Encyclopædia Britannica, The oldest English-language general encyclopaedia. Its first print edition was published in three volumes in 1768–71 in Edinburgh, Scot. In subsequent editions it grew in size and reputation. The most famous editions include the ninth (1875–89), known as “the scholar’s encyclopaedia,” and the 11th (1910–11), which, with contributions from more than 1,500 experts of world reputation, was also the first to divide the traditionally lengthy treatises into more-particularized articles. The 15th edition embodied a new structure, dividing the major articles from the shorter ones; released in 1974, with a major revision in 1985, it was discontinued in 2012. From the early 1990s the Encyclopædia Britannica also appeared in compact disc versions, and in 1994 Britannica debuted the first Internet-based encyclopaedia. The online version, in its many digital forms, had become the primary focus by the early 21st century. A series of ownership changes led to the encyclopaedia’s purchase by American publishers in 1901, and its Chicago-based editorial offices today coordinate the work of contributors from around the world.
