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encyclopaedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...
. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, which spans 32 volumes and 32,640 pages, was the last printed edition. Since 2016, it has been published exclusively as an online encyclopaedia. Printed for 244 years, the ''Britannica'' was the longest-running in-print encyclopaedia in the English language. It was first published between 1768 and 1771 in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Scotland, in three volumes. The encyclopaedia grew in size; the second edition was 10 volumes, and by its fourth edition (1801–1810), it had expanded to 20 volumes. Its rising stature as a scholarly work helped recruit eminent contributors, and the 9th (1875–1889) and 11th editions (1911) are landmark encyclopaedias for scholarship and literary style. Starting with the 11th edition and following its acquisition by an American firm, the ''Britannica'' shortened and simplified articles to broaden its appeal to the North American market. In 1933, the ''Britannica'' became the first encyclopaedia to adopt "continuous revision", in which the encyclopaedia is continually reprinted, with every article updated on a schedule. In the 21st century, the ''Britannica'' suffered first from competition with the digital multimedia encyclopaedia Microsoft ''Encarta'', and later with the online peer-produced encyclopaedia
Wikipedia Wikipedia is a free content, free Online content, online encyclopedia that is written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki. Founded by Jimmy Wales and La ...
. In March 2012, it announced it would no longer publish printed editions and would focus instead on the online version. The 15th edition (1974–2010) has a three-part structure: a 12-volume of short articles (generally fewer than 750 words), a 17-volume of long articles (two to 310 pages), and a single volume to give a
hierarchical A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an importan ...
outline of knowledge. The was meant for quick
fact-checking Fact-checking is the process of verifying the factual accuracy of questioned reporting and statements. Fact-checking can be conducted before or after the text or content is published or otherwise disseminated. Internal fact-checking is such che ...
and as a guide to the ; readers are advised to study the outline to understand a subject's context and to find more detailed articles. Over 70 years, the size of the ''Britannica'' has remained steady, with about 40 million words on half a million topics. Though published in the United States since 1901, the ''Britannica'' has for the most part maintained British English spelling.


History

Past owners have included, in chronological order, the
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Scotland-based printers Colin Macfarquhar and Andrew Bell, Scottish bookseller Archibald Constable, Scottish publisher A & C Black,
Horace Everett Hooper Horace Everett Hooper (December 8, 1859 – June 13, 1922) was the publisher of ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' from 1897 until his death. Early life Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, he quit school at the age of 16, and after gaining experience ...
,
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
Roebuck, William Benton, and
Jacqui Safra Jacqui (Jacob) Eli Safra (born 1947) is a Swiss investor from Geneva. He is a descendant of the Syrian Jewish Safra banking family. Biography Jacqui Eli Safra is the son of Elie Safra (1922–1993) and his wife Yvette Dabbah (1927–2006) and ...
, a Swiss billionaire of
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
. Recent advances in information technology and the rise of electronic encyclopaedias such as Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite, ''Encarta'' and Wikipedia have reduced the demand for print encyclopaedias. To remain competitive, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. has stressed the reputation of the ''Britannica'', reduced its price and production costs, and developed electronic versions on
CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...
, DVD, and the
World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is an information system that enables Content (media), content sharing over the Internet through user-friendly ways meant to appeal to users beyond Information technology, IT specialists and hobbyis ...
. Since the early 1930s, the company has promoted spin-off reference works. Aside from providing a summary of the ''Britannica'' history and early spin-off products, this article also describes the life-cycle of a typical ''Britannica'' edition. A new edition typically begins with strong sales that decay as the encyclopaedia becomes outdated. When work on a new edition is begun, sales of the old edition stop, just when fiscal needs are greatest: a new editorial staff must be assembled, articles commissioned. Elkan Harrison Powell identified this fluctuation of income as a danger to any encyclopaedia, one he hoped to overcome with continuous revision.


Editions

The ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' has been issued in 15 editions, with multi-volume supplements to the 3rd and 4th editions (see the
Table Table may refer to: * Table (database), how the table data arrangement is used within the databases * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and column ...
below). The 5th and 6th editions were reprints of the 4th, and the 10th edition was only a supplement to the 9th, just as the 12th and 13th editions were supplements to the 11th. The 15th underwent massive reorganization in 1985, but the updated, current version is still known as the 15th. The 14th and 15th editions were edited every year throughout their runs, so that later printings of each were entirely different from early ones. Throughout history, the ''Britannica'' has had two aims: to be an excellent reference book, and to provide educational material. In 1974, the 15th edition adopted a third goal: to systematize all human knowledge. The history of the ''Britannica'' can be divided into five eras, punctuated by changes in management, or reorganization of the dictionary.


1768–1826

In the first era (1st–6th editions, 1768–1826), the ''Britannica'' was managed and published by its founders, Colin Macfarquhar and Andrew Bell, by Archibald Constable, and by others. The ''Britannica'' was first published between December 1768 and 1771 in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
as the ''Encyclopædia Britannica, or, A Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, compiled upon a New Plan''. In part, it was conceived in reaction to the French ''
Encyclopédie , better known as ''Encyclopédie'' (), was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It had many writers, known as the Encyclopédistes. It was edited by Denis ...
'' of
Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominent figure during th ...
and
Jean le Rond d'Alembert Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert ( ; ; 16 November 1717 – 29 October 1783) was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. Until 1759 he was, together with Denis Diderot, a co-editor of the ''Encyclopé ...
(published 1751–1772), which had been inspired by Chambers's ''Cyclopaedia'' (first edition 1728). It went on sale 10 December. The ''Britannica'' of this period was primarily a Scottish enterprise, and it is one of the most enduring legacies of the
Scottish Enlightenment The Scottish Enlightenment (, ) was the period in 18th- and early-19th-century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By the eighteenth century, Scotland had a network of parish schools in the Sco ...
. In this era, the ''Britannica'' moved from being a three-volume set (1st edition) compiled by one young editor— William Smellie—to a 20-volume set written by numerous authorities. Several other encyclopaedias competed throughout this period, among them editions of Abraham Rees's ''Cyclopædia'' and Coleridge's ''
Encyclopædia Metropolitana ''The Encyclopædia Metropolitana'' was an encyclopedic work published in London, from 1817 to 1845, by part publication. In all it came to quarto, 30 vols., having been issued in 59 parts (22,426 pages, 565 plates). Origins Initially the pro ...
'' and
David Brewster Sir David Brewster Knight of the Royal Guelphic Order, KH President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, PRSE Fellow of the Royal Society of London, FRS Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, FSA Scot Fellow of the Scottish Society of ...
's '' Edinburgh Encyclopædia''.


1827–1901

During the second era (7th–9th editions, 1827–1901), the ''Britannica'' was managed by the Edinburgh publishing firm A & C Black. Although some contributors were again recruited through friendships of the chief editors, notably Macvey Napier, others were attracted by the ''Britannica'' reputation. The contributors often came from other countries and included the world's most respected authorities in their fields. A general index of all articles was included for the first time in the 7th edition, a practice maintained until 1974. Production of the 9th edition was overseen by Thomas Spencer Baynes, the first English-born editor-in-chief. Dubbed the "Scholar's Edition", the 9th edition is the most scholarly of all ''Britannicas''. After 1880, Baynes was assisted by
William Robertson Smith William Robertson Smith (8 November 184631 March 1894) was a Scottish orientalist, Old Testament scholar, professor of divinity, and minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He was an editor of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' and contributor ...
. No biographies of living persons were included.
James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell (13 June 1831 – 5 November 1879) was a Scottish physicist and mathematician who was responsible for the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation, which was the first theory to describe electricity, magnetism an ...
and
Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist who specialized in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The stor ...
were special advisors on science. However, by the close of the 19th century, the 9th edition was outdated, and the ''Britannica'' faced financial difficulties.


1901–1973

In the third era (10th–14th editions, 1901–1973), the ''Britannica'' was managed by American businessmen who introduced
direct marketing Direct marketing is a form of communicating an offer, where organizations communicate directly to a Target market, pre-selected customer and supply a method for a direct response. Among practitioners, it is also known as ''direct response ...
and
door-to-door Door-to-door is a canvassing technique that is generally used for sales, marketing, advertising, evangelism or campaigning, in which the person or persons walk from the door of one house to the door of another, trying to sell or advertise a pr ...
sales. The American owners gradually simplified articles, making them less scholarly for a mass market. The 10th edition was an eleven-volume supplement (including one each of maps and an index) to the 9th, numbered as volumes 25–35, but the 11th edition was a completely new work; its owner, Horace Hooper, lavished enormous effort on the project. When Hooper fell into financial difficulties, the ''Britannica'' was managed by Sears Roebuck for 18 years (1920–1923, 1928–1943). In 1932, the vice-president of Sears, Elkan Harrison Powell, assumed presidency of the ''Britannica''; in 1936, he began the policy of continuous revision. This was a departure from earlier practice, in which the articles were not changed until a new edition was produced, at roughly 25-year intervals, some articles unchanged from earlier editions. Powell developed new educational products that built upon the ''Britannica'' reputation. In 1943, Sears donated the to the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
. William Benton, then a vice president of the university, provided the working capital for its operation. The stock was divided between Benton and the university, with the university holding an option on the stock. Benton became chairman of the board and managed the ''Britannica'' until his death in 1973. Benton set up the Benton Foundation, which managed the ''Britannica'' until 1996, and whose sole beneficiary was the University of Chicago. In 1968, the ''Britannica'' celebrated its bicentennial.


1974–1994

In the fourth era (1974–1994), the ''Britannica'' introduced its 15th edition, which was reorganized into three parts: the , the , and the . Under Mortimer J. Adler (member of the Board of Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica since its inception in 1949, and its chair from 1974; director of editorial planning for the 15th edition of ''Britannica'' from 1965), the ''Britannica'' sought not only to be a good reference work and educational tool, but to systematize all human knowledge. The absence of a separate index and the grouping of articles into parallel encyclopaedias (the and ) provoked a "firestorm of criticism" of the initial 15th edition. In response, the 15th edition was completely reorganized and indexed for a re-release in 1985. This second version of the 15th edition continued to be published and revised through the release of the 2010 print version. The official title of the 15th edition is the ''New Encyclopædia Britannica'', although it has also been promoted as ''Britannica 3''. On 9 March 1976 the US
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...
entered an opinion and order enjoining Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. from using: a) deceptive advertising practices in recruiting sales agents and obtaining sales leads, and b) deceptive sales practices in the door-to-door presentations of its sales agents.


1994–present

In the fifth era (1994–present), digital versions have been developed and released on
optical media An optical disc is a flat, usuallyNon-circular optical discs exist for fashion purposes; see shaped compact disc. disc-shaped object that stores information in the form of physical variations on its surface that can be read with the aid o ...
and online. In 1996, the ''Britannica'' was bought by Jacqui Safra at well below its estimated value, owing to the company's financial difficulties. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. split in 1999. One part retained the company name and developed the print version, and the other, Britannica.com Incorporated, developed digital versions. Since 2001, the two companies have shared a CEO,
Ilan Yeshua The trial of Benjamin Netanyahu, also known as the Netanyahu-Elovitch-Mozes Trial or the Publisher's Trial, began following investigations into allegations of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust by him and close political allies within his i ...
, who has continued Powell's strategy of introducing new products with the ''Britannica'' name. In March 2012, Britannica's president, Jorge Cauz, announced that it would not produce any new print editions of the encyclopaedia, with the 2010 15th edition being the last. The company will focus only on the online edition and other educational tools. ''Britannica'' final print edition was in 2010, a 32-volume set. ''Britannica Global Edition'' was also printed in 2010, containing 30 volumes and 18,251 pages, with 8,500 photographs, maps, flags, and illustrations in smaller "compact" volumes, as well as over 40,000 articles written by scholars from across the world, including Nobel Prize winners. Unlike the 15th edition, it did not contain and sections, but ran A through Z as all editions up through the 14th had. The following is ''Britannica'' description of the work: In 2020, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. released the ''Britannica All New Children's Encyclopedia: What We Know and What We Don't'', an encyclopaedia aimed primarily at younger readers, covering major topics. The encyclopedia was widely praised for bringing back the print format. It was ''Britannica'''s first encyclopaedia for children since 1984.


Dedications

The ''Britannica'' was dedicated to the reigning
British monarch The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British con ...
from 1788 to 1901 and then, upon its sale to an American partnership, to the British monarch and the President of the United States. Thus, the 11th edition is "dedicated by Permission to His Majesty George the Fifth,
King of Great Britain and Ireland There have been 13 British monarchs since the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland on 1 May 1707. England and Scotland had been in personal union since 24 March 1603; while the style, "King of Great Britain" fi ...
and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas,
Emperor of India Emperor (or Empress) of India was a title used by British monarchs from 1 May 1876 (with the Royal Titles Act 1876) to 22 June 1948 Royal Proclamation of 22 June 1948, made in accordance with thIndian Independence Act 1947, 10 & 11 GEO. 6. CH ...
, and to
William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...
, President of the United States of America." The order of the dedications has changed with the relative power of the United States and Britain, and with relative sales; the 1954 version of the 14th edition is "Dedicated by Permission to the Heads of the Two English-Speaking Peoples, Dwight David Eisenhower, President of the United States of America, and Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second."


Print version

From 1985, the ''Britannica'' consisted of four parts: the , the , the , and a two-volume index. The ''Britannica'' articles are contained in the and , which encompass 12 and 17 volumes, respectively, each volume having roughly one thousand pages. The 2007 has 699 in-depth articles, ranging in length from two pages to 310 pages, with references and named contributors. In contrast, the 2007 has roughly 65,000 articles, the vast majority (about 97%) of which contain fewer than 750 words, no references, and no named contributors. The articles are intended for quick fact-checking and to help in finding more thorough information in the . The articles are meant as authoritative, well-written commentaries on their subjects, as well as storehouses of information not covered elsewhere. The longest article (310 pages) is on the subject of the United States, and it resulted from merging separate articles on the individual
US state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
s. A 2013 "Global Edition" of ''Britannica'' contained approximately 40,000 articles. Information can be found in the ''Britannica'' by following the
cross-reference The term cross-reference (abbreviation: xref) can refer to either: * An instance within a document which refers to related information elsewhere in the same document. In both printed and online dictionaries cross-references are important because ...
s in the and ; these are sparse, however, averaging one cross-reference per page. Readers are instead recommended to consult the alphabetical index or the , which organizes the ''Britannica'' contents by topic. The core of the is its "Outline of Knowledge", which aims to provide a logical framework for all human knowledge. Accordingly, the Outline is consulted by the ''Britannica'' editors to decide which articles should be included in the and . The Outline can also be used as a study guide, as it puts subjects in their proper perspective and suggests a series of ''Britannica'' articles for the student wishing to learn a topic in depth. However, libraries have found that it is scarcely used for this purpose, and reviewers have recommended that it be dropped from the encyclopaedia. The contains colour transparencies of human anatomy and several appendices listing the staff members, advisors, and contributors to all three parts of the ''Britannica''. Taken together, the and comprise roughly 40 million words and 24,000 images. The two-volume index has 2,350 pages, listing the 228,274 topics covered in the ''Britannica'', together with 474,675 subentries under those topics. The ''Britannica'' generally prefers British spelling over American; for example, it uses ''colour'' (not ''color''), ''centre'' (not ''center''), and ''encyclopaedia'' (not ''encyclopedia''). There are some exceptions to this rule, such as ''defense'' rather than ''defence''. Common alternative spellings are provided with cross-references such as "Color: ''see'' Colour." Since 1936, the ''Britannica'' has been revised on a regular schedule, with at least 10% of the articles considered for revision each year. According to one Britannica website, 46% of the articles in the 2007 edition were revised over the preceding three years; however, according to another Britannica website, only 35% of the articles were revised over the same period. The alphabetization of articles in the and follows strict rules.
Diacritic A diacritic (also diacritical mark, diacritical point, diacritical sign, or accent) is a glyph added to a letter or to a basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek (, "distinguishing"), from (, "to distinguish"). The word ''diacrit ...
al marks and non-English letters are ignored, while numerical entries such as " 1812, War of" are alphabetized as if the number had been written out ("Eighteen-twelve, War of"). Articles with identical names are ordered first by persons, then by places, then by things. Rulers with identical names are organized first alphabetically by country and then by chronology; thus,
Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
of France precedes
Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. Charles was born ...
, listed in ''Britannica'' as the ruler of Great Britain and Ireland. (That is, they are alphabetized as if their titles were "Charles, France, 3" and "Charles, Great Britain and Ireland, 1".) Similarly, places that share names are organized alphabetically by country, then by ever-smaller political divisions. In March 2012, the company announced that the 2010 edition would be the last printed version. This was part of a move by the company to adapt to the times and focus on its future using digital distribution. The peak year for the printed encyclopaedia was 1990, when 120,000 sets were sold, but sales had dropped to 40,000 per annum by 1996. There were 12,000 sets of the 2010 edition printed, of which 8,000 had been sold by March 2012. By late April 2012, the remaining copies of the 2010 edition had sold out at Britannica's online store. , a replica of Britannica's 1768 first edition is available via the online store.


Related printed material

''Britannica Junior'' was first published in 1934 as 12 volumes. It was expanded to 15 volumes in 1947, and renamed ''Britannica Junior Encyclopædia'' in 1963. It was taken off the market after the 1984 printing. A British ''Children's Britannica'' edited by John Armitage was issued in London in 1960. Its contents were determined largely by the
eleven-plus The eleven-plus (11+) is a standardised examination administered to some students in England and Northern Ireland in their last year of primary education, which governs admission to grammar schools and other secondary schools which use academi ...
standardized tests given in Britain.''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 1988. Britannica introduced the ''Children's Britannica'' to the US market in 1988, aimed at ages seven to 14. In 1961, a 16-volume ''Young Children's Encyclopaedia'' was issued for children just learning to read. ''My First Britannica'' is aimed at children ages six to 12, and the ''Britannica Discovery Library'' is for children aged three to six (issued 1974 to 1991). ''Compton's by Britannica'', first published in 2007, incorporating the former '' Compton's Encyclopedia'', is aimed at 10- to 17-year-olds and consists of 26 volumes and 11,000 pages. There have been, and are, several abridged ''Britannica'' encyclopaedias. The single-volume ''Britannica Concise Encyclopædia'' has 28,000 short articles condensing the larger 32-volume ''Britannica''; there are authorized translations in languages such as Chinese created by Encyclopedia of China Publishing House and Vietnamese. Since 1938, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. has published annually a ''Book of the Year'' covering the past year's events. A given edition of the ''Book of the Year'' is named in terms of the year of its publication, though the edition actually covers the events of the previous year. The company also publishes several specialized reference works, such as ''Shakespeare: The Essential Guide to the Life and Works of the Bard'' (Wiley, 2006).


Optical disc, online, and mobile versions

The '' Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite 2012 DVD'' contains over 100,000 articles. This includes regular ''Britannica'' articles, as well as others drawn from the ''Britannica Student Encyclopædia'', and the ''Britannica Elementary Encyclopædia.'' The package includes a range of supplementary content including maps, videos, sound clips, animations and web links. It also offers study tools and dictionary and thesaurus entries from
Merriam-Webster Merriam-Webster, Incorporated is an list of companies of the United States by state, American company that publishes reference work, reference books and is mostly known for Webster's Dictionary, its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary pub ...
. ''Britannica'' Online is a website with more than 120,000 articles and is updated regularly. It has daily features, updates and links to news reports from ''The New York Times'' and the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. , roughly 60% of Encyclopædia Britannica's revenue came from online operations, of which around 15% came from subscriptions to the consumer version of the websites. , subscriptions were available on a yearly, monthly or weekly basis. Special subscription plans are offered to schools, colleges and libraries; such institutional subscribers constitute an important part of Britannica's business. Beginning in early 2007, the ''Britannica'' made articles freely available if they are hyperlinked from an external site. Non-subscribers are served pop-ups and advertising. On 20 February 2007, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. announced that it was working with mobile phone search company AskMeNow to launch a mobile encyclopaedia. Users would be able to send a question via text message, and AskMeNow would search ''Britannica'' 28,000-article concise encyclopaedia to return an answer to the query. Daily topical features sent directly to users' mobile phones were also planned. On 3 June 2008, an initiative to facilitate collaboration between online expert and amateur scholarly contributors for Britannica's online content (in the spirit of a
wiki A wiki ( ) is a form of hypertext publication on the internet which is collaboratively edited and managed by its audience directly through a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages that can either be edited by the public or l ...
), with editorial oversight from Britannica staff, was announced. Approved contributions would be credited, though contributing automatically grants Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. perpetual, irrevocable licence to those contributions. On 22 January 2009, Britannica's president, Jorge Cauz, announced that the company would be accepting edits and additions to the online ''Britannica'' website from the public. The published edition of the encyclopaedia would not be affected by the changes. Individuals wishing to edit the ''Britannica'' website would have to register under their real name and address prior to editing or submitting their content. All edits submitted would be reviewed and checked and will have to be approved by the encyclopaedia's professional staff. Contributions from non-academic users would sit in a separate section from the expert-generated ''Britannica'' content, as would content submitted by non-''Britannica'' scholars. Articles written by users, if vetted and approved, would also only be available in a special section of the website, separate from the professional articles. Official ''Britannica'' material would carry a "Britannica Checked" stamp, to distinguish it from the user-generated content. On 14 September 2010, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. announced a partnership with mobile phone development company Concentric Sky to launch a series of
iPhone The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
products aimed at the
K–12 K–12, from kindergarten to 12th grade, is an English language expression that indicates the range of years of publicly supported primary and secondary education found in the United States and Canada, which is similar to publicly supported sch ...
market. On 20 July 2011, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. announced that Concentric Sky had ported the Britannica Kids product line to Intel's
Intel Atom Intel Atom is a line of IA-32 and x86-64 instruction set ultra-low-voltage processors by Intel Corporation designed to reduce electric consumption and power dissipation in comparison with ordinary processors of the Intel Core series. Atom is m ...
-based
Netbooks A netbook is a small-sized laptop computer; they were primarily sold from 2007 until around 2013, designed mostly as a means of accessing the Internet and being significantly less expensive than regular-sized laptops. At their inception in l ...
and on 26 October 2011 that it had launched its encyclopaedia as an
iPad The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...
app. In 2010, Britannica released Britannica ImageQuest, a database of images. In March 2012, it was announced that the company would cease printing the encyclopaedia set, and that it would focus on its online version. On 7 June 2018, Britannica released a
Google Chrome extension Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Versions were later released for Linux, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, an ...
, "Britannica Insights", which shows snippets of information from Britannica Online whenever the user performs a
Google Search Google Search (also known simply as Google or Google.com) is a search engine operated by Google. It allows users to search for information on the World Wide Web, Web by entering keywords or phrases. Google Search uses algorithms to analyze an ...
, in a box to the right of Google's results. Britannica Insights was also available as a
Firefox Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages, which implements curr ...
extension but this was taken down due to a
code review Code review (sometimes referred to as peer review) is a software quality assurance activity in which one or more people examine the source code of a computer program, either after implementation or during the development process. The persons perf ...
issue.


Personnel and management


Contributors

The print version of the ''Britannica'' has 4,411 contributors, many eminent in their fields, such as Nobel laureate economist
Milton Friedman Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and ...
, astronomer
Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan (; ; November 9, 1934December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is his research on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, including e ...
, and surgeon
Michael DeBakey Michael Ellis DeBakey (September 7, 1908 – July 11, 2008) was an American general and cardiovascular surgeon, scientist and medical educator who became Chairman of the Department of Surgery, President, and Chancellor of Baylor College of Medi ...
. Roughly a quarter of the contributors are deceased, some as long ago as 1947 (
Alfred North Whitehead Alfred North Whitehead (15 February 1861 – 30 December 1947) was an English mathematician and philosopher. He created the philosophical school known as process philosophy, which has been applied in a wide variety of disciplines, inclu ...
), while another quarter are retired or
emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...
. Most (approximately 98%) contribute to only a single article; however, 64 contributed to three articles, 23 contributed to four articles, 10 contributed to five articles, and 8 contributed to more than five articles. An exceptionally prolific contributor is Christine Sutton of the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
, who contributed 24 articles on
particle physics Particle physics or high-energy physics is the study of Elementary particle, fundamental particles and fundamental interaction, forces that constitute matter and radiation. The field also studies combinations of elementary particles up to the s ...
. While ''Britannica'' authors have included writers such as
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
,
Marie Curie Maria Salomea Skłodowska-Curie (; ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934), known simply as Marie Curie ( ; ), was a Polish and naturalised-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was List of female ...
, and
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...
, as well as notable independent encyclopaedists such as
Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ;  – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...
, some have been criticized for lack of expertise. In 1911, the historian George L. Burr wrote:


Staff

in the 15th edition of ''Britannica'', Dale Hoiberg, a
sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...
, was listed as ''Britannica'' Senior Vice President and editor-in-chief. Among his predecessors as editors-in-chief were
Hugh Chisholm Hugh Chisholm ( ; 22 February 1866 – 29 September 1924) was a British journalist. He was the editor of the 10th, 11th and 12th editions of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Life He was born in London, England, a son of Henry Williams Chisho ...
(1902–1924), James Louis Garvin (1926–1932), Franklin Henry Hooper (1932–1938), Walter Yust (1938–1960), Harry Ashmore (1960–1963), Warren E. Preece (1964–1968, 1969–1975), Sir William Haley (1968–1969), Philip W. Goetz (1979–1991), and Robert McHenry (1992–1997). Anita Wolff was listed as the Deputy Editor and Theodore Pappas as Executive Editor. Prior Executive Editors include John V. Dodge (1950–1964) and Philip W. Goetz. Paul T. Armstrong remains the longest working employee of Encyclopædia Britannica. He began his career there in 1934, eventually earning the positions of treasurer, vice president, and chief financial officer in his 58 years with the company, before retiring in 1992. The 2007 editorial staff of the ''Britannica'' included five Senior Editors and nine Associate Editors, supervised by Dale Hoiberg and four others. The editorial staff helped to write the articles of the and some sections of the .


Editorial advisors

As of 2012, ''Britannica'' had an editorial board of advisors, which included a number of distinguished figures, primarily scholars from a variety of disciplines. The ''Propædia'' and its ''Outline of Knowledge'' were produced by dozens of editorial advisors under the direction of
Mortimer J. Adler Mortimer Jerome Adler (; December 28, 1902 – June 28, 2001) was an American philosopher, educator, encyclopedist, popular author and lay theologian. As a philosopher he worked within the Aristotelian and Thomistic traditions. He taught at ...
. Roughly half of these advisors have since died, including some of the Outline's chief architects – Rene Dubos (d. 1982), Loren Eiseley (d. 1977), Harold D. Lasswell (d. 1978),
Mark Van Doren Mark Van Doren (June 13, 1894 – December 10, 1972) was an American poet, writer and critic. He was a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thin ...
(d. 1972),
Peter Ritchie Calder Peter Ritchie Ritchie-Calder, Baron Ritchie-Calder (; 1 July 1906 – 31 January 1982), was a Scottish socialist writer, journalist and academic. Early life Peter Ritchie Calder was born on 1 July 1906 in Forfar, Scotland, the youngest of fou ...
(d. 1982) and Mortimer J. Adler (d. 2001). The also lists just under 4,000 advisors who were consulted for the unsigned articles.


Corporate structure

During much of the 20th century, the ''Britannica'' had a significant ownership stake from the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
, with many people associated with the university serving senior positions in the organisation.331-332 During the mid 20th century, managers and executives at the ''Britannica'' company were lavishly rewarded due to the healthy profit encyclopedia sales generated, with division managers at the top of the sales organisation earning an average salary of $125,000 in 1958 ($ around in current USD adjusted for inflation).329 From 1974, the company was controlled by the
Benton Foundation The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, until 2019 known as the Benton Foundation, is a nonprofit organization set up by former U.S. Senator William Benton and his wife, Helen Hemingway Benton. Their son, Charles Benton, served as chairma ...
, of which the University of Chicago was the sole beneficiary. In January 1996, the ''Britannica'' was purchased from the Benton Foundation by billionaire Swiss financier
Jacqui Safra Jacqui (Jacob) Eli Safra (born 1947) is a Swiss investor from Geneva. He is a descendant of the Syrian Jewish Safra banking family. Biography Jacqui Eli Safra is the son of Elie Safra (1922–1993) and his wife Yvette Dabbah (1927–2006) and ...
, who serves as its current chair of the board. In 1997, Don Yannias, a long-time associate and investment advisor of Safra, became CEO of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. In 1999, a new company, Britannica.com Incorporated, was created to develop digital versions of the ''Britannica''; Yannias assumed the role of CEO in the new company, while his former position at the parent company remained vacant for two years. Yannias' tenure at Britannica.com Incorporated was marked by missteps, considerable lay-offs, and financial losses. In 2001, Yannias was replaced by
Ilan Yeshua The trial of Benjamin Netanyahu, also known as the Netanyahu-Elovitch-Mozes Trial or the Publisher's Trial, began following investigations into allegations of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust by him and close political allies within his i ...
, who reunited the leadership of the two companies. Yannias later returned to investment management, but remains on the ''Britannica'' Board of Directors. In 2003, former management consultant Jorge Aguilar-Cauz was appointed President of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Cauz is the senior executive and reports directly to the ''Britannica'' Board of Directors. Cauz has been pursuing alliances with other companies and extending the ''Britannica'' brand to new educational and reference products, continuing the strategy pioneered by former CEO Elkan Harrison Powell in the mid-1930s.


Sales and marketing

Although prior to 1920 the ''Britannica'' was primarily sold by
mail-order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing an order by telephone call ...
, after that time the ''Britannica'' was almost exclusively sold by door-to-door salesmen, who often used high-pressure sales tactics or outright deception in order to secure purchases of the expensive work,Einbinder, Harvey '' The Myth of the Britannica''. New York:
Grove Press Grove Press is an American publishing imprint that was founded in 1947. Imprints include: Black Cat, Evergreen, Venus Library, and Zebra. Barney Rosset purchased the company in 1951 and turned it into an alternative book press in the United S ...
, 1964 (OCLC 152581687)/ London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1964 (OCLC 807782651) / New York: Johnson Reprint Corp., 1972. (OCLC 286856)
317-330 from which they gained a significant commission, which in the United States in 1971 was $120–200 (around $-$ adjusted for inflation) per sale. These high-pressure sales tactics resulted in high levels of turnover among ''Britannica'' salesmen, with the company often exaggerating the ease of making a sale to employees, as well as engaging in deceptive job advertising in order to entice people to become salesmen.317-330 The ''Britannica'' was sued several times by the American
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...
for deceptive practices.317-330 These practices were common among American encyclopedia companies.317-330 The development of the significant sales force began in 1932, with most senior leadership of the company by the late 20th century coming from the sales division. While early on the ''Britannica'' was marketed to adults and in particular during the 19th and early 20th centuries, to an elite educated audience,152-153 by the mid 20th century, the ''Britannica'' (as well as other American encyclopedias) were primarily marketed to middle-class parents who wished to seek a good education for their children, despite the text not being aimed at a child's reading level.317-330 During the 20th century, the ''Britannica'' differentiated itself from other encyclopedias by using its long pedigree to present itself as a premium brand. Once the encyclopedia was purchased, it was often little read by its buyers.


Competition

As the ''Britannica'' is a general encyclopaedia, it does not seek to compete with specialized encyclopaedias such as the '' Encyclopaedia of Mathematics'' or the ''
Dictionary of the Middle Ages The ''Dictionary of the Middle Ages'' is a 13-volume encyclopedia of the Middle Ages published by the American Council of Learned Societies between 1982 and 1989. It was first conceived and started in 1975 with American medieval historian Jos ...
'', which can devote much more space to their chosen topics. In its first years, the ''Britannica'' main competitor was the general encyclopaedia of Ephraim Chambers and, soon thereafter, ''
Rees's Cyclopædia Rees's ''Cyclopædia'', in full ''The Cyclopædia; or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature'', was an important 19th-century British people, British encyclopaedia edited by Rev. Abraham Rees (1743–1825), a Presbyterian minis ...
'' and Coleridge's ''
Encyclopædia Metropolitana ''The Encyclopædia Metropolitana'' was an encyclopedic work published in London, from 1817 to 1845, by part publication. In all it came to quarto, 30 vols., having been issued in 59 parts (22,426 pages, 565 plates). Origins Initially the pro ...
''. In the 20th century, successful competitors included ''
Collier's Encyclopedia ''Collier's Encyclopedia'' is a discontinued general encyclopedia first published in 1949 by P. F. Collier and Son in the United States. With ''Encyclopedia Americana'' and ''Encyclopædia Britannica, Collier's Encyclopedia'' became one of the t ...
'', the ''
Encyclopedia Americana ''Encyclopedia Americana'' is a general encyclopedia written in American English. It was the first general encyclopedia of any magnitude to be published in North America. With '' Collier's Encyclopedia'' and ''Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclo ...
'', and the ''
World Book Encyclopedia The ''World Book Encyclopedia'' is an American encyclopedia. ''World Book'' was first published in 1917. Since 1925, a new edition of the encyclopedia has been published annually. Although published online in digital form for a number of years, ...
''. Nevertheless, from the 9th edition onwards, the ''Britannica'' was widely considered to have the greatest authority of any general English-language encyclopaedia, especially because of its broad coverage and eminent authors. The print version of the ''Britannica'' was significantly more expensive than its competitors. Since the early 1990s, the ''Britannica'' has faced new challenges from digital information sources. The Internet, facilitated by the development of
search engine A search engine is a software system that provides hyperlinks to web pages, and other relevant information on World Wide Web, the Web in response to a user's web query, query. The user enters a query in a web browser or a mobile app, and the sea ...
s, has grown into a common source of information for many people, and provides easy access to reliable original sources and expert opinions, thanks in part to initiatives such as
Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...
,
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...
's release of its educational materials and the open
PubMed Central PubMed Central (PMC) is a free digital repository that archives open access full-text scholarly articles that have been published in biomedical and life sciences journals. As one of the major research databases developed by the National Cente ...
library of the
National Library of Medicine The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), operated by the United States federal government, is the world's largest medical library. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the NLM is an institute within the National Institutes of Health. I ...
. The Internet tends to provide more current coverage than print media, due to the ease with which material on the Internet can be updated. In rapidly changing fields such as science, technology, politics, culture and modern history, the ''Britannica'' has struggled to stay up to date, a problem first analysed systematically by its former editor Walter Yust. Eventually, the ''Britannica'' turned to focus more on its online edition.


Print encyclopaedias

The has been compared with other print encyclopaedias, both qualitatively and quantitatively. A well-known comparison is that of Kenneth Kister, who gave a qualitative and quantitative comparison of the 1993 ''Britannica'' with two comparable encyclopaedias, ''Collier's Encyclopedia'' and the ''
Encyclopedia Americana ''Encyclopedia Americana'' is a general encyclopedia written in American English. It was the first general encyclopedia of any magnitude to be published in North America. With '' Collier's Encyclopedia'' and ''Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclo ...
''. For the quantitative analysis, ten articles were selected at random—
circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. T ...
, Charles Drew,
Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...
,
Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...
,
heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...
, IQ, panda bear,
sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...
,
Shroud of Turin The Shroud of Turin (), also known as the Holy Shroud (), is a length of linen cloth that bears a faint image of the front and back of a naked man. Because details of the image are consistent with depiction of Jesus, traditional depictions o ...
and
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
—and letter grades of A–D or F were awarded in four categories: coverage, accuracy, clarity, and recency. In all four categories and for all three encyclopaedias, the four average grades fell between B− and B+, chiefly because none of the encyclopaedias had an article on sexual harassment in 1994. In the accuracy category, the ''Britannica'' received one "D" and seven "A"s, ''Encyclopedia Americana'' received eight "A"s, and ''Collier's'' received one "D" and seven "A"s; thus, ''Britannica'' received an average score of 92% for accuracy to ''Americana'' 95% and ''Collier's'' 92%. In the timeliness category, ''Britannica'' averaged an 86% to ''Americanas 90% and ''Collier's'' 85%.


Digital encyclopaedias on optical media

The most notable competitor of the ''Britannica'' among CD/DVD-ROM digital encyclopaedias was ''
Encarta Microsoft ''Encarta'' is a discontinued Digital data, digital multimedia encyclopedia and search engine published by Microsoft from 1993 to 2009. Originally sold on CD-ROM or DVD, it was also available online via annual subscription, although ...
'', now discontinued, a modern multimedia encyclopaedia that incorporated three print encyclopaedias: ''
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 ...
'', ''Collier's,'' and the ''New Merit Scholar's Encyclopedia''. ''Encarta'' was the top-selling multimedia encyclopaedia, based on total US retail sales from January 2000 to February 2006. Both occupied the same price range, with the '' 2007 Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate'' CD or DVD costing US$40–50 and the Microsoft Encarta Premium 2007 DVD costing US$45. The ''Britannica'' disc contains 100,000 articles and '' Merriam-Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus'' (US only) and offers primary and secondary school editions. ''Encarta'' contained 66,000 articles, a user-friendly Visual Browser, interactive maps, math, language, and homework tools, a US and UK dictionary, and a youth edition. Like ''Encarta'', the digital ''Britannica'' has been criticized for being biased towards United States audiences; the United Kingdom-related articles are updated less often, maps of the United States are more detailed than those of other countries, and it lacks a UK dictionary. Like the ''Britannica'', ''Encarta'' was available online by subscription, although some content could be accessed for free.


Wikipedia

The main online alternative to ''Britannica'' is
Wikipedia Wikipedia is a free content, free Online content, online encyclopedia that is written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki. Founded by Jimmy Wales and La ...
. The key differences between the two lie in accessibility; the model of participation they bring to an encyclopedic project; their respective style sheets and editorial policies; relative ages; the number of subjects treated; the number of languages in which articles are written and made available; and their underlying economic models: unlike ''Britannica'', Wikipedia is not-for-profit, does not carry advertising on its site, and is not connected with traditional profit- and contract-based publishing distribution networks. ''Britannica''s articles either have known authorship or a set of possible authors (the editorial staff). With the exception of the editorial staff, most ''Britannica'' contributors are experts in their field—some are Nobel laureates. By contrast, the articles on Wikipedia are written by people of unknown degrees of expertise; most do not claim any particular expertise, and of those who do, many are anonymous and have no verifiable credentials. It is for this lack of institutional vetting or certification that former ''Britannica'' editor-in-chief Robert McHenry noted his belief in 2004 that Wikipedia could not hope to rival the ''Britannica'' in accuracy. In 2005, the journal ''Nature'' chose articles from both websites in a wide range of science topics and sent them to what it called "relevant" field experts for peer review. The experts then compared the competing articles—one from each site on a given topic—side by side, but were not told which article came from which site. ''Nature'' got back 42 usable reviews. The journal found just eight serious errors, such as general misunderstandings of vital concepts: four from each site. It also discovered many factual errors, omissions or misleading statements: 162 in Wikipedia and 123 in ''Britannica'', an average of 3.86 mistakes per article for Wikipedia and 2.92 for ''Britannica''. Although ''Britannica ''was revealed as the more accurate encyclopaedia, with fewer errors, in its rebuttal, it called ''Natures study flawed and misleading and called for a "prompt" retraction. It noted that two of the articles in the study were taken from a ''Britannica'' yearbook and not the encyclopaedia, and another two were from ''Compton's Encyclopedia'' (called the ''Britannica Student Encyclopedia'' on the company's website). ''Nature'' defended its story and declined to retract, stating that, as it was comparing Wikipedia with the web version of ''Britannica'', it used whatever relevant material was available on ''Britannica'' website. Interviewed in February 2009, the managing director of ''Britannica UK'' said: For the 15th anniversary of Wikipedia, the ''
Telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...
'' published two opinion pieces which compared Wikipedia to ''Britannica'' and falsely claimed that ''Britannica'' had gone bankrupt in 1996. In a January 2016 press release, ''Britannica'' responded by calling Wikipedia "an impressive achievement" but argued that critics should avoid "false comparisons" to ''Britannica'' in terms of differing models and purposes.


Critical and popular assessments


Reputation

Since the 3rd edition, the ''Britannica'' has enjoyed a popular and critical reputation for general excellence, though this reputation has not been without its critics. The 3rd and 9th editions were pirated for sale in the United States, beginning with ''
Dobson's Encyclopædia ''Dobson's Encyclopædia'' was the first encyclopedia issued in the newly independent United States, United States of America, published by Thomas Dobson (printer), Thomas Dobson from 1789 to 1798. ''Encyclopædia'' was the full title of the w ...
''. On the release of the 14th edition, ''Time'' magazine dubbed the ''Britannica'' the "Patriarch of the Library". In a related advertisement, naturalist
William Beebe Charles William Beebe ( ; July 29, 1877 – June 4, 1962) was an American natural history, naturalist, ornithologist, marine biologist, entomologist, explorer, and author. He is remembered for the numerous expeditions he conducted for the New Y ...
was quoted as saying that the ''Britannica'' was "beyond comparison because there is no competitor". References to the ''Britannica'' can be found throughout
English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...
, most notably in one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle favourite
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
stories, "
The Red-Headed League "The Red-Headed League" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It first appeared in ''Strand Magazine, The Strand Magazine'' in August 1891, with illustrations by Sidney Paget. Conan Doyle ranked "Th ...
". The tale was highlighted by the
Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...
, Gilbert Inglefield, at the bicentennial of the ''Britannica''. The ''Britannica'' has a reputation for summarizing knowledge. To further their education, some people have devoted themselves to reading the entire ''Britannica'', taking anywhere from three to 22 years to do so. When Fat'h Ali became the Shah of Persia in 1797, he was given a set of the ''Britannica'' 3rd edition; after reading the complete set, he extended his royal title to include "Most Formidable Lord and Master of the ". Writer
George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...
has claimed to have read the complete 9th edition, except for the science articles;
Richard Evelyn Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer, and pioneering aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics. Aircraft flights in which he served as a navigator and expedition leader cr ...
took the ''Britannica'' as reading material for his five-month stay at the
South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...
in 1934; and
Philip Beaver Philip Beaver (28 February 1766 – 5 April 1813) was an officer of the Royal Navy, serving during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. He played a varied and active role in several notable engagements, and served under a num ...
read it during a sailing expedition. More recently, A. J. Jacobs, an editor at ''
Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'' magazine, read the entire 2002 version of the 15th edition, describing his experiences in the well-received 2004 book '' The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World''. Only two people are known to have read two independent editions: the author C. S. Forester and Amos Urban Shirk, an American businessman who read the 11th and 14th editions, devoting roughly three hours per night for four and a half years to read the 11th.


Awards

The CD/DVD-ROM version of the ''Britannica'', '' Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite'', received the 2004 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers. On 15 July 2009, was awarded a spot as one of "Top Ten Superbrands in the UK" by a panel of more than 2,000 independent reviewers, as reported by the BBC.


Coverage of topics

Topics are chosen in part by reference to the "Outline of Knowledge". The bulk of the 15th edition of the ''Britannica'' is devoted to geography (26% of the ), biography (14%), biology and medicine (11%), literature (7%), physics and astronomy (6%), religion (5%), art (4%), Western philosophy (4%), and law (3%). A complementary study of the found that geography accounted for 25% of articles, science 18%, social sciences 17%, biography 17%, and all other humanities 25%. Writing in 1992, one reviewer judged that the "range, depth, and
catholicity Catholicity (from , via ) is a concept pertaining to beliefs and practices that are widely accepted by numerous Christian denominations, most notably by those Christian denominations that describe themselves as ''catholic'' in accordance with t ...
of coverage f the ''Britannica''are unsurpassed by any other general Encyclopaedia." The ''Britannica'' does not cover topics in equal detail; for example, the whole of
Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and most other religions is covered in a single article, whereas 14 articles are devoted to Christianity, comprising nearly half of all religion articles. The ''Britannica'' covers 50,479 biographies, 5,999 of them about women, with 11.87% being British citizens and 25.51% US citizens. However, the ''Britannica'' has been lauded as the ''least'' biased of general Encyclopaedias marketed to Western readers and praised for its biographies of important women of all eras.


Criticism of editorial decisions

Harvey Einbinder in the ''Myth of the Britannica'' criticised the 11th edition for the inaccessibility of the text for laymen, saying that many of its articles were too technical for people unfamiliar to the subject to understand.152-153 He made similar criticisms of many of the mathematics and science articles of the then-current 14th edition.236-250 On rare occasions, the ''Britannica'' has been criticized for its editorial choices. Given its roughly constant size, the encyclopaedia has needed to reduce or eliminate some topics to accommodate others, resulting in controversial decisions. The initial 15th edition (1974–1985) was faulted for having reduced or eliminated coverage of children's literature,
military decoration Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a medallion. Civil decorations award ...
s, and the French poet
Joachim du Bellay Joachim du Bellay (; – 1 January 1560) was a French poet, critic, and a founder of '' La Pléiade''. He notably wrote the manifesto of the group: '' Défense et illustration de la langue française'', which aimed at promoting French as a ...
; editorial mistakes were also alleged, such as inconsistent sorting of Japanese biographies. Its elimination of the index was condemned, as was the apparently arbitrary division of articles into the and . Summing up, one critic called the initial 15th edition a "qualified failure ...
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
cares more for juggling its format than for preserving." More recently, reviewers from the
American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...
were surprised to find that most educational articles had been eliminated from the 1992 , along with the article on
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
. Harvey Einbinder in ''The Myth of the Britannica'' criticised the practice of condensing entries in the 14th edition, which usually involved simply removing large amounts of the text rather than attempting to condense it by rewriting, resulting in what he considered to be considerable reduction in the quality of the articles.151-168 Some very few ''Britannica''-appointed contributors are mistaken. A notorious instance from the ''Britannica'' early years is the rejection of
Newtonian gravity Newton's law of universal gravitation describes gravity as a force by stating that every particle attracts every other particle in the universe with a force that is proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the sq ...
by George Gleig, the chief editor of the 3rd edition (1788–1797), who wrote that gravity was caused by the classical element of fire. The ''Britannica'' has also staunchly defended a scientific approach to cultural topics, as it did with
William Robertson Smith William Robertson Smith (8 November 184631 March 1894) was a Scottish orientalist, Old Testament scholar, professor of divinity, and minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He was an editor of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' and contributor ...
's articles on religion in the 9th edition, particularly his article stating that the Bible was not historically accurate (1875).


Other criticisms

The ''Britannica'' has received criticism, particularly as editions become outdated. It is expensive to produce a completely new edition of the ''Britannica'', and its editors delay for as long as fiscally sensible (usually about 25 years). For example, despite continuous revision, the 14th edition became outdated after 35 years (1929–1964). When American physicist Harvey Einbinder detailed its failings in his 1964 book, ''The Myth of the Britannica'', the encyclopaedia was provoked to produce the 15th edition, which required 10 years of work. Editors have struggled at times to keep the ''Britannica'' current: one 1994 critic writes, "It is not difficult to find articles that are out-of-date or in need of revision", noting that the longer articles are more likely to be outdated than the shorter articles. Information in the is sometimes inconsistent with the corresponding article(s), mainly because of the failure to update one or the other. The bibliographies of the articles have been criticized for being more out-of-date than the articles themselves. In 2005, a 12-year-old schoolboy in Britain found several inaccuracies in the ''Britannica'' entries on Poland and wildlife in Eastern Europe. In 2010, an entry about the
Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...
, which incorrectly described it as having been fought between the north and south of Ireland, was discussed in the Irish press following a decision by the Department of Education and Science to pay for online access. Writing about the 3rd edition (1788–1797), ''Britannica'' chief editor George Gleig observed that "perfection seems to be incompatible with the nature of works constructed on such a plan and embracing such a variety of subjects." In March 2006, the ''Britannica'' wrote, "we in no way mean to imply that ''Britannica'' is error-free; we have never made such a claim". However, the ''Britannica'' sales department had previously made a well-known claim in 1962 regarding the 14th edition that " is truth. It is unquestionable fact." The sentiment of the 2006 statement was also reflected in the introduction to the first edition of the ''Britannica'', written by its original editor William Smellie:William Smellie in the
Preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () is an introduction to a book or other literature, literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a ''foreword'' and precedes an author's preface. The preface o ...
to the 1st edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica


Edition summary


See also

*
Encyclopædia Britannica Films Encyclopædia Britannica Films (also named EB Films for short) was the top producer and distributor of Educational film, educational 16 mm films and later VHS videocassettes for schools and libraries from the 1940s through the 1990s (by which ...
* ''
Great Books of the Western World ''Great Books of the Western World'' is a series of books originally published in the United States in 1952, by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., to present the great books in 54 volumes. The original editors had three criteria for including a b ...
'' *
List of encyclopedias by branch of knowledge This is a list of notable encyclopedias sorted by branch of knowledge. For the purposes of this list, an encyclopedia is defined as a "compendium that contains information on either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge." F ...
* List of encyclopedias by date * *
List of online encyclopedias This is a list of well-known online encyclopedias that are accessible or formerly accessible on the Internet. The largest online encyclopedias are general reference works, though there are also many specialized ones. Some online encyclopedias ar ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* Boyles, Denis. (2016) ''Everything Explained That Is Explainable: On the Creation of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Celebrated Eleventh Edition, 1910–1911'' (2016
online review
* * Greenstein, Shane, and Michelle Devereux (2006).
The Crisis at Encyclopædia Britannica
case history,
Kellogg School of Management The Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management (branded as Northwestern Kellogg) is the graduate business school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois. History Early ...
,
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
. * * * * Lee, Timothy. ''Techdirt Interviews Britannica President Jorge Cauz'', Techdirt.com, 2 June 2008


External links

* * *
''Encyclopaedia Britannica''
at the
National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...
, first ten editions (and supplements) in PDF format.
''Encyclopaedia Britannica''
at the
Online Books Page The Online Books Page is an index of e-text books available on the Internet. It is edited by John Mark Ockerbloom and is hosted by the library of the University of Pennsylvania. The Online Books Page lists over 2 million books and has several fe ...
, hosted by the library of
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
, currently including the 1st–13th editions in multiple formats.
3rd edition, (1797, first volume, use search facility for others)
at
Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the biggest universal and research libra ...

7th edition (1842) coloured scan
via
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8th edition (1860, index volume, use search facility for others)
at
Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the biggest universal and research libra ...

9th Edition (1878), published by Charles Scribner's Sons
on
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9th and 10th (1902) editions
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''The reader's guide to the Encyclopaedia Britannica'' (1913)
on
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A handbook containing sixty-six courses of systematic study or occasional reading. {{DEFAULTSORT:Encyclopaedia Britannica 1768 non-fiction books 1768 establishments in Scotland American encyclopedias English-language encyclopedias History of Edinburgh Publications established in 1768 Scottish Enlightenment Scottish encyclopedias American online encyclopedias British online encyclopedias