Noah Webster

Noah Webster (October 16, 1758–May 28, 1843) was an American lexicographer, textbook author, Bible translator, spelling reformer, writer, and editor. He has been called the "Father of American Scholarship and Education." His "Blue-backed Speller" books taught five generations of children in the United States how to spell and read, and his name became synonymous with "dictionary", especially the modern Merriam-Webster dictionary which was first published in 1828 as An American Dictionary of the English Language.

Webster's dictionary

It is reported that Noah Webster?s 1828 American Dictionary contains the greatest number of Biblical definitions given in any reference volume. Webster considered "education useless without the Bible". Noah Webster believed that the Bible and Christianity played important roles in the lives of a free people and its government. "In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government, ought to be instructed.... No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people...."

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Noah Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language was produced during the years when the American home, church and school were established upon a Biblical and patriotic basis. Webster, descended on his mother's side from Pilgrim Governor, William Bradford of Plymouth Plantation, made important contributions to an American educational system which kept the nation on a Christian Constitutional course for many years. The famous "blue-backed Speller," his "Grammars," and "Reader," all contained Biblical and patriotic themes and Webster spearheaded the flood of educational volumes emphasizing Christian Constitutional values for more than a century.

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Webster published his first dictionary of the English language in 1806, and in 1828 he published the first edition of his American Dictionary of the English Language (copyrighted on April 14th that year), whose title reveals his ambitions. Webster changed the spelling of many words in his dictionaries in an attempt to make them more phonemic. Many of the differences between American English and other English variants evident today originated this way.

Related Topics:
Dictionary - English language - 1806 - 1828 - April 14 - Phonemic - American English

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Webster's dictionary was so popular that "Webster's" became synonymous with dictionary to many Americans. As a result, the Webster's name lost trademark protection and is now used by numerous publishers in the titles of their dictionaries. Among these, the Merriam-Webster's dictionary is considered to be the most direct descendant of Noah Webster's lexicographical tradition, the Merriam brothers having purchased the rights to revise the dictionary from Webster's heirs upon his death in 1843. The 1913 version of the Webster's Dictionary also gained some prominence in modern times.

Related Topics:
Became synonymous with dictionary to many Americans - Merriam-Webster - 1843 - 1913 - Webster's Dictionary

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Noah Webster claimed to have coined only one word - demoralize, which he defined: "To corrupt or undermine the morals of; to destroy or lessen the effect of moral principles on; to render corrupt in morals."

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