Noah Webster
(1756-1843)
Noah Webster graduated from Yale in 1778. He studied law, but started a private school and wrote books on teaching English, including a speller, a grammar, and a reader.
His American Spelling Book, first published in 1783, and known as The Blue-Backed Speller for its blue cover, went on to sell over 100 million copies until it went out of print in the early 20th century. Several generations of American children learned to read from this book, many taught by parents before they went to school.
