5fish
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William Chester Minor was a Union Surgeon in the later parts of the war. After the war, he moved to England because he thought he was being hunted down to be killed by a man he wrong. He was mentally ill... He helped with the writing of the Oxford Dictionary...
I have to read the multitude of links I leave to get the breath of his story...
A vocabulary is a literate person’s best friend. And a dictionary keeps a person updated on new words, their meanings and usage, and helps users expand their vocabulary. When one talks of a dictionary, the first name that pops up in mind is the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), one of the most widely accepted wordbooks in the world. But did you ever think about people who came up with comprehensive synonyms for a single word or how they managed to compile all the information in a single book? Well then, here’s an interesting piece of the story about Dr William Chester Minor, an army surgeon, who was one of the top contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary
Here is another link...
Dr. William Chester Minor's life is stranger than fiction. That an American surgeon came to be one of the largest contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is surprising. That he wrote his entries while confined in a psychiatric facility is mind-boggling. The account of this bizarre tale is well-documented by Simon Winchester in his book, The Professor and the Madman. The dictionary has been hailed as one of the greatest literary works in the history of the English language. Although the roots of the OED go back to 1857, it wasn't until 1878 that former schoolmaster Professor James Murray took over the dictionary project that the Oxford University Press eventually published. Contributors to the multi-volume work of 414,825 definitions included historians, philologists, businessmen, clergymen, and one murderer.
While most OED contributors had mundane occupations like banking, teaching, or writing, Minor played the flute and read voraciously. He did this while inside his comfortable two-room cell at the Broadmoor Asylum, five miles from Oxford. Upon learning that Murray needed wordsmiths, Minor began corresponding with the man. Ironically, Murray had no idea that one of his most prolific volunteers had been judged criminally insane.
Here another...
I have to read the multitude of links I leave to get the breath of his story...
Dr. William Chester Minor: A Learned Lexicographer or a Meritorious Madman? -
William Chester Minor dedicated his life to the cause of the new dictionary and worked tirelessly, compiling quotations and illustrating ways in which a...
www.ststworld.com
A vocabulary is a literate person’s best friend. And a dictionary keeps a person updated on new words, their meanings and usage, and helps users expand their vocabulary. When one talks of a dictionary, the first name that pops up in mind is the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), one of the most widely accepted wordbooks in the world. But did you ever think about people who came up with comprehensive synonyms for a single word or how they managed to compile all the information in a single book? Well then, here’s an interesting piece of the story about Dr William Chester Minor, an army surgeon, who was one of the top contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary
Here is another link...
The Man Behind The Oxford English Dictionary Wrote It While In An Asylum Because He Committed Murder
Dr. William Chester Minor's life is stranger than fiction. That an American surgeon came to be one of the largest contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is surprising. That he wrote his entries while confined in a psychiatric facility is mind-boggling. The account of this bizarre...
www.ranker.com
Dr. William Chester Minor's life is stranger than fiction. That an American surgeon came to be one of the largest contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is surprising. That he wrote his entries while confined in a psychiatric facility is mind-boggling. The account of this bizarre tale is well-documented by Simon Winchester in his book, The Professor and the Madman. The dictionary has been hailed as one of the greatest literary works in the history of the English language. Although the roots of the OED go back to 1857, it wasn't until 1878 that former schoolmaster Professor James Murray took over the dictionary project that the Oxford University Press eventually published. Contributors to the multi-volume work of 414,825 definitions included historians, philologists, businessmen, clergymen, and one murderer.
While most OED contributors had mundane occupations like banking, teaching, or writing, Minor played the flute and read voraciously. He did this while inside his comfortable two-room cell at the Broadmoor Asylum, five miles from Oxford. Upon learning that Murray needed wordsmiths, Minor began corresponding with the man. Ironically, Murray had no idea that one of his most prolific volunteers had been judged criminally insane.
Here another...
William Chester Minor | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers
Murderpedia, the free online encyclopedic dictionary of murderers. The largest database about serial killers, mass murderers and spree killers around the world
murderpedia.org
Classification: Homicide |
Characteristics: Haunted by his paranoia - One of the largest contributors of quotations to the Oxford English Dictionary |
Number of victims: 1 |
Date of murder: February 17, 1872 |
Date of arrest: Same day |
Date of birth: June 1834 |
Victim profile: George Merritt, 34 |
Method of murder: Shooting |
Location: London, England, United Kingdom |
Status: Found not guilty on grounds of insanity on April 6, 1872. Detained "until Her Majesty's Pleasure be known" as a "certified criminal lunatic". Died on March 16, 1920 |