Noah Webster, a teacher which graduated from Yale University in 1778, once fought against the British in the American War of Independence. He felt that writing English in the newly independent United States should have distinctive “American” look.

His first book, TheElementarySpellingBook, suggested simplify the spelling of English words. The book was extreme popular. By the 1850s it was selling one million copies a year, making them one of the most popular school books ever.

What’s more, Webster is best know for his AmericanDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage, which first was appeared in 1828.Today, it was still the number one dictionaries for American students.