Philip Babcock Gove (June 27, 1902–November 16, 1972) was an American

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. * Theoretica ...

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, he received his

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

, his A.M. from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and his

D.Litt. Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''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 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 Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

, 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