Noah Webster

Noah Webster (born October 16, 1758, West Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.—died May 28, 1843, New Haven, Connecticut) was an American lexicographer known for his American Spelling Book (1783) and his American Dictionary of the English Language, 2 vol. (1828; 2nd ed., 1840). Webster was instrumental in giving American English a dignity and vitality of its own. Both his speller and dictionary reflected his principle that spelling, grammar, and usage should be based upon the living, spoken...