John Simpson (born 13 October 1953) is an English

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines: * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionary, dictionaries. * The ...

and was Chief Editor of the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'' (''OED'') from 1993 to 2013.

Life

John Simpson was born in

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

, where his father was employed at

GCHQ Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the United Kingdom. Primar ...

, and attended

Dean Close School Dean Close School is a co-educational private boarding and day school (for pupils aged 3–18) in the public school tradition, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1886 and is divided into pre-prep, prepa ...

. He gained a BA in

English Literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

at the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

in 1975 and an MA in

Medieval Studies Medieval studies is the academic interdisciplinary study of the Middle Ages. A historian who studies medieval studies is called a medievalist. Institutional development The term 'medieval studies' began to be adopted by academics in the opening ...

at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

in 1976. He is married with two daughters, and now lives in Cricklade, Wiltshire.

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 The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, an Emeritus Fellow of

Kellogg College, Oxford Kellogg College is a graduate-only colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1990 as Rewley House, Kellogg is the university's 36th college and the largest by number of students ...

, 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 promote ...

, 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''. He has been awarded two D.Litt degrees, the first in 1999 by the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

for his "distinguished creative achievement as a scholar in lexicography", and the second in 2015 by the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

for his work on the ''OED''. He was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2014 Birthday Honours The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens ...

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 ''A Table Alphabeticall'' is the abbreviated title of the first monolingual dictionary in the English language, created by Robert Cawdrey and first published in London in 1604. The work is notable for being the first collection of its kind. At ...

'' (1604), B.E.'s ''Dictionary of the Canting Crew'' (1699),

Francis Grose Francis Grose (before 11June 173112May 1791) was an England, English antiquary, drawing, draughtsman, and lexicographer. He produced ''A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'' (1785) and ''A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local ...

's ''Popular Superstitions'' (1787), and James Redding Ware'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. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

. 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 (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

'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 Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...

and in 2017 in

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...

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 Simpson

University 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