Editing Noah Webster (section)

{{Short description|American lexicographer and author (1758–1843)}}
{{For|the Scottish author who wrote under the pseudonym "Noah Webster"|Bill Knox}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| birthname           = Noah Webster Jr.
| image               = James Herring - Noah Webster - NPG.67.31 - National Portrait Gallery.jpg
| caption             = An 1833 portrait of Webster by [[James Herring]]
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1758|10|16}}
| birth_place         = Western Division of [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]],<ref>{{cite web| last = Dobbs| first = Christopher| title = Noah Webster and the Dream of a Common Language| website = Noah Webster and the Dream of a Common Language| publisher = Connecticut Humanities| url = http://connecticuthistory.org/noah-webster-and-the-dream-of-a-common-language/| access-date = July 24, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title = Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649–1906| website = FamilySearch| url = https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F74Z-LGD| access-date = July 24, 2015}}</ref> [[Connecticut Colony]], [[British America]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1843|5|28|1758|10|16}}
| death_place         = [[New Haven, Connecticut]], U.S.
| resting_place       = [[Grove Street Cemetery]]
| office              = Member of the [[Connecticut House of Representatives]]
| occupation          = {{unbulleted list|[[Lexicographer]]|Author}}
| spouse              = {{Marriage|Rebecca Greenleaf Webster|October 26, 1789}}
| children            = 8
| party               = [[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist]]
| alma_mater          = [[Yale College]]
| branch              = Connecticut Militia
| allegiance          = [[United States]]
| battles             = [[American Revolutionary War]]
| footnotes           = 
| term1                = 1800
| termend            = 1807
| termstart          = 1802
}}
[[File:Portrait of Noah Webster.jpg|thumb|A portrait of Webster by [[Samuel Morse]]]]
[[File:Noah Webster House.JPG|thumb|Webster's home in [[New Haven, Connecticut]], where he wrote ''An American Dictionary of the English Language''; the home was later relocated to [[Greenfield Village]] in [[Dearborn, Michigan]].]]
'''Noah Webster''' (October 16, 1758 – May 28, 1843) was an American [[lexicographer]], textbook pioneer, [[English-language spelling reform]]er, [[political writer]], editor, and author. He has been called the "Father of American Scholarship and Education". He authored a large number of "Blue-Backed Speller" books which were used to teach American children how to spell and read. He is also the author for the modern [[Merriam-Webster]] dictionary that was first published in 1828 as ''[[Webster's Dictionary|An American Dictionary of the English Language]]''.

Born in [[West Hartford, Connecticut]], Webster graduated from [[Yale College]] in 1778. He passed the bar examination after studying law under [[Oliver Ellsworth]] and others but was unable to find work as a lawyer. He found some financial success by opening a private school and writing a series of educational books, including the "Blue-Backed Speller". A strong supporter of the [[American Revolution]] and the ratification of the [[United States Constitution]], Webster later criticized American society as being in need of an intellectual foundation. He believed American nationalism had distinctive qualities that differed from European values.<ref>American Reformers: Early/Mid 1800s: Noah Webster. "[http://ahsreform.wikifoundry.com/page/Noah+Webster] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171126195531/http://ahsreform.wikifoundry.com/page/Noah+Webster|date=November 26, 2017}}" accessed July 31, 2019.</ref>

In 1793, [[Alexander Hamilton]] recruited Webster to move to New York City and become an editor for a [[Federalist Party]] newspaper. He became a prolific author, publishing newspaper articles, political essays, and textbooks. He returned to Connecticut in 1798 and served in the [[Connecticut House of Representatives]]. Webster founded the Connecticut Society for the Abolition of Slavery in 1791<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Abolitionist Movement » Farmington Historical Society |url=https://fhs-ct.org/?p=209 |access-date=2024-10-24 |language=en}}</ref> but later became somewhat disillusioned with the [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] movement.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Author Search Results |url=https://catalog.library.tamu.edu/Author/Home?author=%22Webster,+Noah,+1758-1843%22&type=Author |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=catalog.library.tamu.edu |language=en}}</ref>

In 1806, Webster published his first dictionary, ''[[s:A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language|A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language]]''. The following year, he started working on an expanded and comprehensive dictionary, finally publishing it in 1828. He was influential in popularizing certain American spellings. He played a role in advocating for copyright reform, contributing to the [[Copyright Act of 1831]], the first major statutory revision of [[Copyright law of the United States|U.S. copyright law]]. While working on a second volume of his dictionary, Webster died in 1843, and the rights to the dictionary were acquired by [[George Merriam|George and Charles Merriam]].