Timothy Dexter: Difference between revisions
m removed peacock and references tags |
mNo edit summary |
||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
{{Expert-verify|date=May 2011}} |
{{Expert-verify|date=May 2011}} |
||
[[Image:Timothy Dexter.jpg|thumb|right|''"Lord" Timothy Dexter'']] |
[[Image:Timothy Dexter.jpg|thumb|right|''"Lord" Timothy Dexter'']] |
||
'''"Lord" Timothy Dexter''' (January 22, 1748 – October 26, 1806), as he was sometimes termed by admiring contemporaries, was an [[eccentricity (behaviour)|eccentric]] [[USA|American]] businessman who was |
'''"Lord" Timothy Dexter''' (January 22, 1748 – October 26, 1806), as he was sometimes termed by admiring contemporaries, was an [[eccentricity (behaviour)|eccentric]] [[USA|American]] businessman who was known for writing texts with [[spelling|misspellings]]. |
||
==Biography== |
==Biography== |
||
Revision as of 21:05, 24 May 2011
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2011) |
 | This article needs attention from an expert on the subject. Please add a reason or a talk parameter to this template to explain the issue with the article. (May 2011) |
"Lord" Timothy Dexter (January 22, 1748 – October 26, 1806), as he was sometimes termed by admiring contemporaries, was an eccentric American businessman who was known for writing texts with misspellings.
Biography
Timothy Dexter exported bibles. Dexter bought a huge estate in Chester, New Hampshire. He also bought a new house in Newburyport where there was a mausoleum for himself and a garden of 40 wooden statues of famous men, including George Washington, William Pitt, Napoleon Bonaparte, Thomas Jefferson and himself. It had an inscription I am the first in the East, the first in the West, and the greatest philosopher in the Western World.
At the age of 50 he wrote a book about himself - A Pickle for the Knowing Ones or Plain Truth in a Homespun Dress. He wrote about himself and complained about politicians, clergy and his wife. The book contained 8,847 words and 33,864 letters, but no punctuation, and capital letters were seemingly random. At first he handed his book out for free, but it became popular and was re-printed in eight editions.[citation needed] In the second edition Dexter added an extra page which consisted of 13 lines of punctuation marks. Dexter instructed readers to "peper and solt it as they plese".[1]
Dexter announced his death and urged people to prepare for his burial. About 3,000 people attended Dexter's mock wake. Timothy Dexter actually died in 1806.
Dexter's house became a hotel, then a library. Storms ruined most of his statues, the statue of William Pitt being the only identified survivor. His "littel book" remains his primary legacy to this day.
Footnotes
- ^ Nelson, Randy F. The Almanac of American Letters. Los Altos, California: William Kaufmann, Inc., 1981: p. 207. ISBN 086576008X
References
- Samuel L. Knapp, "The Life of Lord Timothy Dexter, with Sketches of the Eccentric Characters that Composed his Associates," 1858
- Dexter, Timothy; Quince, Peter (1881). A pickle for the knowing ones: or, Plain truths in a homespun dress. S. A. Tucker. 36 pages. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|nopp=ignored (|no-pp=suggested) (help)
External links
- The Official Virtual Seat on the "Noue Systom of Knollege & Lite" Assigned the Notable and Most Noble Lord Timothy Dexter
- Complete transcription of "A Pickle for The Knowing Ones; or Plain Truths in a Homespun Dress" ~ with translation and annotations
- NPR’s "Weekend Edition": The 'Literary' Legacy of Lord Timothy Dexter