Websters Dictionary
Websters Dictionary was first created by Noah Webster in 1806. His work became so widely used that people began referring to all dictionaries as Websters dictionary.
Noah Webster who eventually created Websters dictionary was born in 1758 in Hartford. His family had lived there since colonial times. His dad farmed. He was a descendant of Connecticut Governor John Webster. Noah’s mother could trace her roots back to the governor of Plymouth colony.
At the age of 16 Noah began studies at Yale. At this time America was fighting against Britian for freedom. Noah served in Connecticut’s militia.
By the time he was 20 Noah wanted to be a lawyer. To make a living he taught. But once he became a lawyer he realized it wasn’t for him. He once again became a teacher. A school he founded ended up going out of business.
He married a rather well-connected woman in 1789. Despite being welcome by the upper class, he wasn’t wealthy. He borrowed $1500 from Alexander Hamilton so that he could move to New York City to start a newspaper. While there he became a publisher. Now the roots were laid for Websters dictionary. He published text books while writing for his newspaper. He served in the Connecticut House of Representatives after moving back there in 1798.
He realized the conditions in the schools were poor. There were too many students in each classroom. Teachers had little training. They taught without much in the way of books or other materials. Webster decided that American children should learn from American books. So he wrote a three volume set – a speller, a grammar book, and a reader. He thought English grammar was too high brow. To him the people should create the language, rather than have some archaic language like Latin dictate it.
This was the source of Websters dictionary. He revised the dictionary again and again. And when Webster died the Merriam brothers purchased the rights to his name and his work. Eventually these dictionaries became so popular, that the name Webster became a generic term for all English-language dictionaries.
So that’s the scoop on Websters dictionary.
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