George Merriam (; January 20, 1803 – June 22, 1880) was an American publisher. With his brother Charles, he founded G. and C. Merriam, which would eventually become Merriam-Webster, Inc. The Merriam family were

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James ...

s, book manufacturers, and

bookseller Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librari ...

s in Worcester County in the latter part of the 18th century. George worked on his father's farm in West Brookfield until he was age 15, then entered his uncle Ebenezer's West Brookfield printing office as an apprentice, and on reaching his majority became a partner. In 1831 he moved to Springfield with his brother Charles, and established in 1832 the

publishing house Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

of G. and C. Merriam. Their earliest publications were

law book A law book is a book about law. It is possible to make a distinction between "law books" on the one hand, and "books about law" on the other. This distinction is "useful". A law book is "a work of legal doctrine". It consists of "law talk", that i ...

s, editions of the Bible, and

school book A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textboo ...

s. After the death of

Noah Webster Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

, the lexicographer, the Merriams purchased the right of future publication of

Webster's Dictionary ''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 ...

References

* 1803 births 19th-century births 1880 deaths American publishers (people) Businesspeople from Worcester, Massachusetts People from West Brookfield, Massachusetts 19th-century American businesspeople {{publisher-stub