George Merriam (; January 20, 1803 – June 22, 1880) was an American publisher. With his brother Charles, he founded G. and C. Merriam, which would eventually become
Merriam-Webster, Inc.
The Merriam family were
printers,
book manufacturers, and
booksellers in
Worcester County in the latter part of the 18th century. George worked on his father's farm in
West Brookfield until he was age 15, then entered his uncle Ebenezer's West Brookfield printing office as an apprentice, and on reaching his majority became a partner. In 1831 he moved to
Springfield with his brother Charles, and established in
1832 the publishing house of G. and C. Merriam. Their earliest publications were
law books, editions of the Bible, and
school books. After the death of
Noah Webster, the lexicographer, the Merriams purchased the right of future publication of ''
Webster's Dictionary
''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the US English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by Noah Webster (1758–1843), a US lexicographer, as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's n ...
''.
References
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1803 births
19th-century births
1880 deaths
American publishers (people)
Businesspeople from Worcester, Massachusetts
People from West Brookfield, Massachusetts
19th-century American businesspeople
{{publisher-stub
People from Massachusetts