Charlton Grant Laird (1901–1984) was an American linguist,

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoreti ...

, novelist, and essayist. Laird created the 1971 edition of the ''

Webster's ''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's n ...

New World Thesaurus'' that became the standardized edition still used today. During his lifetime, he was probably best known for his language studies: books, textbooks, and reference works elucidating the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

for the layman along with his numerous contributions to dictionaries and

thesaurus A thesaurus (plural ''thesauri'' or ''thesauruses'') or synonym dictionary is a reference work for finding synonyms and sometimes antonyms of words. They are often used by writers to help find the best word to express an idea: Synonym diction ...

es. Laird wrote many other works of non-fiction and fiction, including two novels. He also published literary criticism, was a university instructor, and a leading expert and scholar on the life and work of Western novelist (and fellow Nevada writer)

Walter Van Tilburg Clark Walter Van Tilburg Clark (August 3, 1909 – November 10, 1971) was an American novelist, short story writer, and educator. He ranks as one of Nevada's most distinguished literary figures of the 20th century, and was the first inductee into the 'N ...

. (see "Selected bibliography" below) According to ''Webster's New World Thesaurus'', it was Laird who created this "eminently successful work": Laird was born in

Nashua, Iowa Nashua is a city in Chickasaw County, Iowa, Chickasaw and only partly in Floyd County, Iowa, Floyd counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city's population was 1551 a decrease of 112, or 6.7%, ...

and received his undergraduate education at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

and went on to Columbia,

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

, and

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

. He taught at

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hi ...

and at the

University of Nevada at Reno A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

where he was professor of English from 1945–1968. Charlton Laird was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame in 1990.

Selected bibliography

;Novels *''Thunder on the River''. Boston: Little, Brown, 1949. *''West of the River''. Boston: Little, Brown, 1953. ;Nonfiction *''The Miracle of Language''. The World Publishing Company, 1953. *''A Basic Course in Modern English''. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1963. (Co-authors: Robert M. Gorrell and Raymond J. Pflug) *''Walter Van Tilburg Clark''. Reno: Black Rock Press, 1972. *''Walter Van Tilburg Clark, Critiques''. Reno, NV: Univ. of Nevada Press, 1983. *''Collins New World Thesaurus''. London: Collins, 1979. new ed.

References

External links

Charlton Laird Paper
housed in the Special Collections Department at the University of Iowa Libraries.
A Guide to the Charlton Laird Papers, AC 0284
University Archive, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno.
Charlton Laird Papers, AC 0076
University Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno.
Autobiographical manuscript for Charlton Laird, AC 0151
University Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laird, Charlton 1901 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American novelists American lexicographers Linguists from the United States American male novelists University of Nevada, Reno faculty Writers from Reno, Nevada Novelists from Iowa People from Iowa University of Iowa alumni 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers 20th-century linguists 20th-century lexicographers