Websters Dictionary was first created by Noah Webster in 1806.

It became so popular that today the name Webster is a generic term applied to English dictionaries.

Noah Webster who eventually created Websters dictionary was born in 1758 in Hartford. His family was there since the area was first colonized. His father who lived from 1722-1813 was a farmer. He descended from John Webster who was the state governor. Noah's mother could trace her roots back to the governor of Plymouth colony.

When Noah was 16 he began attending Yale College. The American Revolution was in full swing at the time. Noah served in Connecticut's militia.

At 20 Webster decided to study law. He taught school to earn money for his education. He soon grew tired of the legal profession. He once again became a teacher. A school he founded ended up going out of business.

In 1789 he marred a fairly prominent woman. He walked in high social circles but didn't have much money. Alexander Hamilton loaned him $1500 to begin a newspaper in New York. He began to publish. Now the roots were laid for Websters dictionary. He published text books while writing for his newspaper. He also became a state senator in 1798.

He was astounded at the poor conditions faced by children in schools. Students of different ages were packed into overcrowded rooms. Teachers didn't know very much about teaching. They taught without much in the way of books or other materials. Webster decided to create American books to teach American children. He addressed this by publishing three volumes for children – a reader, a grammar book and a spelling book. He thought English grammar was too high brow. He believed that the people, not archaic languages like a Latin and Greek, should control the language.

It was this work that led him to the eventual creation of the first Websters dictionary. He revised the dictionary again and again. And when Webster died the Merriam brothers purchased the rights to his name and his work. Eventually these dictionaries became so popular, that the name Webster became a generic term for all English-language dictionaries.

So that's the scoop on Websters dictionary.