author
Sir James Augustus Henry Murray
1837–1915
Best known as the driving force behind the first Oxford English Dictionary, this brilliant Scottish lexicographer spent decades tracing the history of words with extraordinary care. His work helped turn dictionary-making into a major scholarly enterprise.
1 Audiobook
The evolution of English lexicography
by Sir James Augustus Henry Murray
About the author
Born in Denholm, Roxburghshire, on February 7, 1837, he grew into one of the great language scholars of his age despite modest beginnings and largely self-directed learning. Before taking on his most famous role, he worked as a teacher and became deeply involved in philology, the study of language and its history.
His name is most closely tied to the Oxford English Dictionary. Beginning in 1879, he served as the dictionary's first chief editor and led the immense project for the rest of his life, organizing evidence from thousands of volunteer readers and shaping the historical method that made the work so influential. He was knighted in 1908.
He died in Oxford on July 26, 1915, with the dictionary still unfinished, but his contribution was so large that he remains the central figure in its early history. He is remembered not just as an editor, but as a patient, determined builder of one of the most ambitious reference works ever created.