Longman is a firm of English publishers. Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population –mid-2004... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ...

History

The founder of the firm, Thomas Longman (1) (1699-1755) was the son of Ezekiel Longman (d. 1708), a gentleman of Bristol. Thomas was apprenticed in 1716 to John Osborn, a London bookseller. At the expiration of his apprenticeship he married Osborn's daughter, and in August 1724 purchased the stock and household goods of William Taylor, the first publisher of Robinson Crusoe, for £2282 9s. 6d. Taylor’s two shops were known respectively as the Black Swan and the Ship, in Paternoster Row and became the publishing house premises. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Greater Bristol. ... Robinson Crusoe and Man Friday by Carl Offterdinger Robinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1719 and sometimes regarded as the first novel in English. ...

Osborn, who afterwards entered into partnership with his son-in-law, held one-sixth of the shares in Ephraim Chambers's Cyclopaedia, and Thomas Longman was one of the six booksellers who undertook the responsibility of Samuel Johnson's Dictionary. In 1754 Thomas Longman took his nephew into partnership, the title of the firm becoming T. and T. Longman. Ephraim Chambers (c1680 - 15 May 1740), was an English encyclopaedist. ... Cyclopaedia; or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (folio, 2 vols. ... Samuel Johnson circa 1772, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds. ... A Dictionary of the English Language, one of the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language, was prepared by Samuel Johnson and published on April 15, 1755. ...

Upon the death of his uncle in 1755, Thomas Longman (2) (1730-1797) became sole proprietor. He greatly extended the colonial trade of the firm. He had three sons. Of these, Thomas Norton Longman (3) (1771-1842) succeeded to the business. In 1794 Owen Rees became a partner, and Thomas Brown, who was for many years after 1811 a partner, entered the house as an apprentice. Brown died in 1869 at the age of 92.

In 1799 Longman purchased the copyright of Lindley Murray's English Grammar, which had an annual sale of about 50,000 copies; he also purchased, about 1800, the copyright, from Joseph Cottle, of Bristol, of Southey's Joan of Arc and Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads. He published the works of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey and Scott, and acted as London agent for the Edinburgh Review, which was started in 1802. In 1804 two more partners were admitted; and in 1824 the title of the firm was changed to Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown & Green. In 1814 arrangements were made with Thomas Moore for the publication of Laila Rookh, for which he received £3000; and when Archibald Constable failed in 1826, Longmans became the proprietors of the Edinburgh Review. They issued in 1829 Lardner’s Cabinet Encyclopaedia, and in 1832 McCulloch's Commercial Dictionary. 1799 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Lindley Murray (1745–1826), grammarian, was born in Pennsylvania, and practised as a lawyer. ... Robert Southey, English poet Robert Southey (August 12, 1774 – March 21, 1843) was an English poet of the Romantic school, and one of the so-called Lake Poets. Although his fame tends to be eclipsed by that of his contemporaries such as William Wordsworth, Southeys verse enjoys enduring popularity. ... William Wordsworth, English poet William Wordsworth (April 7, 1770 – April 23, 1850) was a major English romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their 1798 joint publication, Lyrical Ballads. ... Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet, 1795 Samuel Taylor Coleridge (October 21, 1772 – July 25, 1834) was an English poet, critic, and philosopher who was, along with his friend William Wordsworth, one of the founders of the Romantic Movement in England and one of the Lake Poets. ... For the first Premier of Saskatchewan see Thomas Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott (August 14, 1771 - September 21, 1832) was a prolific Scottish historical novelist and poet popular throughout Europe. ... The Edinburgh Review was one of the most influential British magazines of the 19th century. ... Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (May 28, 1779 - February 25, 1852) was an Irish poet, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Last Rose of Summer. ...

Thomas Norton Longman(3) died on August 29, 1842, leaving his two sons, Thomas (4) (1804-1879) and William Longman (1813-1877), in control of the business in Paternoster Row. Their first success was the publication of Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome, which was followed in 1841 by the issue of the first two volumes of his History of England, which in a few years had a sale of 40,000 copies. August 29 is the 241st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (242nd in leap years), with 124 days remaining. ... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Quotes His imagination resembled the wings of an ostrich. ...

The two brothers were well known for their literary talent; Thomas Longman edited a beautifully illustrated edition of the New Testament, and William Longman was the author of several important books, among them a History of the Three Cathedrals dedicated to St Paul (1869) and a work on the History of the Life and Times of Edward III (1873). In 1863 the firm took over the business of Mr JW Parker, and with it Fraser's Magazine, and the publication of the works of John Stuart Mill and JA Froude; while in 1890 they incorporated with their own all the publications of the old firm of Rivington, established in 1711. The family control of the firm (later Longmans, Green & Co.) was continued by Thomas Norton Longman(5), son of Thomas Longman (4). John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ... Frasers Magazine for Town and Country was a general and literary journal. ... John Stuart Mill (May 20, 1806 – May 8, 1873), an English philosopher and political economist, was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century. ... James Anthony Froude (April 23, 1818 - October 20, 1894) was an English historian, the brother of William Froude, the engineer and naval architect. ... Charles Rivington (1688 - February 22, 1742), British publisher, was born at Chesterfield, Derbyshire, in 1688. ...

In December, 1940, Longman's Paternoster Row offices were destroyed in the Blitz, along with most of the company's stock. The company survived this crisis, however, and became a public company in 1948. Longman was acquired by the media conglomerate Pearson in 1968. In 1972, Mark Longman, last of the Longman family to run the company, died. Pearson plc LSE: PSON;NYSE: PSO is a London-based media conglomerate. ...

Longman continues to exist as an imprint of Pearson Education, under the name Pearson Longman. Pearson Longman specializes in English, history, philosophy, political science, and religion. Pearson Education is one of leading publishers of educational textbooks and other educational material, such as multimedia learning tools. ...

External links

• http://www.longman.co.uk/
• Longman Online Dictionary

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.