In 1806 a man named Noah Webster published Websters dictionary.

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

Websters dictionary was the brain child of Noah, as stated – he was born on 1758 in Connecticut. His family was there since the area was first colonized. His father who lived from 1722-1813 was a farmer. John Webster, Connecticut's former governor, was one of his ancestors. Plymouth's governor, William Bradford, was an ancestor of Noah's mother.

At the age of 16 Noah began studies at Yale. His college years were during the American Revolutionary war. Noah served in Connecticut's militia.

By the time he was 20 Noah wanted to be a lawyer. Like many people he took up teaching to earn money for school. Once he was able to begin practicing law in 1789 he found he did not like it. So he returned to teaching. He failed when he tried to open his own school.

He married a socially upward woman in 1789. He walked in high social circles but didn't have much money. He borrowed $1500 from Alexander Hamilton so that he could move to New York City to start a newspaper. 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. There weren't many supplies. Webster decided that American children should learn from American books. So he created a speller, a grammar book and a reader. He believed the English language needed to be rescued from English grammar that was too difficult and outdated. To him the people should create the language, rather than have some archaic language like Latin dictate it.

It was this work that led him to the eventual creation of the first Websters dictionary. His dictionary had many revisions. And when Webster died the Merriam brothers purchased the rights to his name and his work. Today most dictionaries use the term Webster because it's so well known.

Now you know the history of Websters dictionary.