John Ash (divine) facts for kids

John Ash (born around 1724, died 1779) was an English Baptist minister. He was also a writer who created an important English dictionary and grammar books.

Life of John Ash

John Ash was born in Dorset, England, around 1724. He studied in Bristol to become a minister. Later, he became a pastor at Loughwood Meeting House, a Baptist church in Dorset. While working there, he also wrote for different magazines. In 1746, he moved to Pershore to become a minister there. This move happened after different groups in the church agreed on him.

In 1774, he earned a special degree called an LL.D. from a university in Scotland. John Ash passed away in Pershore in 1779 when he was about 55 years old.

John Ash's Books

John Ash is most famous for writing a dictionary. He was a lexicographer, which is someone who writes dictionaries.

• New and Complete Dictionary of the English Language (1775)

Ash's dictionary was special because it included many old words that people no longer used. It also had many words from different parts of England. His dictionary even included many slang words collected by another writer named Nathan Bailey.

Ash's dictionary also showed how much he learned from Samuel Johnson. Johnson was another famous dictionary writer. Ash made a funny mistake in his dictionary when explaining the word "curmudgeon" (which means a grumpy person). He said it came from a French phrase meaning "unknown correspondent." Johnson's dictionary, written 20 years earlier, had made a similar mistake. Johnson had suggested the word came from "cœur méchant" (malicious-hearted) and said he got this idea from an "unknown correspondent." Ash's dictionary is even mentioned in the famous novel Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.

He also wrote an earlier book:

• Grammatical Institutes

People have said that John Ash understood much better than other writers how to create a grammar book for children. This means his book was easier for young people to learn from.

Other works he wrote include:

• Sentiments on Education (1777)
• A Sermon (1778)
• Dialogues of Eumenes