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The Professor and The Madman
Simon Winchester
This is story of how the Oxford English Dictionary came to be written. It was almost a forerunner of Wikipedia, in that it was powered by submissions from the public, who were invited to send in examples of every word in different usages, together with date first appeared.
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One of the most prolific contributors was a mysterious Dr William Minor, who, it eventually transpired, was locked up in Broadmoor, the prison for the criminally insane. (He had gunned down an innocent bystander in London, believing him to be a secret agent following him).
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In Broadmoor, Minor was made comfortable in a way that would be unthinkable today. For a start, he had an income (an American army pension) unlike most inmates. So he was given not one cell but two, with a pair of connecting doors. He converted one of the cells into a library, with a writing desk, a couple of chairs, and floor to ceiling bookshelves. It also had a fireplace.In his other cell he kept his easel and paints, plus a small selection of wines and bourbon, with which the American consul kept him supplied. He was also able to pay one of the other inmates to work for him, tidying his room, sorting his books and cleaning up after his painting.
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