Philip Babcock Gove (June 27, 1902–November 16, 1972) was an American lexicographer who was editor-in-chief of the ''

Webster's Third New International Dictionary ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged'' (commonly known as ''Webster's Third'', or ''W3'') was published in September 1961. It was edited by Philip Babcock Gove and a team of lexicographers who spent 757 ...

'', published in 1961. Born in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

, he received his A.B. from Dartmouth College, his A.M. from Harvard University, his Ph.D. from Columbia University, and his D.Litt. from Dartmouth. He started working for the G. and C. Merriam Company in 1946. Gove was managing editor of ''Webster's Third'' from 1950 to 1952, general editor from 1952 to 1960, and editor-in-chief from 1960 until his retirement in 1967.(17 November 1972)
Dr. Philip B. Gove, 70, Is Dead; Editor of the Webster's Third
'' The New York Times''Woolfe, Henry Bosle
Philip Babcock Gove: 27 June 1902-16 November 1972
''American Speech'', Vol. 45, No 3/4, pp. 163-67( Gove died at his home in

Warren, Massachusetts Warren is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,975 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town contains the villages of Warren (CDP), Massachusetts, Warren and ...

of a heart attack on November 16, 1972, survived by his wife and three children.

References

*Herbert C. Morton. ''The Story of'' Webster's Third: ''Philip Gove's Controversial Dictionary and Its Critics''. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994. *James Sledd and Wilma R. Ebbit, editors. ''Dictionaries and'' That ''Dictionary''. Chicago: Scott Foresman, 1962. * David Skinner
"The Story of Ain't: America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever".
2012.

External links

* American lexicographers 1902 births 1972 deaths Dartmouth College alumni Harvard University alumni Columbia University alumni People from Concord, New Hampshire Place of death missing 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century lexicographers Linguists from the United States {{US-linguist-stub