H.W. Fowler (10th March, 1858, Tonbridge, Kent, England—26th December, 1933, Hinton St. George, Somerset), was an English schoolmaster, lexicographer, philologist, and commentator on the usage of the English language whose works on the use and style of the English language had far-reaching influence. He was a man of moral and intellectual strength whose wit and grace were evident throughout his writings. He is notable for both A Dictionary of Modern English Usage and his work on the Concise Oxford Dictionary and was described by The Times as “a lexicographical genius”. Fowler was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and taught at Sedbergh School until 1899 and then worked in London as a freelance writer and journalist. He lived in London from 1899 to 1903, supporting himself with a small inheritance and the income from essays published in journals. He then moved to Guernsey in the Channel Islands and began his collaboration with his younger brother F.G. Fowler. In partnership with his brother, he began publishing seminal grammar, style, and lexicography books. After his brother’s death in 1918, he completed the works on which they had collaborated and edited additional works. Fowler’s major work, planned with his brother, was A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1926), which is an alphabetical listing of points of grammar, syntax, style, pronunciation, and punctuation. The depth, style, and humour of the work have made it a classic of English philology. Among Fowler’s other writings are a collection of essays, If Wishes Were Horses (1929), and a volume of poetr... See more
H.W. Fowler (10th March, 1858, Tonbridge, Kent, England—26th December, 1933, Hinton St. George, Somerset), was an English schoolmaster, lexicographer, philologist, and commentator on the usage of the English language whose works on the use and style of the English language had far-reaching influence. He was a man of moral and intellectual strength whose wit and grace were evident throughout his writings. He is notable for both A Dictionary of Modern English Usage and his work on the Concise Oxford Dictionary and was described by The Times as “a lexicographical genius”. Fowler was educated at Balliol College, Oxford, and taught at Sedbergh School until 1899 and then worked in London as a freelance writer and journalist. He lived in London from 1899 to 1903, supporting himself with a small inheritance and the income from essays published in journals. He then moved to Guernsey in the Channel Islands and began his collaboration with his younger brother F.G. Fowler. In partnership with his brother, he began publishing seminal grammar, style, and lexicography books. After his brother’s death in 1918, he completed the works on which they had collaborated and edited additional works. Fowler’s major work, planned with his brother, was A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1926), which is an alphabetical listing of points of grammar, syntax, style, pronunciation, and punctuation. The depth, style, and humour of the work have made it a classic of English philology. Among Fowler’s other writings are a collection of essays, If Wishes Were Horses (1929), and a volume of poetry, Rhymes of Darby to Joan (1931).
