William Smellie (1740–1795) was a Scottish printer who edited the first edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. He was also a naturalist and antiquary, who was joint founder of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

, co-founder of the

Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usua ...

, and a friend of

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

Early life

He was born in

The Pleasance The Pleasance is a theatre, bar, sports and recreation complex in Edinburgh, Scotland, situated on a street of the same name. It is owned by the University of Edinburgh, and for nine months of the year it serves the Edinburgh University S ...

, in south-east

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1740, the son of Alexander Smellie, architect and master builder, and of his wife, Jean Robertson. He was educated at Duddingston School then Edinburgh High School. Smellie left school at 12 to years old to be apprenticed as a printer to Hamilton, Balfour & Neill in 1752. During this time he was promoted to the subeditorial position corrector of the press, and won his firm the Edinburgh Philosophical Society's prize for the most accurately printed edition of a Latin text. On completion of his apprenticeship he joined the firm of Murray & Cochran as a corrector for the '' Scots Magazine''. He spent three hours per day in the evenings studying at extramural classes at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...

. In 1760 he founded the Newtonian Club, a sub-section of the Edinburgh Philosophical Society. He was also a joint founder of the

. On 27 March 1763 he married Jean Robertson in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In 1765 he was awarded a gold medal for his dissertation on the sexes of plants, which contradicted the theories of the Swedish botanist

Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, th ...

''Encyclopædia Britannica''

At the age of 28, Smellie was hired by Colin Macfarquhar and Andrew Bell to edit the first edition of the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

'', which appeared in 100 weekly instalments ("numbers") from December 1768 to 1771. It was a masterful composition although, by Smellie's own admission, he borrowed liberally from many authors of his day, such as

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

and

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

. Nevertheless, the first edition of the ''Britannica'' contained gross inaccuracies and fanciful speculations; for example, it states that excess use of tobacco could cause

neurodegeneration A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Such neuronal damage may ultimately involve cell death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophi ...

, "drying up the brain to a little black lump consisting of mere membranes". Smellie strove to make ''Britannica'' as usable as possible, saying that "utility ought to be the principal intention of every publication. Wherever this intention does not plainly appear, neither the books nor their authors have the smallest claim to the approbation of mankind". Smellie entertained strong opinions; for example, he defines

farriery A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves, if necessary. A farrier combines some blacksmith's skills (fabricating, adapting, and adju ...

as "the art of curing the diseases of horses. The practice of this useful art has been hitherto almost entirely confined to a set of men who are totally ignorant of anatomy, and the general principles of medicine." Although possessed of wide knowledge, Smellie was not an expert in all matters; for example, his article on "

Woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

" has but four words: "the female of man." Despite its incompleteness and inaccuracies, Smellie's vivid prose and the easy navigation of the first edition led to strong demand for a second; some prurient engravings by Andrew Bell (later censored by

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

) may also have contributed to the success of the first edition. Smellie did not participate in the second edition of the ''Britannica'', because he objected to the inclusion of biographical articles in an

encyclopedia An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

dedicated to the arts and sciences.

Later work and death

William Smellie's grave, Greyfriars Kirkyard

At the time of his hiring, Smellie edited a weekly called the ''Scots Journal'', which made him familiar with the editing and publication of a work in parts. He went on to print and edit the Edinburgh Weekly Journal as joint owner with William Auld, and was co-owner, editor, and contributor to the Edinburgh Magazine and Review. He printed and edited ''Domestic Medicine: or, a Treatise on the Prevention and Cure of Diseases by Regimen and Simple Medicines'' by William Buchan in 1769. He also edited the first transactions of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, which were published in 1792. Smellie is also noted for his English translation of the famous ''

Histoire Naturelle The ''Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet du Roi'' (; en, Natural History, General and Particular, with a Description of the King's Cabinet, italic=yes) is an encyclopaedic collection of 36 large (qu ...

'' of the French naturalist

Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (; 7 September 1707 – 16 April 1788) was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopédiste. His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including two prominent ...

. In 1779, Smellie was nominated to be the University of Edinburgh's professor of natural history; however, the post was awarded to Dr. John Walker, allegedly due to politics. In 1781 Smellie was made keeper and superintendent of the Edinburgh Museum of Natural History. From 1782 he had William Creech as his business partner. Smellie continued to publish a wide variety of works, including his two-volume ''Philosophy of Natural History'', which became a set text at

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 highe ...

in the 19th century, and at least two of the four-volume set of ''Thesaurus medicus: sive, disputationum, in Academia Edinensi, ad rem medicam pertinentium, a collegio instituto ad hoc usque tempus, delectu'' which reprinted Edinburgh medical theses of the 18th century. In his ''Philosophy of Natural History'' he described the

struggle for existence The concept of the struggle for existence concerns the competition or battle for resources needed to live. It can refer to human society, or to organisms in nature. The concept is ancient, and the term ''struggle for existence'' was in use by the ...

. He has been described as a "precursor of Darwin". His printing office stood at the foot of Anchor Close off the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), de ...

(on a site now on East Market Street) and his house was on Gosford's Close nearby. Gosford's Close was pulled down when the city built George IV Bridge in 1830. He died in Edinburgh on 24 June 1795 and is buried in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a num ...

just north of the Adam Mausoleum, south-west of the church. He was well-acquainted with

. Burns' assessment is engraved on Smellie's tombstone: "Here lies a man who did honour to human nature". Burns also described him fondly in a letter as "that old Veteran in Genius, Wit and Bawdry". Papers from Smellie's archive, including his correspondence and manuscripts, are held by the Library of the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opene ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smellie, William Contributors to the Encyclopædia Britannica 1740 births 1795 deaths 18th-century Scottish writers Publishers (people) from Edinburgh People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Proto-evolutionary biologists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Edinburgh Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard Scottish magazine editors Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Members of Crochallan Fencibles Members of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh Scottish antiquarians Scottish botanists Scottish encyclopedists Scottish naturalists Scottish printers Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland

Early life

''Encyclopædia Britannica''

Later work and death

See also

References

External links