John Stephen Farmer
British lexicographer, spiritualist and writer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Stephen Farmer (7 March 1854 – 18 January 1916) also known as J. S. Farmer was a British lexicographer, spiritualist and writer. He was most well known for his seven volume dictionary of slang.
John Stephen Farmer | |
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| Born | 7 March 1854 |
| Died | 18 January 1916 (aged 61) |
| Occupations | Lexicographer, spiritualist |
Career
Farmer was born in Bedford. His lifetime work was Slang and its Analogues published in seven volumes (1890–1904) with William Ernest Henley.[1][2]
Farmer took interest in psychical research and spiritualism. He was the first editor for the spiritualist journal Light.[3] From 1878, he also edited the Psychological Review, a spiritualist periodical.[4] Farmer was a member of the London Spiritualist Alliance.[5]
Farmer defended the medium William Eglinton from accusations of fraud and in 1886 wrote a biography about Eglinton.[6]
Publications
- Spiritualism as a New Basis of Belief (1880)
- A New Basis of Belief in Immortality (1882)
- How to Investigate Spiritualism (1883)
- Twixt Two Worlds: A Narrative of the Life and Work of William Eglinton (1886)
- Americanisms, Old and New. A Dictionary of Words, Phrases, and Colloquialisms peculiar to the United States, British America, the West Indies, &c., &c., Their Derivation, Meaning, and Application, together with numerous Anecdotal, Historical, Explanatory, and Folk-lore Notes (1889)
- Slang and its Analogues Past and Present: A Dictionary, Historical and Comparative, of the Heterodox Speech of All Classes of Society for more than Three Hundred Years With Synonyms in English, French, German, Italian, Etc (Seven volumes, 1890–1904) [with William Ernest Henley]