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Smith, Sir William (1813-1893), an English lexicographer, was born at Enfield. He was originally destined for a theological career. Later, he turned his attention to lexicography. His first attempt was the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, which appeared in 1842. In 1849, followed the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography in 1857. In 1850, he published the first of the school dictionaries; and in 1853, he began the Principia series, which marked a distinct step in the school teaching of Greek and Latin. Then came the Students’ Manuals of History and Literature, in which the Greek history was the editor’s own work. The most important, perhaps, of the books edited by William Smith were those that dealt with ecclesiastical subjects. These were the Dictionary of the Bible (1860-1865); the Dictionary of Christian Antiquities (1875-1880), undertaken in collaboration with Archdeacon Cheetham; and the Dictionary of Christian Biography (1877-1887), jointly with Dr. Henry Wace. The Atlas, on which Sir George Grove collaborated, appeared in 1875. From 1853 to 1869, Smith was classical examiner to the University of London, and on his retirement he became a member of the Senate. He sat on the Committee to inquire into several years registrar of the Royal Literary Fund. He edited Gibbon, with Guizot’s and Milman’s notes, in 1854-1855. In 1867, he became editor of the Quarterly Review, which he directed with marked success until his death on the 7th of October 1893. He was D.C.L. of Oxford and Dublin, and the honour of knighthood was conferred on him the year before his death.

Samuel Cheetham (1827-1908), an English divine of the established Church, wrote a history of the Christian Church during the first six centuries, and other similar books.