Chapter closes on encyclopaedia

In book format for 244 years, Britannica is downsizing to an internet presence, its hefty print edition no longer viable, says Richard Fitzpatrick

THE Encyclopaedia Britannica has sold its last published volume after 244 years. The company’s headquarters, in Chicago, announced last week that it will no longer produce its encyclopedias in book form.

Encyclopaedia is Greek for ‘a general education.’ Britannica’s multiple entries, organised alphabetically and by topic, from biographies of biblical figures (e.g. Absalom: “first mentioned as murdering his half brother Amnon, David’s eldest son, in revenge for the rape of his full sister Tamar”) to explanations of Zermelo’s axiom of choice and other theories, proved popular with know-it-alls. George Bernard Shaw claimed he read its entire ninth edition, excepting its science articles.