Editor-in-chief of the Encyclopædia Britannica
Lead editor of the Britannica
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The editor-in-chief of the Encyclopædia Britannica serves as the editorial leader of the Encyclopædia Britannica, a general reference encyclopedia published since 1768. Since 2012, the encyclopedia is published exclusively on the internet, following 244 years of physical editions. The first editor-in-chief of the Britannica was Scotsman William Smellie, and the current holder of the office is Jason Tuohey.
| Editor-in-chief of the Encyclopædia Britannica | |
|---|---|
Incumbent since 2025Jason Tuohey | |
| Inaugural holder | William Smellie |
| Formation | 1768 |
Background
The Encyclopædia Britannica is an English-language general reference encyclopedia, published since 1768.[1] The Britannica was first published in Edinburgh, Scotland, in three volumes, with printer William Smellie serving as its principal editor.[2][3] By 1988, the encyclopedia grew to consist of 32 volumes in total,[2] but later stopped printing physical copies to focus on the online edition in 2012.[4] As of 2025, the current editor-in-chief of the encyclopedia is Jason Tuohey, who was formerly an editor at Yahoo News.[5]
Editors-in-chief
| Portrait | Name (lifespan) | Tenure during publication[a] | Edition | Notable contribution(s) | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_-_William_Smellie_(1740–1795),_Printer,_Naturalist_and_Antiquary_-_PG_3559_-_National_Galleries_of_Scotland.jpg) |
William Smellie (1740–1795) | 1768–1771 | "Abridgement" | [3][6][7] | ||
 |
James Tytler (1745–1804)[b] | 1776–1784 | [8][9] | |||
| N/a | Colin Macfarquhar (1745?–1793) | 1788–1793 | [10][11][1] | |||
 |
George Gleig (1753–1840) | 1793–1797 | [1][12] | |||
.jpeg) |
James Millar (1762–1827) | 1801–1810 | [1][13] | |||
| N/a | Thomson Bonar (1739–1814) | 1810–1812 |
Encyclopædia Britannica Fifth Edition[d] |
[1][14][15] | ||
|
James Millar (1762–1827) | 1812–1817 | [1][13][15] | |||
.jpg) |
Charles Maclaren (1782–1866) | 1820–1823 |
Encyclopædia Britannica Sixth Edition |
[1][16][17] | ||
 |
Macvey Napier (1776–1847) | 1830–1842 | [1][18][19] | |||
_-_Thomas_Stewart_Traill_(1781–1862),_Professor_of_Medical_Jurisprudence_at_Edinburgh_University_-_PG_1851_-_National_Galleries_of_Scotland.jpg) |
Thomas Stewart Traill (1781–1862) | 1852–1860 | [1][20][21] | |||
 |
Thomas Spencer Baynes (1823–1887) | 1875–1887 | "Shakespeare, William" | [1][22][23] | ||
.jpg) |
William Robertson Smith (1846–1894) | 1881–1888 | [1][24][25] | |||
 |
Hugh Chisholm (1866–1924) | 1902–1903 | Encyclopædia Britannica Tenth Edition[f] | [1][26][27] | ||
 |
Arthur Twining Hadley (1856–1930) | [1][28][29] | ||||
 |
Donald Mackenzie Wallace (1841–1919) | "Russia" | [1][30] | |||
|
Hugh Chisholm (1866–1924) | 1910–1911 | Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition | [1][26][27] | ||
| 1922 | Encyclopædia Britannica Twelfth Edition | |||||
.jpg) |
James Louis Garvin (1868–1947) | 1926 | Encyclopædia Britannica Thirteenth Edition | [1][31][32] | ||
| 1929–1932 | Encyclopædia Britannica Fourteenth Edition | |||||
| N/a | Franklin Henry Hooper (1862–1940) | 1932–1938 | [1][32] | |||
| N/a | Walter Yust (1894–1960) | 1938–1960 | [1][33] | |||
.jpg) |
Harry Scott Ashmore (1916–1998) | 1960–1963 | [1][34] | |||
| N/a | Warren Eversleigh Preece (1921–2007) | 1965–1967 | [1][35] | |||
.jpg) |
William Haley (1901–1987) | 1968–1969 | [1][36][37] | |||
| N/a | Warren Eversleigh Preece (1921–2007) | 1969–1975 | [1][35] | |||
| N/a | Encyclopædia Britannica Fifteenth Edition | |||||
| N/a | Philip Whitehead Goetz (1927–2008) | 1979–1991 | [38][39] | |||
| N/a | Robert McHenry (born 1945) | 1992–1997 | Encyclopædia Britannica Fifteenth Edition | Britannica Online | [38][40] | |
| N/a | Dale Hoiberg | 1997–2015 | [41][4][42] | |||
| N/a | Tracy Grant (born 1964) | 2022–2025 | Britannica Online | [43][44] | ||
| N/a | Jason Tuohey | 2025–current | [5] | |||
Notes
- As indicated by the period of publication of their respective editions.
- The biographer of Tytler claimed that he edited the first edition also, although it is generally acknowledged that this is not the case.
- Macfarquhar died before the edition was finished, leading the remaining volumes to be edited by Gleig.
- Bonar edited the first five volumes, with the remaining 15 being edited by Millard.
- Baynes was the sole editor-in-chief of the first 11 volumes of the ninth edition. Due to ill health, he became joint editor of the encyclopedia alongside Smith from 1881, before dying in 1887. Smith saw to the work's completion in 1888.
- Chisholm, Hadley, and Wallace all served as joint editors of the tenth edition.