Residence Edinburgh Role Encyclopedist Name William Smellie | Alma mater Edinburgh University Nationality Scottish Spouse Jean Robertson (m. 1763) | |
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Born 1740 The Pleasance, Edinburgh Resting place Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh
55°56′48″N 3°11′32″W / 55.94667°N 3.19222°W / 55.94667; -3.19222 Occupation Printer, editor, naturalist, antiquary Employer Apprentice, Hamilton, Balfour & Neil, printers, 1752
Substitute Lecturer, Botany, Edinburgh University
Founded Balfour & Smellie, Printers,
Edinburgh, 1765
Edited 1st Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1771-
Editor, Edinburgh Magazine & Review, 1773-6
Partner with William Creech, ; 1782- Died June 24, 1795, Edinburgh, United Kingdom Books The philosophy of natural history Education Royal High School, Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh | ||
William Smellie FRSE FSA (Scot) (1740–1795) was a Scottish master printer, naturalist, antiquary, editor and encyclopedist. He was friends with Robert Burns, whose assessment is engraved on Smellie's tombstone: "Here lies a man who did honour to human nature". Burns also described him fondly in a letter as "that old Veteran in Genius, Wit and Bawdry".
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Early life
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He was born in The Pleasance, in south-east Edinburgh in 1740, the son of Alexander Smellie, architect, and his wife, Jean Robertson. He was apprenticed to Hamilton, Balfour & Neill in 1752. On completion of his apprenticeship he joined the firm of Murray & Cochran as a corrector for the Scots Magazine. He was allowed three hours per day to study at Edinburgh University.
On 27 March 1763 he married Jean Robertson in London.
Encyclopædia Britannica
At the age of 28, Smellie was hired by Colin Macfarquhar and Andrew Bell to edit the first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, which appeared in 100 weekly instalments ("numbers") from December 1768 to 1771. It was a masterful composition although, by his own admission, Smellie borrowed liberally from many authors of his day, such as Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Pope and Samuel Johnson. Nevertheless, the first edition of the Britannica contained gross inaccuracies and fanciful speculations; for example, it states that excess use of tobacco could cause neurodegeneration, "drying up the brain to a little black lump consisting of mere membranes". Smellie strove to make Britannica as usable as possible, saying that "utility ought to be the principal intention of every publication. Wherever this intention does not plainly appear, neither the books nor their authors have the smallest claim to the approbation of mankind". Smellie entertained strong opinions; for example, he defines farriery as "the art of curing the diseases of horses. The practice of this useful art has been hitherto almost entirely confined to a set of men who are totally ignorant of anatomy, and the general principles of medicine." Although possessed of wide knowledge, Smellie was not an expert in all matters; for example, his article on "Woman" has but four words: "the female of man." Despite its incompleteness and inaccuracies, Smellie's vivid prose and the easy navigation of the first edition led to strong demand for a second; some prurient engravings by Andrew Bell (later censored by King George III) may also have contributed to the success of the first edition. Smellie did not participate in the second edition of the Britannica, because he objected to the inclusion of biographical articles in an encyclopedia dedicated to the arts and sciences.
Other work
At the time of his hiring, Smellie edited a weekly called the Scot's Journal, which made him familiar with the editing and publication of a work in parts.
Smellie is also noted for his English translation of the famous Histoire Naturelle of the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon.
In 1779, Smellie was nominated to be the University of Edinburgh's Professor of Natural History; however, the post was awarded to Dr. John Walker, allegedly due to politics.
Smellie continued to publish a wide variety of works, including his two-volume Philosophy of Natural History, which became a set text at Harvard University in the nineteenth century, and at least two of the four-volume set of Thesaurus medicus: sive, disputationum, in Academia Edinensi, ad rem medicam pertinentium, a collegio instituto ad hoc usque tempus, delectu which reprinted Edinburgh medical theses of the 18th century.
In his Philosophy of Natural History he described the struggle for existence. He has been described as a "precursor of Darwin".
Smellie was the son of a master builder and stonemason. He was educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh. At the age of 12, he was apprenticed to a printer; he rose to the rank of master printer.
He is buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard just north of the Adam Mausoleum, southwest of the church.