John Simpson (born 13 October 1953) is an English
lexicographer and was Chief Editor of the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...
'' (''OED'') from 1993 to 2013.
Life
John Simpson was born in
Cheltenham, where his father was employed at
GCHQ, and attended
Dean Close School. He gained a
BA in
English Literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
at the
University of York in 1975 and an
MA in
Medieval Studies
Medieval studies is the academic interdisciplinary study of the Middle Ages.
Institutional development
The term 'medieval studies' began to be adopted by academics in the opening decades of the twentieth century, initially in the titles of book ...
at the
University of Reading in 1976.
He is married with two daughters and two granddaughters, and lives in Cheltenham.
Career
Simpson joined the editorial staff of the ''OED'' in 1976 to work on the ''Supplement to the OED''. He was Co-Editor of the Second Edition of the ''OED'', published in 1989, and in 1993 was appointed Chief Editor, a position he held until his retirement in October 2013. As Chief Editor, he led the first comprehensive revision of the ''OED'' and oversaw the introduction of its online version.
Simpson is a member of the English Faculty at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
, an Emeritus Fellow of
Kellogg College, Oxford, and a member of the
Philological Society
The Philological Society, or London Philological Society, is the oldest learned society in Great Britain dedicated to the study of language as well as a registered charity. The current Society was established in 1842 to "investigate and promot ...
, where the idea of the Dictionary was first proposed in the 1850s. He was a founder member of the European Federation of National Institutions for Language and has acted as an adviser to a number of other national dictionaries, including the ''Opera del Vocabolario Italiano'' and the ''
Australian National Dictionary
''The Australian National Dictionary: Australian Words and Their Origins'' is a historical dictionary of Australian English, recording 16,000 words, phrases, and meanings of Australian origin and use. The first edition of the dictionary, edited by ...
''.
He has been awarded two
D.Litt
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...
degrees, the first in 1999 by the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
for his "distinguished creative achievement as a scholar in lexicography", and the second in 2015 by the
University of Leicester
, mottoeng = So that they may have life
, established =
, type = public research university
, endowment = £20.0 million
, budget = £326 million
, chancellor = David Willetts
, vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah
, head_lab ...
for his work on the ''OED''. He was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the
2014 Birthday Honours for services to literature.
Publications
Simpson edited the ''Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs'' (1982) and co-edited the ''Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang'' (1992). He wrote introductions to
Robert Cawdrey's ''
Table Alphabeticall'' (1604), B.E.'s
''Dictionary of the Canting Crew'' (1699),
Francis Grose
Francis Grose (born before 11 June 1731 – 12 May 1791) was an English antiquary, draughtsman, and lexicographer. He produced ''A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'' (1785) and ''A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local Pr ...
's ''Popular Superstitions'' (1787), and
James Redding Ware
James Redding Ware (1832 c. 1909, pseudonym Andrew Forrester) was a British writer, novelist and playwright, creator of one of the first female detectives in fiction. His last known work was a dictionary.
Early life
James Redding Ware was ...
's ''Victorian Dictionary of Slang and Phrase'' (1909), published by the
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...
. He co-edits (with Harald Beck) ''James Joyce Online Notes'', a forum for the publication of documentary evidence about the people, words and cultural references in
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...
's fiction.
His memoir ''The Word Detective'', which tells the story of his time at the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', was published in October 2016 by
Little, Brown and in 2017 in
paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...
by Abacus Books.
His most recent publication - ''Managing Poverty: Cheltenham Settlement Examinations and Removal Orders, 1831–52'', Gloucestershire Records Series 34, 2020 () - deals with the experience of paupers in his home town of Cheltenham in the mid-nineteenth century. It won the Alan Ball Local History Award 2020.
References
Relevant literature
*
Mieder, Wolfgang. 2018. "The Word (and Phrase) Detective": A Proverbial Tribute to OED Editor John A. Simpson. ''Proverbium'' 35:223-262.
External links
*
''Oxford English Dictionary'' website entry for John SimpsonUniversity of Oxford Faculty of English website entry for John Simpson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, John
1953 births
Living people
Alumni of the University of York
British lexicographers
Chief editors of the Oxford English Dictionary
Fellows of Kellogg College, Oxford
James Joyce scholars
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Dean Close School
People from Cheltenham