Noah Webster

(1758 - 1843)

Born in West Hartford, Connecticut, the lexicographer, lawyer, and journalist Noah Webster spent his life cheerleading for American English—and making sure he got credit for his efforts in the absence of strong copyright law. In 1828 he published his two-volume An American Dictionary of the English Language. His prescriptive text successfully excised the “u” from flavor and convinced Americans to use jail instead of gaol, but his preference for tung and soop went unheeded.