author
William Smith
b. 1859
Best known for making the ancient world easier to study, this Victorian editor and lexicographer created reference works that shaped how Greek and Latin were taught for generations.
1 Audiobook
The History of the Post Office in British North America
by William Smith
About the author
Born in Enfield in 1813, he was originally meant for a theological career and then trained in law, but his real passion was classical learning. Much of that knowledge was self-taught, and at University College London he won prizes in both Greek and Latin before turning fully toward teaching and scholarship.
He became one of the great reference-book makers of the 19th century. His major works included A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1842), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1849), and Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854). He also produced school dictionaries and the Principia series, which helped modernize the teaching of classical languages.
Later in life, he edited the Quarterly Review from 1867 until his death in 1893, and he also worked on large religious reference projects such as the Dictionary of the Bible. Knighted in 1892, he is remembered as a practical, energetic scholar whose books opened up classical studies to students as well as specialists.