G. (George) Gregory

The Rev. George Gregory (April 14, 1754 – March 12, 1808) was an Irish writer, scholar, and clergyman best known for his literary compilations and writings.

History

After a brief career in business, Gregory studied at the University of Edinburgh and was admitted to the degree of doctor of divinity. He wrote for periodicals and magazines while serving as a curate in Liverpool. Following his move to London in 1782, he continued to advance his ecclesiastical career while publishing essays, poetry, and sermons. He also contributed to Biographia Britannica, of which he was appointed editor in 1795. Voracious study allowed Gregory to develop detailed knowledge of a wide range of topics, including the arts and sciences, commerce, manufactures, and political institutions. Among his numerous scholarly and scientific works, one of the most popular was the two-volume A Dictionary of the Arts and Sciences (1807), which he intended as “an introductory or elementary work for students,” as well as “a book of reference, to lie on the table of a man of letters.” The Dictionary was reissued in several subsequent editions following Gregory’s death in 1808, including an expanded and revised 3-volume version titled A new & complete dictionary of arts & sciences, including the latest improvement & discovery and the present state of every branch of human knowledge, published in Philadelphia in 1816.

--Robyn Asleson

References

http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82032839.html http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/11463?docPos=1

http://spenserians.cath.vt.edu/BiographyRecord.php?action=GET&bioid=36084 A Dictionary of the Arts and Sciences (1807), online: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=njp.32101079871263#view=1up;seq=9

Notes

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