author
P. Austin Nuttall
1792–1869
Best remembered for making reference books more usable, this English editor and classical scholar helped bring dictionaries, encyclopedic works, and annotated texts to a wide readership in the 19th century.
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About the author
Peter Austin Nuttall, usually published as P. Austin Nuttall, was an English editor, translator, and classical scholar born in Ormskirk, Lancashire, in 1792 or 1793. After his studies he moved to London, and he later received a doctorate from the University of Aberdeen in 1822.
He is chiefly associated with dictionaries and other reference works, and his name became especially linked with practical books for readers and students. He also prepared editions of Latin authors and contributed to literary periodicals, building a reputation as a careful compiler and editor rather than a novelist or poet.
Nuttall died on 9 December 1869. Today he is still remembered mainly for the reference tradition attached to his name, especially in dictionaries, synonyms, and encyclopedic compilations.