Douglas R. Harper
Douglas R. Harper (born on 29 July 1960 in Philadelphia) is an American lexicographer, author of the Online Etymology Dictionary.
He grew up in Chester County, Pennsylvania and studied at Dickinson College, where he got a B.A. in history and English in 1983. Thereafter he has worked as a journalist for local newspapers and magazines, among which The Main Line Chronicle (1983-1985), West Chester Daily Local News (1985-1993) and the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal (from 1993). He currently lives in Lancaster, Pa..
Harper began to compile the Online Etymology Dictionary in 2001. As of June 2015, it comprised over 50,000 entries, including technical and slang words. The main sources consulted are The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology by Robert Barnhart, Klein's Comprehensive Etymology Dictionary of the English Language, The Middle English Compendium, The Oxford English Dictionary, and the 1889-1902 Century Dictionary. Harper also researches online on digital archives. On the Etymonline homepage, Harper says that he considers himself "essentially and for the most part" a compiler and evaluator of etymology research made by others.
Harper has written three books on the history of Chester County, published by the Chester County Historical Society:
- If Thee Must Fight: A Civil War History of Chester County, Pa. (1990 - 406 pp.)
- An Index of Civil War Soldiers and Sailors from Chester County, Pa. (1995 - 270 pp.)
- That Elegant, Notorious Place: West Chester to 1865 (1999 - 767 pp.)
Harper also is the author of the website "Slavery in the North" (2003),[1] which chronicles and explores African slavery in the Northern colonies and states of the United States.
He has been interviewed on historical and etymology topics by the BBC, CBC, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune,[2] New York Times, and other media. He has been cited on many newspapers and magazines, among which the Atlantic Magazine[3] and the Philadelphia Inquirer.[4]
References[edit]
- ↑ Slavenorth.com Homepage.
- ↑ Chicago Tribune, ed. (2015-06-18). "Q&A with Douglas Harper: Creator of the Online Etymology Dictionary". Retrieved 2020-10-14.
- ↑ Ben Zimmer (2018-10-26). Atlantic Magazine, ed. "That Meme You're Sharing is Probably Bogus". Retrieved 2020-10-15.
- ↑ Cassie Owens (2019-02-27). Philadelphia Inquirer, ed. "Pennsylvania officially abolished slavery in 1780. But many black Pennsylvanians were in bondage long after that". Retrieved 2020-10-15.
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