458:
42:
469:, 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
410:
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".
319:
Smellie left school at the age of 12 to become an apprentice as a printer with
Hamilton, Balfour & Neill in 1752. During this time he was promoted to the subeditorial position corrector of the press, and won his employers the
426:" 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
418:
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."
379:, 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
711:
Banquet at
Guildhall in the City of London, Tuesday 15 October 1968: Celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Encyclopædia Britannica and the 25th Anniversary of the Honorable William Benton as its Chairman and
566:. 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".
608:
Memoirs of the Life, Writings, & Correspondence of
William Smellie, Late Printer in Edinburgh, Secretary and Superintendent of Natural History to the Society of Scotish Antiquaries
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Thesaurus medicus: sive, disputationum, in
Academia Edinensi, ad rem medicam pertinentium, a collegio instituto ad hoc usque tempus, delectu
1058:
351:
In 1765 he was awarded a gold medal for his dissertation on the sexes of plants, which contradicted the theories of the
Swedish botanist
548:(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
871:""Anticipating Knowledge: William Smellie and the First Information Revolution" by Stephen Brown | Society of Antiquaries of Scotland"
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337:. In 1760 he founded the Newtonian Club, a sub-section of the Edinburgh Philosophical Society. He was also a joint founder of the
274:
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in 1769. He also edited the first transactions of the
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, which were published in 1792.
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contained gross inaccuracies and fanciful speculations; for example, it states that excess use of tobacco could cause
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Although possessed of wide knowledge, Smellie was not an expert in all matters; for example, his article on "
193:
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Papers from
Smellie's archive, including his correspondence and manuscripts, are held by the Library of the
313:
308:
in 1740, the son of Jean
Robertson and Alexander Smellie, architect and master builder. He was educated at
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Domestic
Medicine: or, a Treatise on the Prevention and Cure of Diseases by Regimen and Simple Medicines
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On completion of his apprenticeship he joined the firm of Murray & Cochran as a corrector for the
185:
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In 1781 Smellie was made keeper and superintendent of the
Edinburgh Museum of Natural History.
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890:
Brown, Stephen W. “The Emergence of the Modern Trade: William Smellie: A Printer’s Life.”
769:: Macmillan Educational Company. p. 135. Library of Congress catalog number 91-61165.
8:
736:
Kister's Best Encyclopedias: A Comparative Guide to General and Specialized Encyclopedias
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245:
Member of the Edinburgh Philosophical Society, thereby becoming a founding fellow of the
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333:. He spent three hours per day in the evenings studying at extramural classes at the
1009:"Special Collections & Archives, National Museum of Scotland Library catalogue"
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Smellie continued to publish a wide variety of works, including his two-volume
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329:
201:
659:
Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783-2002: Biographical Index
1027:
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817:. Chicago: The Newberry Library. Library of Congress catalog number 68-21708.
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280:. He was also a naturalist and antiquary. He was a joint founder of the
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445:, because he objected to the inclusion of biographical articles in an
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907:(25 April 1941). "Natural Selection before the 'Origin of Species'".
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65:
41:
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380:
324:'s prize for the most accurately printed edition of a Latin text.
249:
upon the Philosophical Society receiving its royal charter in 1783
980:
438:) may also have contributed to the success of the first edition.
522:
in the 19th century, and at least two of the four-volume set of
480:
Smellie is also noted for his English translation of the famous
497:
professor of natural history; however, the post was awarded to
345:
544:
His printing office stood at the foot of Anchor Close off the
526:
which reprinted Edinburgh medical theses of the 18th century.
465:
At the time of his hiring, Smellie edited a weekly called the
423:
414:
Smellie entertained strong opinions; for example, he defines
559:
just north of the Adam Mausoleum, south-west of the church.
655:
956:
441:
Smellie did not participate in the second edition of the
815:
The Circle of Knowledge: Encyclopaedias Past and Present
656:
Waterston, Charles D; Macmillan Shearer, A (July 2006).
181:
Founded Balfour & Smellie, printers, Edinburgh, 1765
173:
Apprentice, Hamilton, Balfour & Neil, printers, 1752
760:
555:
He died in Edinburgh on 24 June 1795 and is buried in
987:. Vol. II. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 10.
632:"William Smellie | Scottish publisher and scientist"
1064:
People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh
981:J. De Lancey Fergusson; G. Ross Roy, eds. (1985).
733:
273:(1740–1795) was a Scottish printer who edited the
1134:Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
1104:Members of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh
974:
962:"Edinburgh, Lawnmarket, Gosford's Close (116464)"
910:Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society
705:
703:
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626:
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829:"FOLIO: National Library of Scotland, issue 6"
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344:On 27 March 1763 he married Jean Robertson in
892:The Edinburgh History of the Book in Scotland
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461:William Smellie's grave, Greyfriars Kirkyard
1054:Contributors to the Encyclopædia Britannica
716:Encyclopædia Britannica International, Ltd.
537:. He has been described as a "precursor of
761:Krapp, Philip; Balou, Patricia K. (1992).
722:
358:
40:
1094:Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
778:
776:
740:(2nd ed.). Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press.
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493:In 1779, Smellie was nominated to be the
395:. Nevertheless, the first edition of the
1079:Academics of the University of Edinburgh
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452:
365:At the age of 28, Smellie was hired by
234:Alexander Smellie, architect, Edinburgh
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947:Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1794/5
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791:
773:
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488:Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
165:Printer, editor, naturalist, antiquary
1074:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
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449:dedicated to the arts and sciences.
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1059:Publishers (people) from Edinburgh
286:Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
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373:to edit the first edition of the
1114:18th-century Scottish botanists
1099:Members of Crochallan Fencibles
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322:Edinburgh Philosophical Society
1084:Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard
919:American Philosophical Society
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667:The Royal Society of Edinburgh
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1069:Proto-evolutionary biologists
1044:18th-century Scottish writers
958:Historic Environment Scotland
588:
531:Philosophy of Natural History
518:, which became a set text at
516:Philosophy of Natural History
501:, allegedly due to politics.
295:
194:Edinburgh Magazine and Review
176:Substitute lecturer, botany,
894:. Vol. 2. N.p., 2011. 52–60.
562:He was well-acquainted with
7:
984:The Letters of Robert Burns
665:. Vol. II. Edinburgh:
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571:National Museum of Scotland
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339:Royal Society of Edinburgh
282:Royal Society of Edinburgh
247:Royal Society of Edinburgh
183:Edited 1st edition of the
1089:Scottish magazine editors
1049:18th-century antiquarians
511:as his business partner.
495:University of Edinburgh's
486:of the French naturalist
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813:Wells, James M. (1968).
226:Jean Robertson (m. 1763)
1119:Scottish encyclopedists
917:(1). Philadelphia, PA:
800:Encyclopædia Britannica
785:Encyclopædia Britannica
636:Encyclopedia Britannica
611:. J. Anderson. p.
406:Smellie strove to make
376:Encyclopædia Britannica
360:Encyclopædia Britannica
335:University of Edinburgh
277:Encyclopædia Britannica
215:Encyclopædia Britannica
186:Encyclopædia Britannica
178:University of Edinburgh
156:University of Edinburgh
802:(14th ed.). 1954.
763:Collier's Encyclopedia
535:struggle for existence
462:
146:High School, Edinburgh
1109:Scottish antiquarians
787:(1st ed.). 1771.
605:Kerr, Robert (1811).
460:
314:Edinburgh High School
275:first edition of the
1124:Scottish naturalists
453:Later work and death
284:, co-founder of the
111:55.94667°N 3.19222°W
557:Greyfriars Kirkyard
107: /
89:Greyfriars Kirkyard
520:Harvard University
483:Histoire Naturelle
463:
288:, and a friend of
116:55.94667; -3.19222
1129:Scottish printers
798:"Encyclopedias".
783:"Encyclopedias".
686:on 4 October 2006
533:he described the
507:From 1782 he had
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385:Benjamin Franklin
367:Colin Macfarquhar
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76:24 June 1795
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1039:1795 deaths
1034:1740 births
690:17 November
583:John Amyatt
428:Andrew Bell
371:Andrew Bell
310:Duddingston
197:, 1773-1776
170:Employer(s)
139:Duddingston
127:Nationality
114: /
91:, Edinburgh
1028:Categories
921:: 71–123.
730:Kister, KF
589:References
546:Royal Mile
443:Britannica
408:Britannica
397:Britannica
296:Early life
99:55°56′48″N
927:0003-049X
712:Publisher
552:in 1830.
306:Edinburgh
231:Parent(s)
135:Education
102:3°11′32″W
79:Edinburgh
66:Edinburgh
876:21 March
855:21 March
767:New York
732:(1994).
641:21 March
577:See also
432:censored
416:farriery
381:Voltaire
270:FSA Scot
191:Editor,
130:Scottish
33:FSA Scot
967:Canmore
529:In his
430:(later
204:, 1782-
189:, 1771-
991:
935:984852
933:
925:
744:
673:
539:Darwin
346:London
255:(1760)
223:Spouse
931:JSTOR
832:(PDF)
718:1968.
684:(PDF)
663:(PDF)
424:Woman
239:Notes
989:ISBN
923:ISSN
878:2019
857:2019
742:ISBN
692:2011
671:ISBN
643:2019
391:and
369:and
267:FRSE
73:Died
58:1740
55:Born
29:FRSE
541:".
473:by
434:by
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