Encyclopædia Britannica
general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia, first published in Scotland in 1768
The Encyclopædia Britannica (Latin for 'British Encyclopædia') is a general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published since 1768 and, after several ownership changes, is currently owned by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The 15th edition, published in 2010, spans 32 volumes and 32,640 pages and was the last printed edition. Since 2016, it has been published online at Britannica.com.
Printed for 245 years, the Britannica was the longest-running in-print encyclopaedia in the English language. It was first published between 1768 and 1771 in Edinburgh, Scotland, in weekly instalments that came together to form three volumes. At first, the encyclopaedia grew quickly in size from edition to edition. The second edition expanded to 10 volumes, and by its fourth edition (1801–1810), it had expanded to 20 volumes. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, its size, measured as total word count, has remained roughly steady at about 40 million words.
The Britannica has had many notable contributors.
“Encyclopædia Britannica” enters the record as general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia, first published in Scotland in 1768. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Encyclopædia, Britannica and general can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Encyclopædia Britannica” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Encyclopædia, Britannica and general provides the most credible route into that argument.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q455. VIAF identifies the subject as 182582870. The Library of Congress control number is nr89013909. 3 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 3 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1768, 2010, 2016 and 1771.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Encyclopædia Britannica”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Encyclopædia Britannica primary sources, Encyclopædia Britannica archive and Encyclopædia research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Encyclopædia Britannica”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Encyclopædia Britannica” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.