Ephraim Chambers ( – 15 May 1740) was an English writer and

encyclopaedist An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article ( ...

, who is primarily known for producing the '' Cyclopaedia, or a Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences''.

Biography

Chambers was born in Milton near Kendal,

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

, England. Little is known of his early life but he attended Heversham Grammar School, then was apprenticed to a

globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model glo ...

maker,

John Senex John Senex (1678 in Ludlow, Shropshire – 1740 in London) was an English cartographer, engraver and explorer. He was also an astrologer, geologist, and geographer to Queen Anne of Great Britain, editor and seller of antique maps and most import ...

, in London from 1714 to 1721. It was here that he developed the plan of the '' Cyclopaedia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences''. After beginning the ''Cyclopaedia'', he left Senex's service and devoted himself entirely to the encyclopedia project. He also took lodging in

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

, where he remained for the rest of his life. Chambers died in Islington and was buried in the cloisters of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

Writing

The first edition of the ''Cyclopaedia'' appeared by subscription in 1728 and was dedicated to George II, King of Great Britain. When he died in 1740, he left materials for a Supplement; edited by

George Lewis Scott George Lewis Scott (1708–1780) was a mathematician and literary figure who was tutor to the future George III from 1751 to 1755. A friend of the historian Edward Gibbon, the poet James Thomson and other members of the Georgian era literary wor ...

, this was published in 1753. He also wrote for, and possibly edited, the '' Literary Magazine'' (1735–1736), which mainly published book reviews. Chambers worked on translating other works in French on perspective and chemistry from 1726 to 1727, including the ''Practice of Perspective'' from the French of Jean Dubreuil. He also worked with

John Martyn Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

to translate the ''History and Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris'' (1742).

Legacy

Chambers'

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

was published in both the original Latin and in English in the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine' ...

'', volume 10, as follows (translation is the original): Multis pervulgatus paucis notus Qui vitam inter lucem et umbram Nec eruditus nec idiota Literis deditus transegit, sed ut homo Qui humani nihil a se alienum putat Vita simul et laboribus functus Hic requiescere voluit EPHRAIM CHAMBERS. In English thus: Heard of by many, Known to few, Who led a Life between Fame and Obscurity Neither abounding nor deficient in Learning Devoted to Study, but as a Man Who thinks himself bound to all Offices of Humanity, Having finished his Life and Labours together, Here desires to rest EPHRAIM CHAMBERS. The ''

Encyclopédie ''Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (English: ''Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts''), better known as ''Encyclopédie'', was a general encyclopedia publis ...

'' of Diderot and

d'Alembert Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert (; ; 16 November 1717 – 29 October 1783) was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. Until 1759 he was, together with Denis Diderot, a co-editor of the '' Encyclopé ...

owed its inception to a French translation of Chambers's work.

Notes

References

*Bradshaw, Lael Ely. "Ephraim Chambers’ Cyclopaedia." In: ''Notable Encyclopedias of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: Nine Predecessors of the Encyclopédie''. Ed. Frank Kafker. Oxford: The Voltaire Foundation, 1981. 123–137. *"Mr. Ephraim Chambers." ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' v. 10 (May 1740): p. 262. * Attribution: *

External links