Who Wrote Dictionaries? A Monumental Mission and the World's Greatest Lexicographers

 

Writing a dictionary can seem humanly impossible if one looks at the size, volume and information that goes into one. However, a few men dedicated their entire lives to this work.

James Murray: Author: Oxford English Dictionary

James Murray, a Scottish school teacher wrote the first Oxford English Dictionary. The work began in 1879 and at that time, the dictionary was named, New English Dictionary. Five years into the task, Murray to his desperation realized he was still circling the alphabet ‘a’ and had only reached up to the word, 'ant'. He had a dedicated team of assistants to help him in the work. Murray also made a public call of assistance for volunteers to send him quotes that would help identify rare words and their usage. He received great help from many known and unknown volunteers who set themselves to this work. The volume of mail that went to Murray and his team and back was so huge that the local post office set up a special mailbox near his working shed, which he called the scriptorium.

The man left his studies when he was fourteen because his parents were poor. Murray from his childhood lived a life immersed in books and went on to become a teacher in a local school. After moving to London and pursuing his academic interests for some time, Murray was deeply interested in the English language. He knew many languages by then. While preparing the New English Dictionary, Murray always sought to include as many foreign words as possible. Despite the general criticism towards this approach, he continued to do so, to the end. In hindsight, one can only salute the farsightedness of this genius for enriching the language through an array of fresh words, which brought rich cultural diversity to the language. His approach was inclusive and the regional variations of English, spoken in different parts of the colonial British Empire, found their way to the dictionary he prepared. 

Murray had a daily work schedule that began in the morning at 6 o’clock and ended by night, 11. He died in 1915 leaving his unfinished work behind and the completed dictionary was published only in 1928. The last word he worked on was ‘Trink’ which meant ‘turn down’.

Dr. William Chester Minor

James Murray sought help from people from around the world to find words and usage, and words in use in different parts of the world. One Dr. William Chester Minor stands out among his voluntary contributors. He had sent 3000-something English quotations from an array of books to Murray. Many years later Murray came to know that Dr. Minor was an inhabitant of a mental asylum and the reason was that he murdered someone under mental delusion. Minor had a special room in the asylum to keep his huge and rare collection of books. Though Murray made possible his release from the asylum and got him better treatment for his illness, Minor eventually met his tragic end in another asylum, his delusions and health failing him.

Samuel Johnson Jr.

Samuel Johnson Jr. wrote the first American dictionary. It took a decade for him to complete the task. Rather, he did it in such a short time! This was the same Samuel Johnson who by kicking a stone and declaring “I refute it thus!”, ground to dust the then-fashionable theory that matter does not exist. Soon he found out America had its share of national pride and felt what it lacked was a dictionary. He took money from an ordinary bookseller to write an American dictionary and set up his ‘workshop’. He published his dictionary in 1755. 

Samuel Johnson was reported by his contemporaries as restless and unkempt. The English language was his way out of depression and melancholy; he masked his personal problems successfully with work addiction and a jovial outside persona. Until the Oxford English Dictionary was published, Johnson’s dictionary was the unquestioned reference text of the English language for America and the entire world.

Henry Watson Fowler

The New York Times called Henry Fowler, the “king of English”. He is the author of the Dictionary of English Language Usage. Fowler also started his career as a schoolmaster. He, with his brother, Frank Fowler, made this comprehensive book on English usage possible. His brother died before the completion of the work. They were amateurs but they wrote the best book ever on the subject. The book was published in 1926. This is a very different kind of dictionary written by a very knowledgeable connoisseur of the English language and in a lighter vein. Yet Fowler was careful not to compromise on the nuances of meaning and usage.

Noah Webster: Author: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary

It took Noah Webster, 25 years to write his comprehensive English dictionary which we now call, The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. He was the one who simplified English language spelling for Americans and formally gave birth to American English. He removed silent letters and double letters from spellings of many words and thus in American English, the spelling for colour became, 'color' and travelled became, 'traveled'. Webster felt that after a national government was established in America, the people deserved a national language too, one which was in some way distinct from the colonial British English. He also believed that by simplifying the language, he was taking the language back to its Anglo-Saxon roots. Owing to strong criticism, Webster withdrew many of his simplified spelling suggestions when his dictionary was published but retained many changes he made to spelling. Webster was a controversial person in his political stands as he argued against new legislation for freedom of the press and gender equality.

These legendary dictionary writers counted among the world's greatest lexicographers, were forgotten. We use their dictionaries almost daily. This is the ultimate paradox of humanity's progress. Those who make the leaps of progress with sheer will, dedication, and courage will be forgotten but the flame of progress will be carried forth.

References

A short history of Oxford dictionaries, Oxford Dictionaries.

OED blogs

The Guardian

The New Yorker