The Oxford English Dictionary
Furnivall was one of the three founders and, from 1861 to 1870, the second editor of the Oxford English Dictionary. Despite his scholarship and enthusiasm, his stint as editor of the OED nearly ended the project. For a dictionary maker he had an unfortunate lack of patience, discipline and accuracy. After having lost the sub-editors for A, I, J, N, O, P & W through his irascibility or caprice, he finally resigned.
Furnivall joined the Philological Society in 1847, and was its Secretary from 1853 almost until his death in 1910 at the age of 85.
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