Melvil Dewey
American librarian (1851–1931) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Melville Louis Kossuth (Melvil) Dewey (December 10, 1851 – December 26, 1931) was an American librarian and educator. He invented the Dewey Decimal library classification system.
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Early life
Dewey was born on December 10, 1851, in Adams Center, New York. He attended Alfred University in 1870[1] and then Amherst College. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1874 and a master's in 1877.[2]
Career
While still a student, he founded the Library Bureau, a company that sold index-cards and filing-cabinets used in libraries and businesses.[3]
He developed his book classification system based on a decimal numbering system while working in the Amherst library. He published a first edition in 1876.[4]
He was one of the founders of the American Library Association in 1876 and served for many years as editor of the Journal of the American Library Association.[5]
In the 1880's he took a position as librarian at Columbia University Libraries, where he developed one of the first training schools for librarians.[6]
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Lake Placid Club
Dewey founded the Lake Placid Club in Lake Placid, New York in 1895 as a health club and retreat. The Winter Olympics were held there, mostly led by his son Godfrey[7]
Reforms
He advocated for spelling reform for the English language. At one point he changed the spelling of his name from "Melvile" to "Melvil," removing redundant letters. He also for a brief time wrote his surname as "Dui."[8] He also founded The Metric Bureau in 1876 to advocate for the United States to move to metric measurement.[9]
Personal life
Dewey married twice, first to Annie R. Godfrey, and then to Emily McKay Beal.[7] He and his first wife had one child, Godfrey.
He moved to Florida and founded Lake Placid, Florida. He died of a stroke there in 1931.[7]
References
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