The first English encyclopedia was published, Encyclopaedia Britannica aka A Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, containing short entries on a wide variety of subjects with longer essays on important topics within three volumes between 1768 and 1771. The project was the brainchild of Andrew Bell and Colin Macfarquhar, from Edinburgh, Scotland, who paid £200 to William Smellie, antiquary, and natural historian to compile the works.

Date:
      1768 and 1771
Name(s):
      Andrew Bell, Colin Macfarquhar
Occupation:
      Printers
Location:
      Edinburgh, Scotland

Additional Information:

• Encyclopædia Britannica – Wikipedia
  The Britannica is the English-language encyclopaedia that was in print for the longest time: it lasted 244 years. It was first published between 1768 and 1771 in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh, as three volumes. (This first edition is available in facsimile.)
• Encyclopaedia Britannica | History, Editions, & Facts | Britannica
  The first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica was published and printed in Edinburgh for the engraver Andrew Bell and the printer Colin Macfarquhar by “a …
• Encyclopaedia – History of encyclopaedias | Britannica
  History of encyclopaedias. Encyclopaedias in the West. Early development. The first fragments of an encyclopaedia to have survived are …
• Encyclopedia Britannica | Britannica
  Explore the fact-checked online encyclopedia from Encyclopaedia Britannica with hundreds of thousands of objective articles, biographies, videos, and images …
• History of the Encyclopædia Britannica – Wikipedia
  The Encyclopædia Britannica has been published continuously since 1768, appearing in fifteen official editions. Several editions have been amended with …