Herbert Coleridge

author

Herbert Coleridge

1830–1861

Best remembered as the first editor of what became the Oxford English Dictionary, he brought remarkable energy and precision to English scholarship before his life was cut tragically short. A grandson of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, he left a lasting mark on lexicography while still in his early thirties.

1 Audiobook

A Dictionary of the First or Oldest Words in the English Language

A Dictionary of the First or Oldest Words in the English Language

by Herbert Coleridge

About the author

Born on October 7, 1830, Herbert Coleridge was a British philologist and the grandson of poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He is chiefly known for becoming the first editor of the ambitious dictionary project that would eventually grow into the Oxford English Dictionary.

Though his career was brief, he helped shape the project in its earliest and most difficult stage, organizing materials and setting standards for the work ahead. That early groundwork proved important for a reference book that would become one of the great monuments of the English language.

Coleridge died on April 23, 1861, at only 30 years old. Even so, his name remains closely tied to the beginnings of modern English lexicography, and his story is often remembered as one of exceptional promise and dedication.