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The professor and the madman a tale of murder, insanity, and the making of the Oxford dictionary

"Masterfully researched and eloquently written, The Professor and the Madman is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary--one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions we...

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Main Author: Winchester, Simon (Author)
Format: Books Print Book
Language:English
Published: New York : Harper Perennial, 2023.
Edition:[Updated ed].
Subjects:
Oxford English dictionary.
New English dictionary on historical principles.
English language > Lexicography > History > 19th century.
Murray, James A. H. > (James Augustus Henry), > 1837-1915.
Lexicographers > Great Britain > Biography.
Minor, William Chester.
Psychiatric hospital patients > Great Britain > Biography.
United States > History > Civil War, 1861-1865 > Veterans.
English language > Etymology.
United States > History > Civil War, 1861-1865 > Veterans > Biography.
Biographies.
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Summary:"Masterfully researched and eloquently written, The Professor and the Madman is an extraordinary tale of madness, genius, and the incredible obsessions of two remarkable men that led to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary--one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken. As definitions were collected, the OED's overseeing committee, led by Professor James Murray, was stunned to discover that one man, Dr. W. C. Minor, had submitted more than ten thousand entries. But their surprise would pale in comparison to what they were about to discover when the committee insisted on honoring him. Dr. Minor, an American Civil War veteran, was also an inmate at an asylum for the criminally insane."--Amazon. ca.
Physical Description:xix, 241 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN:0063341905
9780063341906
Author Notes:Simon Winchester was born in London, England on September 28, 1944. He read geology at St. Catherine's College, Oxford. After graduation in 1966, he joined a Canadian mining company and worked as field geologist in Uganda. The following year he decided to become a journalist. His first reporting job was for The Journal, Newcastle upon Tyne. In 1969, he joined The Guardian and was named Britain's Journalist of the Year in 1971. He also worked for the Daily Mail and the Sunday Times before becoming a freelancer.

He is the author of numerous books including In Holy Terror, The River at the Center of the World, The Alice Behind Wonderland, The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary, and.Exactly: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World. In 2006, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to journalism and literature.

(Bowker Author Biography)

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