https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica%2C_Inc.Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. - Revision history2026-08-18T17:35:05ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica,_Inc.&diff=445795&oldid=previmported>Checking for unused user accounts...: content update2026-03-02T15:50:43Z<p>content update</p>
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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|American publisher}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}<br />
{{Use British English|date=September 2019}}<br />
{{Infobox publisher<br />
| image = [[File:Encyclopaedia-britannica-logo.PNG|200px|Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.]]<br />
| parent =<br />
| status =<br />
|owner = Jacqui Safra<br />
| founded = {{Start date and age|1768}}<br />[[Edinburgh]], [[Scotland]]<br />
| founder = [[Colin Macfarquhar]] and <br />[[Andrew Bell (engraver)|Andrew Bell]]<br />
| successor =<br />
| country = [[Scotland]] ([[Kingdom of Great Britain]])<br />
| headquarters = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], [[United States]]<br />
| keypeople = [[Jacqui Safra]], President, Jorge Cauz, Global CEO<br />
| imprints = [[Merriam-Webster]]<br />
| revenue =<br />
| numemployees = About 400 (300 in Chicago, 100 worldwide)<ref name="employees" /><br />
| nasdaq =<br />
| url = [https://www.britannica.com britannica.com]<br />
}}<br />
'''Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.''' is a British-American company known for publishing the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', the world's oldest continuously published encyclopaedia, as well owning the dictionary publisher [[Merriam-Webster]].<br />
<br />
==History==<br />
{{Main|History of the Encyclopædia Britannica|l1=History of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''}}<br />
<br />
===Founding years===<br />
[[File:Britannica1778.jpg|thumb|125px|left|Front page of volume 3 of the 1778 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'']]<br />
The company was founded in [[Edinburgh]], Scotland, in the 18th century, during the historical period termed the [[Scottish Enlightenment]].<ref name="edinburgh"/> [[Colin Macfarquhar]] and [[Andrew Bell (engraver)|Andrew Bell]] began the first edition in 1768.<ref name="edinburgh"/> The pair engaged [[William Smellie (encyclopedist)|William Smellie]], who produced most of the articles in the first edition.<ref name="edinburgh"/> The second edition was published in 1784.<ref name="edinburgh"/> After Macfarquhar's death in 1793, Bell became its sole proprietor and published the third and fourth editions.<ref name="edinburgh"/><ref name="directory"/><br />
<br />
[[Archibald Constable]], an Edinburgh publisher, published the fifth and sixth editions.<ref name="directory"/> When Constable died in 1827, [[A & C Black|A & C Black Ltd.]] bought the copyrights to the encyclopædia at auction, and they published it for the next 70 years.<ref name="directory"/><br />
<br />
Beginning with the ninth edition in 1875, the range of topics were expanded by bringing in contributors from the literary field, social sciences and the scientific community. The ninth edition has since been acknowledged as one of the most impressive collections of scholarship ever produced.<ref name="edinburgh"/><ref name="directory"/><br />
<br />
In 1901, [[Horace Everett Hooper|Horace E. Hooper]] and Walter M. Jackson purchased all copyrights to the encyclopædia. Hooper and Jackson formed companies in both the United States and England. [[Hugh Chisholm]] became the editor for the tenth, eleventh and twelfth editions.<ref name="directory"/><br />
{{clear}}<br />
<br />
===Sears Roebuck ownership===<br />
[[File:Shipping box for the encyclopedia Britannica 2013-04-13 12-24.jpg|thumb|Shipping box for the fourteenth edition]]<br />
In 1915, Sears agreed to market a new and less expensive version of the eleventh edition for middle-class buyers.<ref name="directory"/>{{efn|name=saturday}} In 1920, Sears bought Britannica outright, and after only three years of operation, Sears reported a loss of $1.8 million. In 1923, they sold the company back to the widow of Hooper (who had died in 1922) and her brother William Cox.<ref name="directory"/> They published the twelfth and thirteenth editions in 1922 and 1926. After Cox failed to raise the money needed to publish the fourteenth edition, Sears ended up financing it, and resumed ownership of Britannica in 1928.<ref name="directory"/><br />
<br />
In 1932, Sears restructured Britannica, ending sales through their outlets, opting instead for a network of sales representatives who went [[door-to-door]], and staffing booths at conventions and shopping centres. In 1938, Britannica began publishing a yearly synopsis of world events, called the ''Britannica Book of the Year''.<ref name="directory"/><br />
<br />
===Benton family ownership===<br />
In 1941, Britannica was given to the [[University of Chicago]] by Sears.<ref name="nyttwo"/> However, the university did not believe they could manage the company. [[William Benton (politician)|William Benton]], then vice president of the university, offered to put up the operating capital to protect the university against any losses.<ref name="nyttwo"/> Benton bought two‐thirds of the stock, and subsequently bought the remaining third.<ref name="nyttwo"/> In 1952, Benton started preparations for the fifteenth edition. Britannica acquired [[Merriam-Webster]] in 1964 and [[Compton's Encyclopedia]] as well in the early 1960s.<ref name="directory"/><ref name="nyttwo"/><br />
<br />
Benton died in 1973, before the fifteenth edition was published in 1974. The newly titled ''Britannica 3'' was composed of a ten-volume [[Micropædia]], a 19-volume [[Macropædia]] and a one-volume guide to the encyclopædia's use, called [[Propædia]]. In 1985, a two-volume index was added, as well as other refinements.<ref name="directory"/> Robert P. Gwinn succeeded Benton as publisher and chairman of Britannica in 1974. He divided the company's operations into Britannica USA and Britannica International. In 1990, nearly 120,000 encyclopædias were sold in the United States, with sales for the year rising to $650 million.<ref name="directory"/> By 1994, sales had slumped to $453 million, with only 51,000 sets being sold in the US. Sales continued to decline after 1994, finally forcing the company to close more than 70 per cent of its sales offices.<ref name="directory"/><br />
<br />
===Safra ownership===<br />
[[File:BRITANNICA Photo Walk Chicago September 2, 2013-4870.jpg|thumb|right|Current location in Chicago (the [[Reid, Murdoch & Co. Building]])]]<br />
In 1996, Britannica was sold to an investment group led by Jacob E. Safra, a Switzerland-based financier.<ref name="nyt"/> He restructured the company, laying off more than 120 people including many of the company's top employees. Safra also dissolved the home sales force, with an additional 140 losing their jobs, along with 300 independent contractors.<ref name="directory"/> In 1999, they launched Britannica.com, which contained the complete Encyclopædia Britannica. The website repeatedly crashed on its opening day, due to an estimated ten million users attempting to access the site. After several days of continued problems it was shut down, and restarted a few weeks later with upgraded capacity. Britannica.com laid off 20 per cent of its work force one year later.<ref name="directory"/><br />
<br />
In 2009, Britannica Global Edition was printed with 30 volumes. It contained over 40,000 articles and 8,500 photographs.<ref name=global/> In 2012, after 244 years, Britannica ended the print editions, with the 32 volumes of the 2010 installment being the last on paper; future editions have been published exclusively online since.<ref name=guardian/> In 2018, the company released Britannica Insights, an extension for the [[Google Chrome|Chrome web browser]]. The extension supplements Google's [[Google Search#Rich snippets|featured snippets]] with accurate information.<ref name="wired"/> In 2019, in a partnership with Binumi, Britannica released a video product that gives schools the opportunity to use millions of royalty-free multimedia clips to create digital storytelling projects about content they are already teaching.<ref name="techmag"/><br />
<br />
In 2020, Encyclopædia Britannica released the ''Britannica All New Children's Encyclopedia: What We Know and What We Don't'', an encyclopedia aimed primarily at younger readers, covering major topics. The encyclopedia was widely praised for bringing back the print format. It was ''Britannica''<nowiki/>'s first encyclopedia for children since 1984.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The new Children's Britannica: a fantastic voyage through the history of the world|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fiction/new-childrens-britannica-fantastic-voyage-history-world/amp/|website=www.telegraph.co.uk|access-date=14 December 2021|archive-date=14 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214214952/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/non-fiction/new-childrens-britannica-fantastic-voyage-history-world/amp/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=19 November 2020|title=Why printed encyclopedias for children are more important than ever|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/britannica-encyclopedia-children-universe-facts-book-b1720986.html|website=The Independent|access-date=4 June 2021|archive-date=10 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110131928/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/britannica-encyclopedia-children-universe-facts-book-b1720986.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=8 October 2020|title=Britannica All New Children's Encyclopedia edited by Christopher Lloyd|url=https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/childrens-book-reviews/britannica-childrens-encyclopedia/|access-date=17 July 2021|website=The School Reading List|archive-date=14 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214215003/https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/childrens-book-reviews/britannica-childrens-encyclopedia/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[ProCon.org]] was acquired by Encyclopædia Britannica in 2020.<ref name="ProCon">{{cite news |last= |first= |title=Encyclopaedia Britannica Acquires ProCon.org |url=https://www.procon.org/headlines/encyclopaedia-britannica-acquires-procon-org/ |date=May 29, 2020 |newspaper= |work=ProCon.org |access-date=December 10, 2020 |archive-date=2 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211002040823/https://www.procon.org/headlines/encyclopaedia-britannica-acquires-procon-org/ |url-status=live }}</ref><br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
{{div col|colwidth=28em}}<br />
*[[Encyclopædia Britannica First Edition]]<br />
*[[Encyclopædia Britannica Second Edition]]<br />
*[[Encyclopædia Britannica Third Edition]]<br />
*[[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition]]<br />
*[[Encyclopædia Britannica Films]]<br />
*[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]]<br />
*[[Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite]]<br />
*[[Lists of encyclopedias]]<br />
* [[List of encyclopedias by date]]<br />
* [[List of online encyclopedias]]<br />
{{div col end}}<br />
<br />
==Notes==<br />
{{notelist|refs=<br />
{{efn|name=saturday|Advertisement for the 11th edition, "Handy Volume", by Sears in ''[[The Saturday Evening Post]]'' (1916).<ref name=saturday/>}}<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist|45em|refs=<br />
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<ref name="directory">{{cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Jonathan |last2=Uhle |first2=Frank |title=Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/encyclopaedia-britannica-inc |website=[[Encyclopedia.com]] |publisher=[[Cengage]] |date=March 8, 2020 |access-date=10 April 2020 |archive-date=31 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731020125/https://www.encyclopedia.com/books/politics-and-business-magazines/encyclopaedia-britannica-inc |url-status=live }}</ref><br />
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<ref name="edinburgh">{{cite book |last1=Finkelstein |first1=David |editor1-last=Brown |editor1-first=Ian |title=Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: Enlightenment, Britain and Empire (1707-1918) |date=2006 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-0-7486-3064-6 |pages=199–200 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0OWqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA199 |access-date=9 April 2020 |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801100559/https://books.google.com/books?id=0OWqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA199 |url-status=live }}</ref><br />
<br />
<ref name="employees">{{cite journal| last=Smith| first=William C.| date=February 2, 2004| title=Venerable tomes go digital| journal=The National Law Journal| pages=P8}}</ref><br />
<br />
<!-- Not in use<br />
<ref name="Krishnan">{{cite web|url=https://corporate.britannica.com/press-releases/encyclopaedia-britannica-group-appoints-karthik-krishnan-as-global-chief-executive-officer/|title=Encyclopedia Britannica Group Appoints Kathik Krishnan as Global Chief Executive Officer|date=December 12, 2017|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica Group}}</ref><br />
Not in use--><br />
<br />
<!-- Not in use<br />
<ref name="ourteam">{{cite web|url=https://corporate.britannica.com/team/|title=Our Team|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=March 4, 2019}}</ref><br />
Not in use--><br />
<br />
<ref name=saturday>{{cite magazine |magazine=The Saturday Evening Post |title=The New Encyclopaedia Britannica |date=January 1, 1916 |publisher=The Curtis Publishing Company|volume=188|issue=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g54xAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA36|page=36}}</ref><br />
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<ref name=global>{{cite web |url=http://store.britannica.com/products/043009100 |title=Britannica Global Edition|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705002524/http://store.britannica.com/products/043009100 |archive-date=July 5, 2014 }}</ref><br />
<br />
<ref name=guardian>{{cite web |last1=McCarthy |first1=Tom |title=Encyclopedia Britannica halts print publication after 244 years |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/mar/13/encyclopedia-britannica-halts-print-publication |website=The Guardian |date=March 13, 2012 |access-date=9 April 2020 |archive-date=3 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203202921/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/mar/13/encyclopedia-britannica-halts-print-publication |url-status=live }}</ref><br />
<br />
<ref name="nyt">{{cite web |last1=Feder |first1=Barnaby J. |title=Deal Is Set for Encyclopaedia Britannica |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/19/business/deal-is-set-for-encyclopaedia-britannica.html |website=The New York Times |date=December 19, 1995 |access-date=9 April 2020 |archive-date=21 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521234943/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/19/business/deal-is-set-for-encyclopaedia-britannica.html |url-status=live }}</ref><br />
<br />
<ref name="nyttwo">{{cite web |title=Britannica Buying Merriam‐Webster |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/11/archives/britannica-buying-merriamwebster.html |website=The New York Times |date=September 11, 1964 |access-date=10 April 2020 |archive-date=19 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200819042638/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/09/11/archives/britannica-buying-merriamwebster.html |url-status=live }}</ref><br />
<br />
<ref name="wired">{{cite magazine |last1=Matsakis |first1=Louise |title=Britannica Insights Is a Chrome Extension to Fix False Google Results |url=https://www.wired.com/story/britannica-insights-fix-google-snippets/ |magazine=Wired |date=June 7, 2018}}</ref><br />
<br />
<ref name="techmag">{{cite web |title=Britannica Launches Video Storytelling Platform |url=https://www.techlearning.com/news/britannica-launches-video-storytelling-platform |website=TechLearning Magazine |date=January 24, 2019 |access-date=10 April 2020 |archive-date=31 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731010445/https://www.techlearning.com/news/britannica-launches-video-storytelling-platform |url-status=live }}</ref><br />
<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Further reading==<br />
* {{cite journal | author = Hutcheon, Stephen | date = January 23, 2009 | title = Watch out Wikipedia, here comes Britannica 2.0 | journal = Sydney Morning Herald | url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/biztech/battle-to-outgun-wikipedia-and-google/2009/01/22/1232471469973.html | access-date = March 16, 2020}}<br />
* {{cite journal | author = Auchter, Dorothy | date = 1 September 1999 | title = The Evolution of the Encyclopaedia Britannica: From the Macropaedia to Britannica Online | journal = Reference Services Review | volume = 27 | issue = 3 | pages = 291–299 | doi = 10.1108/00907329910275196 | url = https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/00907329910275196/full/html | access-date = March 16, 2020 | url-access = subscription | issn = 0090-7324}}<br />
*{{cite journal |last1=Cauz |first1=Jorge |title=Encyclopædia Britannica's President on Killing Off a 244-Year-Old Product |url=https://hbr.org/2013/03/encyclopaedia-britannicas-president-on-killing-off-a-244-year-old-product |journal=Harvard Business Review |date=March 1, 2013}}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
<br />
*[http://eb.com/ Company website]<br />
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061020084752/http://corporate.britannica.com/company_info.html ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' company history.]<br />
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{{Authority control}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.}}<br />
[[Category:Encyclopædia Britannica]]<br />
[[Category:Book publishing companies of Scotland]]<br />
[[Category:1768 establishments in Scotland]]<br />
[[Category:Companies based in Chicago]]<br />
[[Category:Book publishing companies based in Illinois]]<br />
[[Category:Companies based in Edinburgh]]<br />
[[Category:History of Edinburgh]]<br />
[[Category:British companies established in 1768]]<br />
[[Category:Publishing companies established in the 1760s]]<br />
[[Category:Reference publishers]]<br />
[[Category:1996 mergers and acquisitions]]</div>Ajay Kumar