Edinburgh Encyclopædia

American reprint 1832

The Edinburgh Encyclopædia was an encyclopaedia in 18 volumes, printed and published by William Blackwood and edited by David Brewster between 1808 and 1830. In competition with the Edinburgh-published Encyclopædia Britannica,^[1] the Edinburgh Encyclopædia is generally considered to be strongest on scientific topics, where many of the articles were written by the editor.^[2]

Other contributors – "Gentlemen Eminent in Science and Literature" – included Adam Anderson, Charles Babbage, Thomas Carlyle,^[3] Robert Gordon, Robert Edmond Grant,^[4] John Leslie,^[5] Henry Liston, John Gibson Lockhart^[3] and Thomas Telford.

In 1815 William Elford Leach published the first bibliography of entomology in Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopædia (see Timeline of entomology – 1800–1850).

Joseph Parker of Philadelphia and Whiting & Watson of New York City printed American editions, both in 1832.

Contributors

A list of major contributors, with indications of their articles, was published in 1830.^[6]

Thomas Allan Adam Anderson Alexander Annesley[7] Charles Babbage[8] "Notation", "Porisms" Robert Bald Alexander Balfour John Barclay Peter Barlow James Bell Jacob Berzelius J. B. Biot Philip Bliss James Bonar John Bostock David Brewster G. Brewster James Brewster[9] Patrick Brewster David Brown Robert Brown William Brown H. R. Brown David Buchanan Robertson Buchanan Rev. W. Burns Robert Burns Thomas Campbell Archibald Campbell Thomas Carlyle Thomas Chalmers James Cleland John Clennel John Colquhoun John Davies John Graham Dalyell J. Denholm David Dickson Thomas Lauder Dick Lieutenant-General Alexander Dirom Henry Dewar Archdeacon Drummond Henry Duncan John Duncan Rev. Thomas Duncan Thomas Duncan George Dunbar James Erskine William Edgeworth James Esdaile John Farey, senior John Farey, junior Andrew Ferguson Denis Ferral John Fleming

James D. Forbes Andrew Fyffe William Galbraith Thomas Galloway Alexander Galloway; he wrote the "Perspective" article, and was an acquaintance of Thomas Carlyle.[10] James Geddes Patrick Gibson Charles Giesecke John Gordon Robert Gordon James Grahame Robert Grant James Grierson John Gunn George Harvey William Jory Henwood J. F. W. Herschel[8] "Isoperimetrical Problems", "Mathematics" Samuel Hibbert John Hodgson James Innes David Irving Alexander Irvine Josiah Kirby Robert Kirkwood Thomas Jackson Robert Jameson John Jamieson George Kellie Robert Kerr William Laidlaw Dionysius Lardner William Leach John Lee John Leslie Henry Liston John Lizars J. G. Lockhart John Loudon Joseph Lowe Robert Lundie Robert Lyall A. Macarthur Charles Mackenzie George Mackenzie James Macdonald Archduke Maximilian Mr. Maclaurin J. R. MacCulloch John MacCulloch William Memes J. Morell

Walter Morison Lockhart Muirhead William Muller John Murray Hugh Murray Thomas Murray Andrew Mylne John Narien James Nicol Patrick Neill Peter Nicholson Alexander Nimmo H. C. Oersted George Peacock William Pearson Alexander Peterkin John Pond Richard Poole wrote on "Language", "Mind", "Philology" and "Philosophy".[11] William Percivall John Ramsay William Ramsay Thomas Reid William Ritchie Abraham Robertson John Robison William Scoresby Alexander Scott John Corse Scott Robert Eden Scott James Simpson Rev. W. Singer J. C. Simonde de Sismondi James Skene Thomas Somerville Robert Stevenson William Stevenson, the father of Elizabeth Gaskell; article "Chivalry"[12] out of a total of around 50.[13] Andrew Mitchell Thomson, part-owner[14] John Thomson Thomas Traill Rev. J. M. Turner Edmund Turrel William Tytler Rev. W. Wade Josiah Walker William Wallace James Watt James Wilson John Yule

References

1. Brewster, David (1832). David Brewster, ed. The Edinburgh encyclopædia conducted by David Brewster, with the assistance of gentlemen eminent in science and literature, Volume 18. J. and E. Parker. ISBN 978-0-415-18026-9.
2. Encyclopædia Britannica (10 ed.). 1902.
3. The Literary gazette: A weekly journal of literature, science, and the fine arts. 17. H. Colburn. 1833.
4. Desmond, Adrian; Parker, Sarah E. (October 2006). The bibliography of Robert Edmond Grant (1793–1874). Archives of Natural History. 33.
5. O'Connor, J J; Robertson, E F. "John Leslie". School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
6. Sir David Brewster (1830). The Edinburgh Encyclopædia. Printed for W. Blackwood. pp. ix–xiv. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
7.  Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1885). "Annesley, Alexander". Dictionary of National Biography. 2. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
8. Martha McMackin Garland (1980). Cambridge Before Darwin: The Idéal of Alihsral Education, 1800-1860. Cambridge University Press. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-521-23319-4. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
9. Georg Lehner (2011), China in European Encyclopaedias, 1700-1850, Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, ISBN 9789004201507
10. Letters, TC to Alexander Galloway; 25 December 1821; DOI: 10.1215/lt-18211225-TC-AGA-01; CL 1: 419
11. John Bulloch, John Alexander Henderson (editors), Scottish Notes and Queries (1888), p. 40; archive.org.
12.  "Stevenson, William (1772-1829)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
13. Chapple, John A. V. "Stevenson, William". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/26443. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
14.  Lee, Sidney, ed. (1898). "Thomson, Andrew Mitchell". Dictionary of National Biography. 56. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

Further reading

• David Brewster, ed. (1830). Edinburgh Encyclopaedia. Edinburgh: William Blackwood.
  • v.1 A to Anatomy
  • v.3 Astrophanometer to Bosworth
  • v.4 Botany to Browne
  • v.5 Brown to Cheltenham
  • v.6 Chemistry to Columbo
  • v.8 Divination to England
  • v.9 England to Fruit
  • v.10 Fuci to Herodotus
  • v.11 Herpetology to Ilay
  • v.12 Ilchester to Light
  • v.13 Lighthouse to Medicine
  • v.14 Medicine to Muscat
  • v.17 Polar Regions to Scotland
• David Brewster, ed. (1832). Edinburgh Encyclopaedia. Philadelphia: Joseph and Edward Parker.

External links