William Smellie was a Scottish editor and writer. He was born in 1740 at Edinburgh and died in 1795. Apprenticed to the firm of printers for Edinburgh University, William Smellie was allowed by the university to attend lectures, and quickly made a name for himself as a scholar. He was later approached by Andrew Bell and Colin Macfarquhar and asked to edit the encyclopaedia they wished to produce. William Smellie then became one of the trio to produce the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and although he acknowledged copying and inserting existing articles by some 150 authors, William Smellie also wrote his own articles including a controversial criticism on Doctor Johnson and his dictionary. During his day, William Smellie was renowned for his scholarship, sense of humour and wit, love of Robert Burns' poetry and equally strong love of public houses. Research William Smellie
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