope.com/frederick.niecks.htm

Frederick Niecks (1845-1924) is the author of the first comprehensive biography of Chopin. He was an unknown German viola player and organist in Dumfries, Scotland, when he worked on the Chopin project in the 1879-1890 period:1

The Life of Chopin - Frederick
Chopin As a Man and Musician

In 1891, Fr. Niecks became Reid professor of music at the University of Edinburgh.
According to the press, it was an "indirect" result of the Chopin biography of 1888.2
Niecks, born in Düsseldorf, had to return to Germany when WW1 broke out in 1914.
Nevertheless, the biographer Niecks of 1888 is called "Professor Niecks" by scholars
from James Huneker to Arthur Hedley and by PG ebooks. In 1987, a well-known
musicologist misrepresented Niecks as a "Scottish musician ... of German extraction".