Noah Webster (October 16, 1758 – May 28, 1843) was an American lexicographer, textbook author, spelling reformer, word enthusiast, and editor. He has been called the “Father of American Scholarship and Education.” His “Blue-Backed Speller” books were used to teach spelling and reading to five generations of American children. In the United States, his name has become synonymous with dictionaries, especially the modern Merriam-Webster dictionary that was first published in 1828 as An American Dictionary of the English Language.

Biography
Noah Webster was born on October 16, 1758, in the West Division of Hartford, Connecticut, to a family who had lived in Connecticut since colonial days. His father, Noah, Sr. (1722–1813), was a farmer and a sower. His father was a descendant of Connecticut Governor John Webster; his mother, Mercy (born Steele; d. 1794), was a descendant of Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Colony. Noah had two brothers, Abram (1751–1831) and Charles (b. 1762).

At the age of 16, Noah began attending Yale College. His four years at Yale overlapped the American Revolutionary War, and, because of food shortages, many of his college classes were held in Glastonbury, Connecticut. During the American Revolution, he served in the Connecticut Militia.

Having graduated from Yale in 1778, Webster wanted to continue his education in order to earn his law degree. He taught school in Glastonbury, Hartford, and West Hartford in order to pay for his education. He set up many small schools that didn't thrive, but he was a good teacher because instead of whacking his students to get them to learn, like most teachers did, he rewarded them. He earned his law degree in 1781, but did not practice law until 1789. Once he started he found the law was not to his liking.

Webster married Rebecca Greenleaf (1766–1847) on October 26, 1789, in New Haven, Connecticut. They had eight children:

Emily Schotten (1790–1861), who married William W. Ellsworth, named by Webster as an executor of his will. Emily, their daughter, married Rev. Abner Jackson, who became president of both Hartford's Trinity College and Hobart College in New York State.[3]
Frances Julianna (1793–1869)
Harriet (1797–1844)
Mary (1799–1819)
William Greenleaf (1801–1869)
Eliza (1803–1888)
Henry (1806–1807)
Louisa (b. 1808)
Webster liked to carry raisins and candies in his pocket for his children to enjoy.

Webster married well and had joined the elite in Hartford but did not have much money. In 1793, Alexander Hamilton lent him $1500 to move to New York City to edit a Federalist newspaper. In December, he founded New York's first daily newspaper, American Minerva (later known as The Commercial Advertiser), and edited it for four years.

For decades, he was one of the most prolific authors in the new nation, publishing textbooks, political essays, a report on infectious diseases, and newspaper articles for his Federalist party. He wrote so much that a modern bibliography of his published works required 655 pages.

The Websters moved back to New Haven in 1798. He then served in the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1800 and 1802-1807. He is buried in the Grove Street Cemetery.

Politician Daniel Webster was Noah Webster’s cousin. As a senator, Daniel sponsored Noah’s proposed copyright bill.[4] The first major statutory revision of U.S. copyright law, the 1831 Act was a result of intensive lobbying by Noah Webster and his agents in Congress.

美国所有词典编纂家中最著名，而且不知疲倦地支持美国英语的人，就是诺亚·韦伯斯特，他在美国英语故事中的影响，一如乔治·华盛顿在美国革命纪事中的影响。从1789年的《论英语》到1828年的伟大里程碑《美国英语词典》（今简称为《韦氏大词典》），他的作品一如塞缪尔·约翰逊的作品，也是一座丰
碑。

　　韦伯斯特生于康涅狄格的哈特福德。就像许多美国革命者一样，他从法律转向教育，作为一种谋生手段。正是这种职业的改变，使得某些人的一生都为之一变。当时，英国与各殖民地处于交战状态，学校的课本传统上都是从伦敦进口，但伦敦却出现了短缺。除此之外，根据韦伯斯特的看法，这些课本难以令人满意。因此，他按照新大陆的精神，开始来填补这一空白。1783年至1785年之间，韦伯斯特还不过二十来岁，就用英文发表了三本启蒙书——一本单词拼写课本、一本语法书和一本读物——他给它们取了一个很夸大的标题，《英语语法学院》。蓝封皮的《美国单词拼写课本》结果成了一本决定性的畅销书，在韦伯斯特的一生共卖出8000万册（仅次于《圣经》，韦伯斯特的销售商常常把它跟《圣经》放在一起销售）。正如韦伯斯特所说，他的目的是“把统一而准确的发音引入普通学校”。早于1782年，一位对美国言语统一性做出评论的人曾把这归因于“一种过程，其频率或通用性想必很自然地得到了北美学校教学的协助”。新英格兰一家报纸通过回忆，解释了《美国单词拼写课本》如何在学校使用的情况：

　　当时的通常做法，是让所有这样的学生（即那些程度够高，能清楚发出一个音节以上的词的人）站在一起，形成一个班级，然后齐声朗读拼写表上的一两排字。教师给一个开始的信号，大家就一起来读，一个字母一个字母地读，单独地发出每个音节的音，再加上前面的音节，直到念完整个字，如a dad，m imi，admi,r ara，admira，t i o nshun，admiration。这样一种形式的读法极为刺激，而且依本人愚见，也极为有用，因为它要求审慎而又清晰地发音并如此去教学生……

　　《美国单词拼写课本》的稿费是每本1美分，其成功使韦伯斯特获得了足够的生活费用，于是他把余生全部贡献给了热情支持美国的语言事业及其拼写、语法和发音。一位老印刷商回忆学徒时期时讲的一个故事，说有一天，“一个小个子，脸色苍白的人走进办公室，交给我一张印了字的单子，说：‘小伙子，你用这些单词的时候，请按我这儿说的方式拼写：theater、center等’”。此人就是诺亚·韦伯斯特，他挨家挨户走遍所有的印刷厂办公室，劝说人们遵循他的“改进”规则。

　　1789年，韦伯斯特发表了他的《论英语》，几乎像福音传道士一样火暴地宣布，他将致力于把美国英语与其母语分开：

　　有几种情况使得将来把美国之舌与英语分开成为必要，而且不可避免……不计其数的地方原因，如一个新国家，新结识的人，艺术和科学思想的新的合成，以及与欧洲完全不知道的部落的某些交流等，都会把新词引入美国之舌。随着时间的推移，这些原因将在北美产生一种语言，它之有别于英格兰的未来语言，一如现代荷兰语、丹麦语和瑞典语之有别于德语或互相有别于对方……

　　仅仅任历史自行发展是不够的。美国人必须行动起来。“我们的荣誉感，”韦伯斯特写道，“要求我们不仅在语言方面，也在政府方面拥有我们自己的制度。”1806年，韦伯斯特出版了

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