Encyclopædia Edinensis

The Encyclopædia Edinensis was a six-volume general encyclopedia published in Edinburgh in 1827, and intended for a popular audience. It was edited by James Millar, who died just before it was complete.[1]

Editorial staff

  • James Millar, principal editor
  • Jeremiah Kirby and Richard Poole, main editors and contributors.[2] Poole wrote articles on "Mental Diseases".[3]
  • John Sommers, minister at Falkirk, was proprietor and also editor for the last three volumes.[4]

Work began on the Encyclopædia in 1816.[5] Millar edited the fourth and part of the fifth editions of the Encyclopædia Britannica and had contributed extensively to both. His goal with the Edinensis was to create a more popular work. However, his use of a large quarto format, the same size as the Britannica, hampered the project because smaller duodecimal formats were more easily handled.[6]

Phrenology

The editorial line was quite sympathetic to phrenology. According to the Phrenological Journal, Sommers approved the inclusion of the uncritical article "Phrenology".[7] Poole in 1819 wrote for the encyclopedia an article on education, an early treatment from the point of phrenology.[8]

Other contributors

  • John Adamson of Newton
  • Alexander Anderson, Polar Expeditions etc.
  • George Buchanan, Astronomy and Dialling
  • James Couper
  • John Dick M.D., Midwifery
  • Alexander Duncan, Miracle etc.
  • James Flint
  • William Galbraith, Navigation
  • Patrick Gibson, design
  • Rev. David Liston, Calcutta, Mechanics
  • Henry Liston, Music
  • Robert Macmillan
  • Lockhart Muirhead
  • Rev. Thomas Nelson, Religion
  • Alexander Peterkin
  • Rev. Dr. Russel of Leith, Magnetism and Meteorology
  • John Sommers
  • Walter Tod, Theology etc.
  • John Wallace
  • Robert Wallace.[2]

References

  1. ^ David Philip Miller (2004). Discovering Water: James Watt, Henry Cavendish, and the Nineteenth Century 'Water Controversy'. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-7546-3177-4. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  2. ^ a b James Millar, Encyclopedia Edinensis; or, Dictionary of arts, sciences, and literature vol. 1 (1827), p. vi; archive.org.
  3. ^ The Journal of psychological medicine and mental pathology. Churchill. 1851. p. 157. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  4. ^ Scotland; Society for the Benefit of the Sons and Daughters of the Clergy (1845). The new statistical account of Scotland. W. Blackwood and Sons. p. 369. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  5. ^ S. Padraig Walsh Anglo-American general encyclopedias 1703-1967 New York and London; R.R. Bowser Company 1968 p.55
  6. ^ Collison, Robert (1966). Encyclopedias: Their History throughout the Ages (2 ed.). New York & London: Haffner Publishing Company. p. 178.
  7. ^ The phrenological journal and miscellany. s.n. 1824. pp. 641–3. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  8. ^ The Phrenological journal and miscellany. Printed for the Proprietors. 1826. p. 171. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  • Encyclopedia Edinensis; or, Dictionary of arts, sciences, and literature Vol. 1
  • Encyclopedia Edinensis; or, Dictionary of arts, sciences, and literature Vol. 2
  • Encyclopedia Edinensis; or, Dictionary of arts, sciences, and literature Vol. 4
  • Encyclopedia Edinensis; or, Dictionary of arts, sciences, and literature Vol. 5


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