Celebrate Noah Webster, father of American orthography

October 16 will mark the 260th birthday of lexicographer Noah Webster, whose dictionary remains the American standard.

Because of Webster, we are no longer burdened with the superfluous “u” in words like honor, flavor, and color that still weigh upon British usage. A student at Yale while the revolution raged, Webster argued that independence required a unique American identity. Simplified spelling was one way to achieve it.