The Pittsburgh Press (April 26, 1943)
Encyclopædia has birthday, its 175th
Chicago, Illinois (UP) –
Encyclopædia Britannica, celebrating its 175th birthday, presents an exhibit starting tomorrow of its life and times beginning with its first edition when woman was defined as “female of man” and flying as “a childish invention.”
Britannica was founded by a “society of gentlemen in Scotland,” and its first edition appeared in 1768. At that time, California was said to be:
…a large country of the West Indies… It is uncertain whether it be a peninsula or an island.
Walter Yust, of Chicago, the present editor, works 12-13 hours a day reading manuscripts, but says he has not yet found time to read Britannica’s 35 million words. The only living person who claims to be a cover-to-cover reader is a resident of Little Neck, Long Island, who says it took him four and a half years.
His name is Shirk – A. Urban Shirk.