author
Noah Webster
1758–1843
Best known for shaping the way Americans learned to read, spell, and define words, this teacher and reformer helped give American English a distinct voice. His famous speller and 1828 dictionary made him one of the most influential figures in the history of the language.
7 Audiobooks
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages)
by Noah Webster
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1st 100 Pages)
by Noah Webster
A Collection of Essays and Fugitiv Writings On Moral, Historical, Political, and Literary Subjects
by Noah Webster
The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section M, N, and O
by Project Gutenberg, Noah Webster
The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section S
by Project Gutenberg, Noah Webster
The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section R
by Project Gutenberg, Noah Webster
About the author
Born in West Hartford, Connecticut, in 1758, he studied at Yale and came of age during the American Revolution. He worked as a teacher, wrote on politics and education, and became convinced that the new United States needed its own books, its own standards, and a language culture separate from Britain.
That idea drove his life’s work. His American Spelling Book of 1783, often called the "Blue-Backed Speller," taught generations of children to read and spell. He later spent many years compiling An American Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1828, a landmark work that helped establish American spellings and usage.
He died in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1843, but his influence has lasted far beyond his lifetime. More than a dictionary maker, he was an educator and language reformer who helped shape how Americans wrote, learned, and thought about English.