Broadmoor
On April 17, 1872, Minor was admitted to Broadmoor and interned in Block 2, the most comfortable wing of the asylum, which housed the least dangerous criminals. He was given permission to reside there because he was a well-educated gentleman of high social stature. He was given two adjoining cells and allowed items of luxury that most residents were refused. He was granted permission to have books, which he kept in a bookcase, specially made for him, a writing desk, chairs, his flute and art supplies so that he could paint. Moreover, he was even permitted to have other inmates clean his living quarters.
Even though Minor had special privileges, he was unable to leave the hospital. It was difficult for him to adjust to the reality that he would be locked up the rest of his life. While in the asylum, Minor had ample time to think about his past transgressions. He regretted killing George and wanted desperately to make amends. He began by writing a letter to Georges widow, apologizing for the sadness he caused her and their children. He also sent money to the family, hoping he could at least alleviate their financial problems.
Mrs. Merrett was a gracious woman and accepted Minors apology and financial assistance. She realized he was not in control of himself at the time of the murder. She even visited Minor at the asylum on many occasions, sometimes bringing parcels with her, such as books.
Minor was a book enthusiast and spent long hours reading the many books that he collected. He was especially fond of antique books, which he had delivered from rare bookstores in London. The money he used to purchase the items came from his pension, which was controlled by one of his brothers living in America. Reading provided an escape for Minor and a means of pursuing his scholarly interests.
One day in the early 1880s, while reading one of the books given to him by Mrs. Merrett, he came across an advertisement for volunteers to help with compiling words, quotations and definitions for the New Oxford Dictionary. Minor was greatly excited by the ad and responded immediately to the editors of the dictionary. He hoped that in volunteering his services, he could be of use once again and be a part of something significant. He didnt realize at the time that he would become one of its most prolific and valuable contributors.
A Monument to the English Language
Since the advent of the first English dictionary by Robert Cawdrey in the early 17th century, there was no record of the English language in its entirety. That is, until a group of scholarly lexicographers from the Philological Society of London undertook the enormous task in late 19th century. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) website, the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Richard Chenevix Trench, initially proposed the idea in 1857 to the Philological Society of London. He suggested in two papers presented to the society that the English language dictionaries available at the time were incomplete and deficient. Trench believed that a new English dictionary should be constructed that encompassed every word in the language with accompanying quotes that stated its origin and use. However, it was a monumental task.
Trench chose two men to start up the project, Herbert Coleridge, who became the dictionarys first editor, and Frederick Furnivall. The two men immediately began enlisting the help of several hundred volunteers. They needed as many people as possible to assist with the reading of thousands of books, in order to amass a collection of English words.The work was tedious and time consuming, and the interest of many volunteers began to wane after a short time. The project proved to be more difficult than anyone imagined and many believed that the dictionary would never be completed. To make matters worse, mismanagement of the project and the death of Coleridge one year later, further delayed work on the dictionary.
In 1879, a new editor was assigned to the project: James Murray, a Scottish lexicographer teacher and philologist. Murray made three strategic moves soon after assuming the position. He constructed a workroom known as the Scriptorium to be used for editing purposes; he began to enlist new volunteers to help with the project; and he employed the use of a reading program in order to assemble as many English words as possible.
While the Scriptorium was being built, Murray sent out an advertisement appealing for readers, which was circulated throughout London. It was one of Murrays ads that caught Minors attention. Soon after Minor responded to the appeal, he was accepted as a volunteer. He began his new job by reading, collecting words and quotations. It was a position that would occupy him for the rest of his life.
According to Winchester, Minor developed a unique system for gathering words and quotes. Minor constructed elaborate, alphabetically categorized word lists, which served as an index. He then collected quotations and citations for each word he gathered. Minors system proved to be of great help to Murray and his staff because he simplified the collection method and sped the pace of the project.
A quote from a submission slip that Minor had sent to Murray -
a1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV. (1550) 32b,
Duryng whiche sickenes as Auctors write
he caused his crowne to be set on the
pillowe at his beddes heade. - OED
Nevertheless, the construction of the dictionary was taking longer than previously expected. It took approximately five years after Murray became editor for the first part of the dictionary to get published. The volume consisted of 352 pages and included the letter A to Ant. It was difficult for anyone at the time to estimate precisely how long it would take for the completion of the dictionary in its entirety. Some believed that it would take at least 20 years to complete and others believed it could be done in less time. In actuality, it would take almost a half-century before the first 100 installments were published ending with the letter Z.
James A. H. Murray
James Augustus Henry Murray was born in 1837 in Denholm, Scotland, the first-born son of a tailor. Murray and his siblings who followed were brought up in a strict religious household. Little is known of Murrays early childhood other than he had a passion for learning.
Murray spent a great deal of his youth seeking information on everything and anything he could get his hands on. By his early teens, he learned several languages, including Greek, French, Latin, Hebrew, Russian and Italian. He also took a great interest in archeology, geology, philology, politics, astronomy, botany, religion, history and geology. He amassed a remarkable amount of information in a relatively short period of time. Most of what he learned was self-taught.
At the age of 17, Murray became the assistant headmaster at the Hawick United School and, several years later, he advanced to the position of headmaster. He joined the Mutual Improvement Institute and delivered his first lecture, entitled Reading, its Pleasures and Advantages. He also lectured on language, phonetics and archeology.
In 1861, Murray met and married a schoolteacher named Maggie Scott. Two years later, they had Anna, their first and only child. Not long after the birth, the young family was destroyed by a series of tragic events: Anna died in infancy and Maggie developed tuberculosis. The couple moved from Scotland to London where Murray secured a job as a bank clerk. They hoped that the change of environment would improve Maggies health, but it did not. Her condition steadily worsened and she died in 1864.
Following Maggies death Murray continued his pursuit of knowledge. It was his way of escaping the pain of losing his family. He began to research various dialects and languages, concentrating on those unique to the British Isles. Murray was so interested in languages that by the time he was in his late twenties, he had mastered approximately two-dozen languages and was in the process of learning more. Yet, his activities were temporarily interrupted when he was introduced to Ada Ruthven.
Ada and Murray shared many common interests and, after a brief courtship, the couple married. K. M. Elizabeth Murray, the granddaughter of James Murray suggested in her book, Caught in the Web of Words: James Murray and the Oxford English Dictionary, that the couple enjoyed a happy relationship, one which produced 11 children.
By the time Murray was in his 30s, he began to take more of an interest in philology and during the late 1860s, he joined the Philological Society of London. He began teaching at the Mill Hill School. Despite his busy schedule, he found time to work on his book, The Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland, which was published in 1868. He also began editing manuscripts by Frederick Furnivall, the secretary of the Philological Society, dealing with historical English texts. During their work on the texts, the two men developed a friendship that would endure many years.
Since 1861, Furnivall managed the dictionary project, yet it was not a position for which he was well suited. Winchester wrote that although he was, clearly committed to his work on the dictionary he simply lacked the personal qualities necessary to lead it. Realizing his deficiencies, Furnivall tried to persuade Murray to fill his position as editor.
However, the delegates of the Oxford University Press were hesitant to accept him. They were concerned that Murray didnt have the skills to manage the project. Moreover, Murray and the Oxford Delegates squabbled over editorial guidelines and the details of his contract. Although it took several years, Murray was finally granted the position of editor in 1879.
For years, Murray and his staff worked diligently on the dictionary, sorting and categorizing as many as 1,000 quotation slips a day. It took approximately nine years to complete the first volume ending with the letter B, which was published in 1888. In recognition for his work, he earned an honorary doctorate from Durham University. It would be one of many honorary degrees he would receive from scholarly institutions.
In October 1897, Oxford University Delegates held a grand dinner party to honor Murray for 18 years of hard work. His contribution was by any standard a remarkable achievement. Many of those involved in producing the dictionary were present at the dinner, except for one key person.
Over the years, Murray corresponded with one of the projects most prolific contributors, Dr. William Chester Minor. On occasion, Murray would ask Minor for help concerning various words, for which he had difficulty finding appropriate quotes. Time and time again, Minor delivered, often providing more information than expected.
Murray was impressed with Minors accuracy, speed, efficiency and dedication to the job. In fact, according to a BBC article, Broadmoors Word-Finder, Murray considered Minors contribution to be so significant that he could easily have illustrated the last four centuries [of words] from his quotations alone. Consequently, many were surprised when Minor failed to show up at the Oxford English Dictionarys who's who event of the decade celebrating their most esteemed editor, James Murray. Only Murray knew the reason why Minor was unable to come to the event
a1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV. (1550) 32b,
Duryng whiche sickenes as Auctors write
he caused his crowne to be set on the
pillowe at his beddes heade. - OED
Nevertheless, the construction of the dictionary was taking longer than previously expected. It took approximately five years after Murray became editor for the first part of the dictionary to get published. The volume consisted of 352 pages and included the letter A to Ant. It was difficult for anyone at the time to estimate precisely how long it would take for the completion of the dictionary in its entirety. Some believed that it would take at least 20 years to complete and others believed it could be done in less time. In actuality, it would take almost a half-century before the first 100 installments were published ending with the letter Z.
James A. H. Murray
James Augustus Henry Murray was born in 1837 in Denholm, Scotland, the first-born son of a tailor. Murray and his siblings who followed were brought up in a strict religious household. Little is known of Murrays early childhood other than he had a passion for learning.
Murray spent a great deal of his youth seeking information on everything and anything he could get his hands on. By his early teens, he learned several languages, including Greek, French, Latin, Hebrew, Russian and Italian. He also took a great interest in archeology, geology, philology, politics, astronomy, botany, religion, history and geology. He amassed a remarkable amount of information in a relatively short period of time. Most of what he learned was self-taught.
At the age of 17, Murray became the assistant headmaster at the Hawick United School and, several years later, he advanced to the position of headmaster. He joined the Mutual Improvement Institute and delivered his first lecture, entitled Reading, its Pleasures and Advantages. He also lectured on language, phonetics and archeology.
In 1861, Murray met and married a schoolteacher named Maggie Scott. Two years later, they had Anna, their first and only child. Not long after the birth, the young family was destroyed by a series of tragic events: Anna died in infancy and Maggie developed tuberculosis. The couple moved from Scotland to London where Murray secured a job as a bank clerk. They hoped that the change of environment would improve Maggies health, but it did not. Her condition steadily worsened and she died in 1864.
Following Maggies death Murray continued his pursuit of knowledge. It was his way of escaping the pain of losing his family. He began to research various dialects and languages, concentrating on those unique to the British Isles. Murray was so interested in languages that by the time he was in his late twenties, he had mastered approximately two-dozen languages and was in the process of learning more. Yet, his activities were temporarily interrupted when he was introduced to Ada Ruthven.
Ada and Murray shared many common interests and, after a brief courtship, the couple married. K. M. Elizabeth Murray, the granddaughter of James Murray suggested in her book, Caught in the Web of Words: James Murray and the Oxford English Dictionary, that the couple enjoyed a happy relationship, one which produced 11 children.
By the time Murray was in his 30s, he began to take more of an interest in philology and during the late 1860s, he joined the Philological Society of London. He began teaching at the Mill Hill School. Despite his busy schedule, he found time to work on his book, The Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland, which was published in 1868. He also began editing manuscripts by Frederick Furnivall, the secretary of the Philological Society, dealing with historical English texts. During their work on the texts, the two men developed a friendship that would endure many years.
Since 1861, Furnivall managed the dictionary project, yet it was not a position for which he was well suited. Winchester wrote that although he was, clearly committed to his work on the dictionary he simply lacked the personal qualities necessary to lead it. Realizing his deficiencies, Furnivall tried to persuade Murray to fill his position as editor.
However, the delegates of the Oxford University Press were hesitant to accept him. They were concerned that Murray didnt have the skills to manage the project. Moreover, Murray and the Oxford Delegates squabbled over editorial guidelines and the details of his contract. Although it took several years, Murray was finally granted the position of editor in 1879.
For years, Murray and his staff worked diligently on the dictionary, sorting and categorizing as many as 1,000 quotation slips a day. It took approximately nine years to complete the first volume ending with the letter B, which was published in 1888. In recognition for his work, he earned an honorary doctorate from Durham University. It would be one of many honorary degrees he would receive from scholarly institutions.
In October 1897, Oxford University Delegates held a grand dinner party to honor Murray for 18 years of hard work. His contribution was by any standard a remarkable achievement. Many of those involved in producing the dictionary were present at the dinner, except for one key person.
Over the years, Murray corresponded with one of the projects most prolific contributors, Dr. William Chester Minor. On occasion, Murray would ask Minor for help concerning various words, for which he had difficulty finding appropriate quotes. Time and time again, Minor delivered, often providing more information than expected.
Murray was impressed with Minors accuracy, speed, efficiency and dedication to the job. In fact, according to a BBC article, Broadmoors Word-Finder, Murray considered Minors contribution to be so significant that he could easily have illustrated the last four centuries [of words] from his quotations alone. Consequently, many were surprised when Minor failed to show up at the Oxford English Dictionarys who's who event of the decade celebrating their most esteemed editor, James Murray. Only Murray knew the reason why Minor was unable to come to the event
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