The San Francisco call., 1908-05-10
,TORY OF AMERICAS
GREAT PHILOLOGISI
;arly Struggles of Noah Web.
ster, Compiler of Famous
Dictionary
ioldier, Lawyer, Teacher and
One of Founders of AM
herst College

Noah Webster, best known as the
ompiler of Webster's Dictionary, was
| orn in Hartford October 16, 175S. He
las the second son of Captain Noah
Webster ard the fourth descendant
| rom John Webster, one of the early
Governors OF Connecticut. His mother
yas a descendant Of William Bradford,
'econd governor OF the Plymouth coll
my.
He entered Yale college in lT74 and
| Graduated In 17TS. but was away from
| pllege during part of his junior year.
! 'erving in his fathers militia company
- volunteer in the campaign against
3ourgoyne.
On leaving college he was thrown
upon his own resources. He became a
teacher. gave his leisure hours to the
study of law and in 1871 was admitted
20 the bar. However, he soon found
that he did not make enough at law to
support himself, the condition of the
country at that time being unfavorable
1 FOR this practice. He therefore took up
teaching again at Goshen. N Y. Here
ne first turned his attention to the pur-
suit which has made his name famous.
book complied along proper lines at
l-.-e tIinc nc 49, - y GA ana ostsiliy
iyoauced his Grammatical Institute of
The English Language" a book which
is still in use. over 70,0o0,000 copies
of it have been published.
PUBLISHES POLITICAL PAPERS
Encouraged by the success of his
Speller, he published a series of ar
ticles of a political nature under the
name of Honorius." These favored a
bill which was then before the con-
tinental congress providing for the pen
sioning of revolutionary veterans for
the period OF five years, and so logi-
cal and convincing were they that they
are thought to have accomplished a re-
gulsion Of sentiment in favor of the
bill, which was finally passed.
| Living on the income from his speller.
he wrote other weighty articles on po-
litical questions, among which his
Sketches of American Policy" is of es-
pecial interest because II is believed TO
have been the first writing favoring
national constitution.
Mr.. Webster entered the lecture field
IN 1855, and delivered In several cities
course OF lectures which were pub
| lished under the title OF Dissertations
on the English Language" During the
next few years he changed his resi-
dence several times, living in Phila-
delphia, New York. Hartford and New
Haven, respectively.
On October 26, 1889, during his resi-
d.
daughter of William Greenleaf of Bos-
ton. He here attempted the practice
| Of law again with as little success as
formerly. His friend, John Trumbull,
the poet, wrote about him at this time,
Il fear he win breakfast upon insti-
| tutes, dine upon dissertations and go
to bed supperless."
CAREER AS AN EDITOR
Removing to New York in 1894, he
continued his literary pursuits there.
establishing a daily paper called The
Minerva, to support Washington's ad-
ministration. Still keeping his atten-
tion fixed upon national politics, he
wrote a series of II papers in support
of the Jay treaty. These were said
by Rufus King to have done more than
anything else to render that treaty ac-
ceptable TO the people.
In 1898 Mr.. Webster took up his resi-
dence in New Haven. Devoting all his
powers to literary pursuits. he first
published "A Philosophical and Practi-
cal Grammar of the English Language"
whose salient feature was that it did
not try to make the language conform
too nearly to Greek and Latin. 1t was
not until 1907 that he began to work
upon his dictionary, which took IS
years to complete, says the Yale News.
In 1924, one year before the publication
VI Lllc uiSLiUtldEy. MI. w tDSteT went
abroad to consult literary men and ex-
anime works not TO be found in Amer
lea, and, in the library of the Univer-
sity of Cambridge. finished his great
work, returning with the manuscript in
june. 1925. His dictionary. when COM
pleted, met with instantaneous ap-
proval and recognition. and has since
become the undisputed arbiter of SPELL
ing and pronunciation, in this country
at least.
FOUNDING OF AMHERST COLLEGE
Mr.. Webster spent 10 OF the years in
which he was preparing his dictionary
in Amherst, Mass. Here in 1912 he was
instrumental In the founding Of AM
herst college, and was the first chair
man of it's board of directors. Numer-
Gus editions of the dictionary We're pub
lished during Mr.. Webster's life in each
/ one OF which he contributed some of the
new words and definitions. His last ad-
dition was In the spring of 1S43, when
he prepared an appendix to the great
work Shortly after the printing of
this he fell i'll from pneumonia and died
in New Haven quite suddenly on May
26, 1S43, in his eighty-fifth year. leav-
ing widow and eight children
He is described as a genial man, of
great frankness and very upright and
honorable In all his dealings, but some
times unuuiy sensitive or supposed en-
croachments on the field of labor which
he considered his own. In the preface
of Webster's International dictionary,
the newest edition of his great work,
Rev. Chauncey A. Goodrich says of him:
The name of Noah Webster IS known
Familiarity to a greater number of the
inhabitants OF the United States than
the name, probably. of any other indi-
vidual except the father of his country.
taC tFlA Il
was used at all times to promote the
best interest of his fellow men, His
books, though read by millions have
made no man worse. To multitudes
they have been of lasting benefit. not
only by the course of early training
they have furnished, but by those pre-
cepts Of wisdom and virtue with which
almost every page Is storeds"--New Ha-
ven Palladium.