Legal Writing

The man who wrote the dictionary

By Pam_Nelson

We have this man to thank when we spell the word color instead of colour. Yale University will celebrate Noah Webster this week on the 250th anniversary of his birth. Webster wrote the first comprehensive dictionary of the American language. He was born Oct. 16, 1758, in Hartford, Conn., and became a teacher after he was graduated from Yale. One story I read about him called him an "earnest pedant." Good for him!

Read a news story about the commemoration here. Yale's page about the celebration is here. Go here for the Noah Webster House site.

Here is a quote from the Associated Press story that sums up Webster's contribution:

"He was the shaper of our language and the shaper of American identity," said Joshua Kendall, who is working on a biography about Webster. "Webster at last bonded us through our language."

Full post as published by Triangle Grammar Guide on October 13, 2008 (boomark / email).