One hundred and seventy-six years ago to-day there was born at West Hartford, Connecticut, US.A., a man who has left as lasting an imprint on the English language as any other figure which might more Featlly come to mind—Noah Webster, lexicographer, "journalist, teacher "and lawyer. To that list might also be added legislator and judge, for Noah Webster was a man of unfailing activity. Very early. hhis life he became convinced of the necessity of better text books in the English language, and between the age of twenty-aix and twenty-seven years_he commenced publication of Grammatical Institute of the English Language," In three parts, Feader. pioneer work in 4 spelling book, a grammar and a
'America and soon found a place in the schools, so much $0 that during the twenty' years in which he was preparing the first edition of his famous dictionary the income from the spelling book, the royalty which was less than one cent per copy, was sufficient to support his family. In 1806 he produced "A Compendious Dietie ofthe English Language," and the follow: ing year he commenced work the dictionary which was to establish his name. for all time. While on work on this magnum opus he assisted in founding the Amherst College, became the first president of board of trustees, and a member of the General Court of the State of Massachusetts, received the LID. from Yale, went to Paris and Cambridge to work on his dictionary, finishing the manuscript at the latter place, and in 1828 publishing it in two volumes. Tt contained 12,000 wordy and from 30,000 to 40,000 definitions that had not appeared in any earlier dictionary. "An English edition followed quickly, and, 1840, a second edition, corrected' and enlarged, came out, again in two volumes, and three years later, just after he had completed the revision of an appendix, he died. Four years afterwards a" new revision was published and in 1050 a pictorial edition was issued. Five years later still another edition but it was not until 1890 that it appeared under the title of "International Dictionary of the English Language," though it still familiarly known merely as "Webster."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.