By this time, there had been an important development which would have the effect of dramatically altering the publication sequence. Canada's centennial was celebrated in 1967 and, accordingly, the government of Canada created the Centennial Commission, in part to promote historical awareness. One of the first acts of the commission was to award a grant to the DCB specifically towards biographical research in the years 1850 to 1900. As a result, in 1967 it was decided to start preparing volumes for the 19th century. Volume X, ranging from 1871 to 1880, was the first volume to be assembled, and it appeared in 1972 with the biographies of 574 people, many of whom were instrumental in the creation of Canada itself.