Compton's Encyclopedia and Fact-Index is a home and school encyclopedia first published in 1922 as Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia. The word "Pictured" was removed from the title with the 1968 edition.[1] The encyclopedia is now advertised as Compton's by Britannica.
The set was originally published in 1922 in 8 volumes as Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia by F. E. Compton and Company of Chicago. It was titled "Pictured" because no other encyclopedia at the time had as large or as diverse a collection of illustrations.[2] The encyclopedia was expanded to 10 volumes in 1924 and 15 in 1932. In 1940 the title was expanded to Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia and Fact Index to emphasize its "Fact-Index" feature which combined a general index with dictionary type entries and tables. The general editor from 1922 to 1961 was Guy Stanton Ford. He was succeeded by Charles Alfred Ford, and then Donald Lawson in 1964. In the early 1960s, F. E. Compton Co. was purchased by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.[3] In 1968 the title was changed to simply Compton's Encyclopedia and expanded to 24 volumes. It expanded to 26 volumes in 1974.[4]
The 1985 edition had 26 volumes, 11,000 pages, 10,000 articles, and 8.5 million words. There were 35,500 cross-references and an index with 150,000 entries, including 30,000 dictionary style fact entries. There were 20,500 illustrations, about 20% in color and 2,000 maps. Articles averaged 850 words, or more than a full page. Most of the main articles were not signed and none of the fact entries were. 600 editors, advisors, artists and contributors were listed at the front of Vol. 1.[5] Potentially difficult technical terms were italicized and defined in context, and articles used a "pyramid structure", beginning in simple, elementary terms and gradually becoming more complex and detailed.[6]
Despite being continuously revised, by the late 1970s it was being criticized for being out of date,[7] particularly with regard to its illustrations.[citation needed] However, in the early 1980s the publishers began a thorough revision under Michael Reed and the contents were brought more up to date. This included a more egalitarian approach to women's roles in society and revisions of articles such as abortion, adoption, Argentina and the Falkland Islands.[8] Controversial issues like abortion were handled carefully, giving both sides of the argument, while other issues such as circumcision and homosexuality were not mentioned at all.[9]
The 1993 print edition of Compton's Encyclopedia had 26 volumes, 9 million words, 10,590 pages, 5,250 articles, 28,750 Fact Index definitions, 450 bibliographies, 22,510 illustrations and maps, 35,500 cross references and 154,000 index entries.[10] Only 1,100 articles were signed, but a list of nearly 600 contributors, advisors and editorial staff were listed at the front of Vol. 1.[11] By this time Britannica had invested $13.5 million in revamping the encyclopedia, now under the direction of Dale Good, who became general editor in 1986. It had risen again in the eyes of encyclopedia critics and was considered a first-rate example of an encyclopedia in its class.[12] Controversial issues such as AIDS, abortion, adoption, capital punishment, drunk driving, euthanasia, homosexuality, race relations, missing children, sexual harassment, sexually-transmitted disease and women's rights, were given greater coverage.[13] Illustrations were brought up to date and were 65% in color.[14] The pyramid style article format was retained, but italicization of potentially unfamiliar words was dropped for esthetic purposes, though potentially difficult words such as palaeographic, miscarriage and recession were still defined in context. Major articles such as computer and genetics had glossaries for technical terms.[15] After 1992 the "Fact-Index" was moved to volume 26 - it had previously been divided between each volume. Subjects that were considered too trendy, ephemeral or minor, that did not have articles in the main text, but did have "Fact-Index" definitions included MTV, Madonna, electric automobiles, Robert Motherwell, motion sickness, Moral Re-Armament and Moultrie, Georgia. Incidentally, the "Fact-Index" definitions themselves were not indexed.[16]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. initially owned Compton's Encyclopedia from 1961 to 1993, and later reacquired it in 2002. Britannica had sold its Compton's interests to the Tribune Company in 1993, and for a time Compton's Encyclopedia was a product of The Learning Company, which purchased Broderbund in 1998. In March 2002 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. "acquired an exclusive license to publish and distribute Compton's Encyclopedia in print and CD-ROM from Broderbund LLC and Success Publishing Group".[18]
Print editions
Compton's Encyclopedia
8 volumes, 1922
10 volumes, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, in two binding styles: one with plain red boards with insignia, the other with dark brown embossed boards de-luxe.[citation needed]
26 volumes, annually 1974–1978 and 1980–1995, 2004
Compton's by Britannica
26 volumes, 2009
Yearbooks
Compton's has also published a yearly supplement, The Compton yearbook from 1958 to the present.[19]
CD-ROM editions
Compton's Multimedia Encyclopedia, CD-ROM, 1989, the first "multimedia" CD-ROM[17]
Compton's Family Encyclopedia, CD-ROM, 1991, a "stripped down" version of Compton's Multimedia Encyclopedia[17]
Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia, CD-ROM, 1993, 1995 through 2001.
Britannica's 1989 Compton's Multimedia Encyclopedia was the first "multimedia" CD-ROM encyclopedia.[17] It won the 1991 Software Publishers Association Excellence in Software Award for Best Education Program. The product was invented by Britannica's Michael Reed who served as its Creative Director during its production. Reed coordinated with a team from Jostens Company out of San Diego that actually built the product.
Grolier's 1985 Academic American Encyclopedia on CD-ROM was text-only. In 1990, when it was called The New Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia (1988–1991), still pictures were added.[17]
Variants of Compton's CD-ROM encyclopedias were Compton's Concise Encyclopedia, Compton's Family Encyclopedia, and Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia.[17]
Environments in Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
An encyclopedia or encyclopaedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by article name or by thematic categories, or else are hyperlinked and searchable. Encyclopedia entries are longer and more detailed than those in most dictionaries. Generally speaking, encyclopedia articles focus on factual information concerning the subject named in the article's title; this is unlike dictionary entries, which focus on linguistic information about words, such as their etymology, meaning, pronunciation, use, and grammatical forms.
The Encyclopædia Britannica is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The encyclopaedia is maintained by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 contributors. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, which spans 32 volumes and 32,640 pages, was the last printed edition. Since 2016, it has been published exclusively as an online encyclopaedia.
Encyclopedia Americana is a general encyclopedia written in American English. It was the first general encyclopedia of any magnitude to be published in North America. With Collier's Encyclopedia and Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopedia Americana became one of the three major and large English-language general encyclopedias; the three were sometimes collectively called "the ABCs of encyclopedias". Following the acquisition of Grolier in 2000, the encyclopedia has been produced by Scholastic.
The World Book Encyclopedia is an American encyclopedia. World Book was first published in 1917. Since 1925, a new edition of the encyclopedia has been published annually. Although published online in digital form for a number of years, World Book is currently the only American encyclopedia which also still provides a print edition. The encyclopedia is designed to cover major areas of knowledge uniformly, but it shows particular strength in scientific, technical, historical and medical subjects.
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Collier's Encyclopedia is a discontinued general encyclopedia first published in 1949 by P. F. Collier and Son in the United States. With Encyclopedia Americana and Encyclopædia Britannica, Collier's Encyclopedia became one of the three major English-language general encyclopedias. The three were sometimes collectively called "the ABCs". In 1998, Microsoft acquired the right to use Collier's Encyclopedia content from Atlas Editions, which had by then absorbed Collier Newfield. Microsoft incorporated Collier's Encyclopedia's content into its Encarta digital multimedia encyclopedia, which it marketed until 2009.
Grolier was one of the largest American publishers of general encyclopedias, including The Book of Knowledge (1910), The New Book of Knowledge (1966), The New Book of Popular Science (1972), Encyclopedia Americana (1945), Academic American Encyclopedia (1980), and numerous incarnations of a CD-ROM encyclopedia (1986–2003).
The New Book of Knowledge is an encyclopedia published by Grolier USA.
The Encyclopædia Britannica has been published continuously since 1768, appearing in fifteen official editions. Several editions have been amended with multi-volume "supplements", consisted of previous editions with added supplements or gone drastic re-organizations (15th). In recent years, digital versions of the Britannica have been developed, both online and on optical media. Since the early 1930s, the Britannica has developed several "spin-off" products to leverage its reputation as a reliable reference work and educational tool.
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Everyman's Encyclopaedia is an encyclopedia published by Joseph Dent from 1913 as part of the Everyman's Library.
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The Lincoln Library of Essential Information was originally published as a one-volume general-reference work, in 1924. In later years, it was published in two- and three-volume editions, and the title was changed.
This is intended to be as comprehensive a list as possible of encyclopedias and encyclopedic/biographical dictionaries ever published in any language. The list will not include reprinted editions but it is intended to list an alphabetical bibliography by theme and language to anything which resembles an A–Z encyclopedia or encyclopedic dictionary, both print and online. Entries are in the English language unless specifically stated as otherwise. Several entries may overlap and be listed under several different topics. For a simple list without bibliographic information see Lists of encyclopedias.
The New Standard Encyclopedia was the most common name for an encyclopedia that ran from 1910 to the mid-1960s.
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↑ Kenneth F. Kister Best Encyclopedias Phoenix, AZ; Orynx Press 1986 p.53
↑ S. Padraig Walsh Anglo-American General Encyclopedias 1704–1967 New York: R. R. Baker and Company, 1968 pp. 32–3, Kister 1986 p.53 The sources disagree about when Compton's was bought by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Walsh says 1962, Kister says 1961
The first edition (1922) of Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia is now in public domain, and is fully available in colored scan on Library of Congress and Internet Archive: Volume 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 (Index)
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