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Encyclopædia Britannica

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: General Literature

   CAPTION: Encyclopædia Britannica

   Introduction of Eleventh Edition
   Introduction to the Eleventh Edition
     Author   Many
   Translator None
    Country   Scotland, England, now United States
    Language  English
   Subject(s) General
    Genre(s)  Reference encyclopedia
   Publisher  Encyclopædia Britannica Inc.
    Released  1768
   Media Type Series of Hardback Volumes

   The Encyclopædia Britannica (properly spelled with the æ ligature) is a
   general encyclopedia published by the privately held Encyclopædia
   Britannica Inc.. Regarded as one of the most important and widely
   recognized reference works in the English language, the encylopedia was
   first published progressively from 1768–71 as Encyclopædia Britannica,
   or, A dictionary of arts and sciences, compiled upon a new plan. It was
   one of the first printed English encyclopedias and today is the oldest
   continuously published English-language encyclopedia in the world.

   From the late 18th century to the early 20th century, Britannica's
   articles were often judged as the foremost authority on a topic, and
   sometimes included new research or theory intended for a scholarly
   audience. During this era, the Britannica gained its erudite reputation
   and had a unique position in English-speaking culture.

   The Britannica has survived fierce competition from an ever-increasing
   number of alternative information sources. New reference sources, such
   as academic journals, textbooks, specialized publications, and
   electronic resources, have redefined the demand for the print
   encyclopedia; although a print edition is still available, the
   Britannica has evolved primarily into electronic versions on CD-ROM,
   DVD and the World Wide Web.

History

   Title page from the first edition
   Enlarge
   Title page from the first edition

   A product of the Scottish Enlightenment, the Britannica was originally
   published in late 1768 in Edinburgh and was the idea of Colin
   Macfarquhar, a bookseller and printer, and Andrew Bell, an engraver,
   who published the reference work under the pseudonym "Society of
   Gentlemen." Needing an editor, the two chose a 28-year-old scholar
   named William Smellie who was offered 200 pounds sterling to produce
   the encyclopedia in 100 parts and three volumes. The first part
   appeared in December 1768, priced sixpence. By 1771, Britannica was
   complete, with 2,391 pages and 160 engraved illustrations; an estimated
   3,000 copies had been sold. It consisted of three equally sized volumes
   covering A–B, C–L, and M–Z.


   Encyclopædia Britannica

    It was compiled, as the title-page says, on a new plan. The different
    sciences and arts were "digested into distinct treatises or systems,"
     of which there are 45 with cross headings, that is, titles printed
     across the page, and about 30 other articles more than three pages
    long. The longest are "Anatomy," 166 pages, and "Surgery," 238 pages.
   "The various technical terms, etc., are explained as they occur in the
      order of the alphabet." "Instead of dismembering the sciences, by
    attempting to treat them intelligibly under a multitude of technical
    terms, they have digested the principles of every science in the form
   of systems or distinct treatises, and explained the terms as they occur
   in the order of the alphabet, with references to the sciences to which
   they belong." This plan, as the compilers say, differs from that of all
    the previous dictionaries of arts and sciences. Its merit and novelty
  consist in… on the one hand keeping important subjects together, and on
       the other facilitating reference by numerous separate articles.


   Encyclopædia Britannica

   A page from the first edition. The flow of short entries is interrupted
   here by one of the major treatises.
   Enlarge
   A page from the first edition. The flow of short entries is interrupted
   here by one of the major treatises.

   After the success of the first edition, a more ambitious second edition
   followed, with the addition of history and biography articles. This
   time around Smellie declined to be editor. Macfarquhar took over the
   role himself, aided by a dilettante named James Tytler. The second
   edition was published 1777–84 in ten volumes with a total of 8,595
   pages.


   Encyclopædia Britannica

      The plan of the work was enlarged by the addition of history and
   biography, which encyclopaedias in general had long omitted. "From the
   time of the second edition of this work, every cyclopaedia of note, in
    England and elsewhere, has been a cyclopaedia, not solely of arts and
       sciences, but of the whole wide circle of general learning and
         miscellaneous information " (Quarterly Review, cxiii. 362).


   Encyclopædia Britannica

   It was with the third edition, published 1788–97 and edited by
   Macfarquhar (and after his death by George Gleig), that the
   encyclopedic vision was finally realized. Not only was it broader in
   scope, with 18 volumes plus a two-volume supplement of more than 16,000
   pages—the third edition was the first to include articles written
   specifically for the Britannica canon by experts and academics, many of
   whom were recruited by Gleig. The third edition established the
   foundation of the Britannica as an important and definitive reference
   work for much of the next century.

   Generally the major articles in the editions through the 10th edition
   were more scholarly and longer than the articles in late 20th- to
   21st-century encyclopedias. Nineteenth-century editions of the
   Britannica regularly included notable new or major works from its
   authors that were not as forthcoming later down the line. Also, unlike
   similar publications, such as the French Encyclopédie, that were first
   published in the eighteenth century, the Britannica was an extremely
   conservative publication. Later editions were dedicated to the reigning
   British monarch. In a postured supplement to the third edition to the
   King, Gleig wrote,


   Encyclopædia Britannica

   The French Encyclopédie had been accused, and justly accused, of having
     disseminated far and wide the seeds of anarchy and atheism. If the
   Encyclopædia Britannica shall in any degree counteract the tendency of
      that pestiferous work, even these two volumes will not be wholly
                    unworthy of your Majesty's attention.


   Encyclopædia Britannica

   Early 19th-century editions of Encyclopædia Britannica included seminal
   works such as Thomas Young's article on Egypt, which included the
   translation of the hieroglyphics on the Rosetta Stone
   Enlarge
   Early 19th-century editions of Encyclopædia Britannica included seminal
   works such as Thomas Young's article on Egypt, which included the
   translation of the hieroglyphics on the Rosetta Stone

   Archibald Constable, an apprentice bookseller, was involved in the
   publication to varying degrees from 1788 and after Macfarquhar's death
   in 1793. Constable, after a stretch of work in his own publishing firm,
   went on in 1812 to acquire the Britannica from its trustees. From 1812
   to 1826 his firm published the Britannica. The fourth, fifth and sixth
   editions, and the supplement to them, included works by a number of
   highly regarded Scottish and English authors and scientists: William
   Hazlitt, John Stuart Mill, Thomas Malthus, David Ricardo, Walter Scott,
   and Thomas Young, whose article on Egypt included the translation of
   the hieroglyphics on the Rosetta Stone.

   In the late 1820s, due to financial problems at Constable, the rights
   to the Britannica were acquired by the Edinburgh publishing firm of A &
   C Black. They published the seventh and eighth editions, and included
   new chapters, such as "Architecture" by William Hosking. The landmark
   ninth edition, often called 'the Scholar's Edition', was published from
   1875 to 1889. The ninth edition included numerous in-depth scholarly
   articles by pre-eminent authors, and therefore is considered by some to
   mark the high point in the history of English-language encyclopedias.
   Map of Africa from the Encyclopædia Britannica, 1890
   Enlarge
   Map of Africa from the Encyclopædia Britannica, 1890

   A & C Black moved to London in 1895. The Britannica later became
   associated with The Times newspaper, and was sold in 1901. The 10th
   edition—of 11 volumes, including map and index volumes—was issued in
   effect as a large supplement to the ninth edition. The American Horace
   Everett Hooper was the publisher from 1897 to 1922. From 1909, and for
   the 11th edition, the publication became associated with the University
   of Cambridge, England.

   The substantially rewritten 11th edition of 1910–11 is a classic
   edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. The role of the encyclopedia
   changed substantially in the early 20th century, and the 11th edition
   of Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) reflected this. One key change was a
   shift from attempting to encompass the cutting edge of human knowledge,
   a goal made impractical by—among other things—the rapid expansion of
   scientific knowledge around the turn of the century. A second change
   reflected a changing readership. As the use of the encyclopedia as a
   general reference grew, readers expected shorter, more readable
   articles, rather than the primary authoritative scholarship that had
   defined earlier versions. These articles, intended to gain a wider
   audience and increased sales, were shorter, but still thorough in their
   own frame.
   1913 advertisement for the 11th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica,
   with the slogan "When in doubt—'look it up' in the Encyclopaedia
   Britannica"
   Enlarge
   1913 advertisement for the 11th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica,
   with the slogan "When in doubt—'look it up' in the Encyclopaedia
   Britannica"

   Sometimes called the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, this edition is
   available in the public domain. The 11th edition was the first to be
   published substantially at one time, instead of volume by volume. The
   complete text is freely available online.

   The trademark and publication rights were sold after the 11th edition
   to Sears Roebuck and it moved to Chicago. The 12th and 13th editions
   each took the form of a three-volume supplement (an update), intended
   for used in conjunction with the 11th edition. The 14th edition of 1929
   marked a major shift, with fewer volumes and shorter articles, meant to
   be more accessible as a reference to a wider range of readers. However,
   the 14th edition was criticised by priest-turned-atheist Joseph McCabe,
   who claimed that it had been stripped of unfavourable content about the
   Catholic Church.

   Sears Roebuck offered the rights to the Britannica as a gift to the
   University of Chicago in 1941. William Benton was the publisher from
   1943 to his death in 1973, followed by his widow Helen Hemingway Benton
   until her own death in 1974. In January 1996, the Britannica was
   purchased by billionaire Swiss financier Jacob Safra. In October 2002,
   Esquire editor A. J. Jacobs set out to read all 33,000 pages of the
   Britannica. He chronicled this quest for knowledge in the 2004 book The
   Know-It-All.

CD-ROM edition and Britannica Online

   In the 1980s, Microsoft approached Britannica Inc. to collaborate on a
   CD-ROM encyclopedia. Britannica Inc., feeling that they had control of
   the market and showing strong profits (sales of the complete Britannica
   were priced between $1,500 and $2,200), turned Microsoft down.
   Britannica Inc.'s senior management viewed their product as a luxury
   brand with an impeccable reputation handed down from generation to
   generation. They did not believe that a CD-ROM could adequately compete
   or supplement their business. In turn, Microsoft used content from Funk
   & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia to create what is now known as
   Encarta.

   In 1990, the Britannica's sales reached all-time high of $650 million.
   But Encarta, released in 1993, became a software staple with almost
   every computer purchase and the Britannica's market share plummeted.
   Britannica Inc. countered by offering a CD-ROM version of their
   product, although a CD-ROM could not generate the $500 to $600 in sales
   commissions that the print version did. Britannica Inc. decided on
   charging $995 for customers looking to purchase only the CD-ROM, while
   bundling a free disc with the print version. Britannica Inc. hoped that
   including the CD-ROM would entice buyers to stay with the brand.

   In 1994 an online version was launched, with subscriptions for sale for
   $2,000. By 1996, the cost of the CD-ROM had dropped to $200. Sales had
   plummeted to $325 million—about half of their 1990 levels. Only 55,000
   hard copy versions were sold in 1994, compared with 117,000 in 1990,
   and sales later fell to 20,000. Facing financial pressure, Britannica
   Inc. was purchased by Swiss financier Jacob Safra in 1996 for $135
   million, a fraction of its book value. Since then Safra has introduced
   massive price-cutting measures in an effort to compete with Encarta,
   even offering the entire reference free of charge for a time (around 18
   months, from October 1999 to March 2001) on the Internet.

   Currently, Britannica co-operates with Taiwan companies (遠流/智慧藏學習科技公司)
   to provide a Traditional Chinese-English bilingual version encyclopedia
   on internet according to the 2002 edition. It is the first bilingual
   product of Britannica.

   Former editor-in-chief Robert McHenry believes that Britannica failed
   to exploit its early advantages in the market for electronic
   encyclopedias. Britannica had, for example, published the second
   multimedia encyclopedia titled Compton's MultiMedia Encyclopedia as
   early as 1989 (the first one being the Academic American Encyclopedia
   published by Grolier), but did not launch Britannica CD until 1994, one
   year after Microsoft launched their Encarta encyclopedia. McHenry
   believes these failures were due to a reluctance among senior
   management to fully embrace the new technology, caused largely by the
   overriding influence of the sales staff and management. The sales
   personnel earned commissions from door-to-door selling of the print
   encyclopedias, which McHenry believes led to decisions about the
   distribution and pricing of the electronic products being driven by the
   desires of the sales personnel, rather than market conditions and
   customer expectations.

Competition

   Nowadays, one of the biggest challenges to the Britannica is the ease
   with which people can find information online. Many people simply
   prefer to find information with the help of a search engine, such as
   Google, Yahoo! or MSN Search. While the information available on the
   Internet is typically not as structured and critically edited as that
   contained in Britannica, this is partly compensated for by the
   convenience and the sheer volume of information typically available on
   any subject. Advanced searching algorithms, such as page rank algorithm
   used by Google, also assist an experienced user to quickly narrow down
   an investigation to relevant pages.

   Online alternatives to the Britannica include Wikipedia, a Web-based
   free-content encyclopedia. Wikipedia is free to use; alternatively, the
   print and electronic versions of Britannica are available at libraries
   for checkout (either directly or through ILL) and can be accessed from
   home using some library web sites.

   Substantive comparisons between the Britannica and Wikipedia are hard
   to draw. The journal Nature reported on December 14, 2005 that of the
   42 science articles it reviewed, there were 162 mistakes in Wikipedia
   versus 123 for Britannica. Britannica Inc. attacked Nature's study as
   flawed and misleading and demanded a retraction. It mentioned that two
   of the articles in the study were actually from a Britannica year book,
   and not the encyclopedia. Another two were from Compton's Encyclopedia
   (called the Britannica Student Encyclopedia on the company's web site)
   and yet another reviewer comment regards an unknown publication.
   Encyclopædia Britannica went on to mention that some of the articles
   presented to reviewers were combinations of several articles.
   Britannica continued by citing several facts that were classified as
   errors by Nature but were not incorrect (e.g., the spelling of Crotona
   as Crotone). Nature defended its story and declined to retract it,
   stating that as it was comparing Wikipedia with the web version of
   Britannica, it used whatever relevant material was available on
   Britannica's website.

   As for the CD-ROM and DVD-ROM versions of Britannica, its biggest
   competitor is Encarta. Both are in the same price range, with the 2007
   Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate CD or DVD costing US$50 and the
   Microsoft Encarta Premium 2007 DVD costing US$45. Britannica contains
   100,000 articles, Merriam-Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus (U.S.
   only), as well having Primary and Seconday School editions. Encarta
   contains 64,000 articles, a U.S. and U.K. dictionary, and a youth
   edition. Britannica has been criticised for only catering for United
   States audiences, because United Kingdom-related articles are less
   often updated, maps of the United States are more detailed than the
   rest of the World, and due to its lack of a U.K. dictionary. However,
   Britannica is still regarded as more in depth than Encarta.

   Comparing Encyclopædia Britannica with other print encyclopedias also
   provides a mixed picture. Kenneth Kister's Kister's Best Encyclopedias,
   2nd edition (1994) compared the accuracy of several encyclopedias.
   Britannica, although more accurate than many, was ranked lower than
   Encyclopedia Americana, World Book Encyclopedia, and Compton's
   Encyclopedia, all of which received perfect scores. Another area in
   which Britannica lags when compared with other print reference works is
   currency. Kister's ranked Britannica lower in this respect than the
   same three aforementioned works, as well.

Current version

   15th edition (with 2 index volumes and 2002 year book)
   Enlarge
   15th edition (with 2 index volumes and 2002 year book)

   Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. now owns a trademark on the word
   "Britannica." The current version of Britannica was written by over
   4,000 contributors, including noted scholars such as Milton Friedman,
   Michael DeBakey and Carl Sagan. Under the influence of the director of
   planning, Mortimer Adler, the 15th edition, first published in 1974 and
   frequently reissued since, was published not as one alphabetical
   sequence of volumes as previously but in three parts that covered
   topics in different degrees of depth: a one-volume Propædia that
   provides a structured hierarchy to all the information in the set, a
   12-volume Micropædia which contains short articles (most of them from
   one to five paragraphs), and a 17-volume Macropædia for longer
   articles, which range from a few pages to over three hundred pages. The
   Micropædia provides cross-references from articles to more extended
   treatment in the Macropædia or to other related Micropædia coverage.
   Macropædia articles deal with topics such as countries, individual
   sciences and surveys of broad divisions of culture. They contain many
   subsections which would be covered by individual articles in most
   encyclopedias. Britannica's intention is to provide systematic surveys
   of knowledge and to put detail into context. A two-volume index was
   added in 1985. The print edition continues to be produced, with each
   version being an updated printing of the 15th edition. Forty-six
   percent of the content of the encyclopedia has been revised within the
   last three years. A newly revised print set was issued in 2005.

   The Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite 2006 DVD contains over 55
   million words and just over 100,000 articles. This includes 73,645
   regular Encyclopædia Britannica articles, with the remainder drawn from
   the Britannica Student Encyclopædia, the Britannica Elementary
   Encyclopædia and the Britannica Book of the Year (1993–2004), plus a
   small number of "classic" articles from early editions of the
   encyclopaedia. The package also includes a range of supplementary
   content including maps, videos, sound clips, animations and web links.
   It also offers study tools and dictionary and thesaurus entries from
   Merriam-Webster.

   The online version has more than 120,000 articles and is updated daily.
   It also has daily features, updates and links to news articles from New
   York Times and the BBC. Subscriptions cost $69.95 per year in the
   United States and £39.99 per year in the United Kingdom. Weekly and
   monthly plans are also available. Special subscription plans are
   offered to schools, colleges and libraries and this is an important
   part of Britannica's business.

   Britannica uses a hybrid of British and American English, for example
   colour (not colour), centre (not centre), encyclopaedia (not
   encyclopedia), but civilize (not civilise) and defense (not defence).

Editors

   Dale Hoiberg, a sinologist, is the publication's current
   editor-in-chief. Among his predecessors were Hugh Chisholm (1903–13,
   1920–24), James Louis Garvin (1926–32), Franklin Henry Hooper
   (1932–38), Walter Yust (1938–60), Harry Ashmore (1960–63), Warren E.
   Preece (1964–75), and Robert McHenry (1992–97). Ted Pappas is the
   current executive editor. Earlier holders of that position were John V.
   Dodge (1950–64) and Philip W. Goetz. Don Yannias, former CEO of the
   company when it was in financial difficulties, serves on Britannica's
   Board of Directors.

   Among the members of the editorial board are such notable figures as
   Nobel laureate in Physics Murray Gell-Mann, biologist and Nobel
   laureate David Baltimore, cognitive scientist Donald Norman, economist
   Amartya Sen, philosopher Thomas Nagel, former Ecuadorian president
   Rosalía Arteaga and Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Zaha Hadid.

Versions

   There are several abbreviated Britannica encyclopedias. The
   single-volume Britannica Concise Encyclopædia has 28,000 articles;
   Compton's by Britannica, which incorporates the former Compton's
   Encyclopedia, consists of 26 volumes with a total of 11,000 pages, and
   is aimed at secondary school age children; My First Britannica is aimed
   at 6 to 12 year olds; and the Britannica Discovery Library is targeted
   at pre-school children. Since 1938 Britannica has published annually a
   Book of the Year chronicling the past year's events, also available
   online back to the 1994 edition (covering the events of 1993).
   Britannica Inc. also publishes a number of specialist reference works.

Edition history

   Edition Published Size Editor(s)
   1st 1768–71 3 vol. William Smellie
   2nd 1777–84 10 vol. James Tytler
   3rd 1788–97, 1801 sup. 18 vol. + 2 sup. Colin Macfarquhar and George
   Gleig
   4th 1801–09 20 vol. James Millar
   5th 1815 20 vol. James Millar and Thomas Bonar
   6th 1820–23, 1815–24 sup. 20 vol. + 6 sup. ^1 Charles Maclaren and
   Macvey Napier
   7th 1830–42 21 vol. Macvey Napier
   8th 1853–60 22 vol. ^2 Thomas Stewart Traill
   9th 1875–89 25 vol. ^3 Thomas Spencer Baynes (to 1880, then W.
   Robertson Smith)
   10th 1902–03 9th ed. + 11 sup. ^4 Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace, Hugh
   Chisholm, and Arthur T. Hadley with Franklin H. Hooper
   11th 1910–11 29 vol. Hugh Chisholm
   12th 1921–22 11th ed. + 3 sup. ^5 Hugh Chisholm
   13th 1926 11th ed. + 3 sup. ^6 James Louis Garvin
   14th 1929–73 24 vol. ^7 James Louis Garvin with Franklin Henry Hooper
   15th 1974–84 30 vol. ^8 Mortimer J. Adler, William Benton, and Charles
   E. Swanson
   1985– 32 vol. ^9
   Edition notes
     * vol. = volume
     * sup. = supplement

   ^1Supplement to the fourth, fifth, and sixth editions of the
   Encyclopaedia Britannica. With preliminary dissertations on the history
   of the sciences.

   ^2 8th to 14th editions included a separate index volume.

   ^3 9th ed. featured articles by notables of the day, such as James
   Maxwell on electricity and magnetism, and William Thomson (who became
   Lord Kelvin) on heat.

   ^4 10th ed. included a maps volume and a cumulative index volume for
   the 9th and 10th edition volumes: the new volumes, constituting, in
   combination with the existing volumes of the 9th ed., the 10th ed. ...
   and also supplying a new, distinctive, and independent library of
   reference dealing with recent events and developments

   ^5 Vols. 30-32 ... the New volumes constituting, in combination with
   the twenty-nine volumes of the eleventh edition, the twelfth edition

   ^6 This supplement replaced the previous supplement: The three new
   supplementary volumes constituting, with the volumes of the latest
   standard edition, the thirteenth edition.

   ^7 This edition was the first to be kept up to date by continual
   (usually annual) revision.

   ^8 The 15th edition (introduced as "Britannica 3") was published as
   multiple sets: the 10-volume Micropædia (containing short articles and
   served as an index), the 19-volume Macropædia, plus the Propædia (see
   text).

   ^9 In 1985 the system was modified by removing the index function from
   the Micropædia and adding a separate two-volume index; the Macropædia
   articles were further consolidated into fewer, larger ones (for
   example, the previously separate articles about the 50 U.S. states were
   all included into the "United States of America" article), with some
   medium-length articles moved to the Micropædia.

   The first CD-ROM edition was issued in 1994. At that time also an
   online version was offered for paid subscription. In 1999 this was
   offered for free, and no revised print versions appeared. The
   experiment was ended, however, in 2001 and a new printed set was issued
   in 2002.

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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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