Encyclopædia Edinensis
The Encyclopædia Edinensis was a six-volume general encyclopedia published in Edinburgh in 1827, and intended for a popular audience. It was edited by James Millar, who died just before it was complete.[1]
Editorial staff
- James Millar, principal editor
- Jeremiah Kirby and Richard Poole, main editors and contributors.[2] Poole wrote articles on "Mental Diseases".[3]
- John Sommers, minister at Falkirk, was proprietor and also editor for the last three volumes.[4]
Work began on the Encyclopædia in 1816.[5] Millar edited the fourth and parted of the fifth editions of the Encyclopædia Britannica and had contributed extensively to both. His goal with the Edinensis was to create a more popular work. However, his use of a large quarto format, reminiscent of the Britannica hampered the project as duodecimal, miniature formats were then in vogue.[6]
Phrenology
The editorial line was quite sympathetic to phrenology. According to the Phrenological Journal, Sommers approved the inclusion of the uncritical article "Phrenology".[7] Poole in 1819 wrote for the encyclopedia an article on education, an early treatment from the point of phrenology.[8]
Other contributors
- John Adamson of Newton
- Alexander Anderson, Polar Expeditions etc.
- George Buchanan, Astronomy and Dialling
- James Couper
- John Dick M.D., Midwifery
- Alexander Duncan, Miracle etc.
- James Flint
- William Galbraith, Navigation
- Patrick Gibson, design
- Rev. David Liston, Calcutta, Mechanics
- Henry Liston, Music
- Robert Macmillan
- Lockhart Muirhead
- Rev. Thomas Nelson, Religion
- Alexander Peterkin
- Rev. Dr. Russel of Leith, Magnetism and Meteorology
- John Sommers
- Walter Tod, Theology etc.
- John Wallace
- Robert Wallace.[2]
References
- David Philip Miller (2004). Discovering Water: James Watt, Henry Cavendish, and the Nineteenth Century 'Water Controversy'. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-7546-3177-4. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- James Millar, Encyclopedia Edinensis; or, Dictionary of arts, sciences, and literature vol. 1 (1827), p. vi; archive.org.
- The Journal of psychological medicine and mental pathology. Churchill. 1851. p. 157. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- Scotland; Society for the Benefit of the Sons and Daughters of the Clergy (1845). The new statistical account of Scotland. W. Blackwood and Sons. p. 369. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- S. Padraig Walsh Anglo-American general encyclopedias 1703-1967 New York and London; R.R. Bowser Company 1968 p.55
- Robert Collison Encyclopedias: their history throughout the ages 2nd ed. New York and London; Haffner Publishing Company 1966 p.178
- The phrenological journal and miscellany. s.n. 1824. pp. 641–3. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
- The Phrenological journal and miscellany. Printed for the Proprietors. 1826. p. 171. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
External links