Wilfred John Funk (March 20, 1883 – June 1, 1965) was an American writer,

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

, lexicographer and publisher. He was president of

Funk & Wagnalls Funk & Wagnalls was an American publisher known for its reference works, including ''A Standard Dictionary of the English Language'' (1st ed. 1893–5), and the ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia'' (25 volumes, 1st ed. 1912).Funk & Wagnalls N ...

from 1925 to 1940, and founded the publishing company Wilfred Funk, Inc.

Personal life

Funk was the only son of Funk & Wagnalls' founder

Isaac Kaufmann Funk Isaac Kaufmann Funk (September 10, 1839April 4, 1912) was an American Lutheran minister, editor, lexicographer, publisher, and spelling reformer. He was the co-founder of Funk & Wagnalls Company, the father of author Wilfred J. Funk (who founde ...

. He graduated from

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

in 1909, and joined the family firm. He married Eleanor Hawkins on July 29, 1915. He had a wealthy lifestyle. His main residence was in Montclair, New Jersey, a suburb of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. His beach house "Cobble Court" in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

was a society venue in the Hamptons summer season. Several tax-efficient trusts Funk created for his wife were the subject of dispute with the Tax Office, ending in a

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

decision in 1950. His son Wilfred J. Funk, Jr was killed in August 1943 in Operation Cottage, the assault on

Kiska Kiska ( ale, Qisxa, russian: Кыска) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Wilfred Funk died of

arteriosclerosis Arteriosclerosis is the thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of Artery, arteries. This process gradually restricts the blood flow to one's organs and tissues and can lead to severe health risks brought on by atherosclerosis ...

in Montclair.

Early work

Funk became president of Funk & Wagnalls in 1925. In 1933, ''Time'' magazine described him as "titular president, but famed only for

light verse Light poetry or light verse is poetry that attempts to be humorous. Light poems are usually brief, can be on a frivolous or serious subject, and often feature word play including puns, adventurous rhyme, and heavy alliteration. Typically, light ...

". He had poems printed in the '' New York Evening Sun'' in 1928–29, and one called "Oh, Doctor!" in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' in 1930, whose opening lines were: In 1932, he publicized his firm's dictionary with a list of the ten most beautiful words in the English language, having regard for both

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

and meaning. In 1934, he listed the "ten modern Americans who have done most to keep American jargon alive": In 1937, he listed the ten most overworked words: He received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree in 1932 from Oglethorpe University.

''The Literary Digest''

In March 1936 Funk became

editor in chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of Funk & Wagnalls' magazine ''The Literary Digest''. The ''Digest'' polled its readers regarding the outcome of the

1936 presidential election The following elections occurred in the year 1936. Asia * 1936 Ceylonese State Council election Europe * 1936 Belgian general election * 1936 Bielsko municipal election * 1936 Danish Landsting election * 1936 Finnish parliamentary election * 19 ...

, and put Alf Landon at 56%; in fact he got only 36% of the vote. AIPO predicted not only the correct result, but also the result of the ''Digest'' poll. Funk had desired a wider poll with greater cross-checking, but the costs were prohibitive. He had not questioned the poll's fundamentally flawed methodology, and derided George Gallup of AIPO as "our fine statistical friend". Though Funk and the ''Digest'' were good-humored and self-deprecating about the embarrassment, it hastened the ''Digests decline. Funk and Cuddihy sold the ''Digest'' to Albert Shaw in June 1937 for $200,000. Funk in turn got "a very good chuckle" when Gallup failed to predict the

1948 presidential election The following elections occurred in the year 1948. Africa * 1948 Mauritian general election * 1948 South African general election * 1948 Southern Rhodesian general election Asia * 1948 North Korean parliamentary election * 1948 Republic of China ...

result.

Publishing success

In late 1937, Funk started ''Your Life'', a 128-page digest size ''Popular Guide to Desirable Living''. At 25¢ an issue, it contained articles such as "Be Glad Your Wife's Neurotic" and "Why Commit Suicide?". Circulation ran to more than 100,000, with spin-off titles ''Your Personality'' and ''Your Health''. The success of the magazine allowed him to start his own book publishing business in 1940, Wilfred Funk, Inc. Funk wrote numerous books on

vocabulary A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the la ...

and

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

aimed at a general audience. He favored descriptive linguistics over

linguistic prescription Linguistic prescription, or prescriptive grammar, is the establishment of rules defining preferred usage of language. These rules may address such linguistic aspects as spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, syntax, and semantics. Sometimes infor ...

, stating "Let's throw the old textbooks out the window, along with the words correct and incorrect, because there's really no such thing as grammar, but only an ever-changing language pattern formed by everyday usage". In 1942, he co-wrote ''30 Days to a more Powerful Vocabulary'' with Norman Lewis; total sales to 1968 were claimed at 4.7m. In 1945, he created the '' Reader's Digest'' feature "It Pays to Increase Your Word Power". His son Peter continued this from 1962 to 1998.

Works

Published works: *''Manhattans, Bronxes, and Queens'' (1931) *''Light Lines and Dears'' (1932) *''So You Think It's New'' (1937) *''It Might Be Verse'' (1938) *''When the Merry-go-round Breaks Down!'' (1938) *''The Inn'' (1940) *''If You Drink'' (1940) *''Love, Life, and Laughter'' (1942) *''30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary'' (1942) *''The Way to Vocabulary Power and Culture'' (1946) *''Word Origins and Their Romantic Stories'' (1950) *''Your Life : Today's Guide to Desirable Living'' Wilfred Funk et al. (1951) *''25 Magic Steps to Word Power'' (1958) *''Six Weeks to Words of Power'' (1959) *''Selected Verse of Wilfred Funk'' (1962)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Funk, Wilfred John 1883 births 1965 deaths American lexicographers American male poets American magazine editors American self-help writers American columnists Princeton University alumni Reader's Digest People from Montclair, New Jersey 20th-century American poets 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers 20th-century lexicographers