Encyclopaedia Britannica

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Edition Year Comments

01 1768-1771 Published in 100 parts in Edinburgh by Andrew Bell (1726 - 1809), engraver. Priced sixpence or 8 pence on finer paper. Completed in 1771 in 3 volumes (A-B, C-L, M-Z). Reprinted in London in 1773
02 1777-1784 Published in 181 parts in Edinburgh, completed in 1784 in 10 volumes
03 1788-1797 Published in 300 weekly numbers in Edinburgh (1 shilling apiece), completed in 1797 in 18 volumes. Two volume supplement published in 1801, revised in 1803
04 1810 Published in 20 volumes in Edinburgh. Following Andrew Bell's death in 1809, Archibald Constable purchased the copyright
05 1817 Published in Edinburgh as a corrected reprint of the 4th
06 1823 Published in Edinburgh as a reprint of the 5th with a modern typeface. Six volume supplement for 4th, 5th, 6th editions published 1816-1824. Following Constable's bankruptcy, the British publishing firm of Adam & Charles Black purchased the copyright at auction in 1827
07 1830-1842 Published in Edinburgh as a new work, not a revision, it was sold to subscribers in monthly "parts" of around 133 pages each at 6 shillings per part. Completed in 1842 in 20 volumes at 36 shillings per volume (£24 for the full set), plus an index bound as an unnumbered thin volume or together with volume I
08 1853-1860 Published in Edinburgh as a thorough revision, even more than the 7th. Completed in 1861 in 21 volumes, at 24 shillings per volume, cloth bound
09 1875-1889 Published in Edinburgh as a landmark edition, often called the "Scholar's Edition" in 25 volumes, with volume 25 the index volume. It was even more luxurious, with thick boards and high-quality leather bindings, premier paper, with the ability to print large graphic illustrations on the same pages as the text.
Colourful agents in Australia and US sell subscriptions. With no foreign copyright law till 1891, US printers are "authorized" (eg Scribners in New York) but "bootleg" (eg Werner in Ohio) sales huge.
Struggling financially in 1897, A & C Black turn over promotion to US Publisher Horace Everett Hooper and Walter Montgomery Jackson. They partnered with The Times in London (and its respectable name) to heavily advertise and sell the Britannica. On 9 May 1901 Hooper and Jackson purchase its copyright in full, open New York office
10 1902 Still printed in Edinburgh as 25 volume reprint, a 9 volume supplement and map volume, a total of 35 volumes. In US Norwood Press, others contracted. Following a public furore between Hooper and Jackson in 1909, the Times severs its connection
11 1910-1911 Published as 29 volumes by Cambridge University Press in UK and R.R.Donnelley in Chicago in US. Hooper now sole owner of Britannica
12 1922 The poor sales of the war years brought the Britannica to the brink of bankruptcy. CEO of Sears Roebuck, philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, was devoted to its mission and bought its rights on 24 February 1920 from his friend Hooper for $1.25 million. Hooper died in 1922 just after a three volume supplement was printed in New York and London, summarizing developments surrounding World War I.

The edition was a commercial failure, losing Sears roughly $1.75 million and Sears gave it back to Hooper's widow, Harriett Meeker Cox, and her brother, William J. Cox. They ran the company from 1923 to 1928
13 1926 Three revised volumes published covering events 1910–1926. In 1928, Rosenwald bought back the rights, but leaving Cox as president until 1932. In 1932 Rosenwald died
14 1929 Published as 24 volumes in Chicago. And with the Depression sales plummeted, the general offices moved to Chicago, Elkan Harrison “Buck” Powell the Secretary-Treasurer of Sears and University of Chicago graduate, became its new president.
In 1936, annual revisions printing introduced.
In 1943, Chicago-based William Benton becomes new owner, a former US senator and advertising executive, backed by the University. After World War II, Britannica salespeople solicited orders by telephone and by selling door-to-door. By the beginning of the 1960s, having purchased Compton's Encyclopedia and dictionary publisher G. & C. Merriam (later Merriam-Webster), and having published, in 1962, the Great Books of the Western World, the enterprise had nearly 4,000 employees nationwide and was doing about $75 million in annual sales.
In 1964 London executive Jack Dixon opened an Australian subsidiary in Sydney.
In 1973 William Benton died. In 1974 the William Benton Foundation took over
15 1974 Published as 30 volumes. Contained a single Propædia volume (Primer for Education outlines), a 10-volume Micropædia (Small Education articles less than 750 words), and a 19-volume Macropædia (Large Education more scholarly articles). In 1985, the Britannica responded to reader requests by restoring the index as a two volume set.

During the 1990s, the company concentrated on producing electronic references, but competition in this field was heavy, and sales dropped. In 1995, Britannica was purchased by an investment group led by Jacob Safra of Switzerland.

Edition	Year	Comments
01	1768-1771	Published in 100 parts in Edinburgh by Andrew Bell (1726 - 1809), engraver. Priced sixpence or 8 pence on finer paper. Completed in 1771 in 3 volumes (A-B, C-L, M-Z). Reprinted in London in 1773
02	1777-1784	Published in 181 parts in Edinburgh, completed in 1784 in 10 volumes
03	1788-1797	Published in 300 weekly numbers in Edinburgh (1 shilling apiece), completed in 1797 in 18 volumes. Two volume supplement published in 1801, revised in 1803
04	1810	Published in 20 volumes in Edinburgh. Following Andrew Bell's death in 1809, Archibald Constable purchased the copyright
05	1817	Published in Edinburgh as a corrected reprint of the 4th
06	1823	Published in Edinburgh as a reprint of the 5th with a modern typeface. Six volume supplement for 4th, 5th, 6th editions published 1816-1824. Following Constable's bankruptcy, the British publishing firm of Adam & Charles Black purchased the copyright at auction in 1827
07	1830-1842	Published in Edinburgh as a new work, not a revision, it was sold to subscribers in monthly "parts" of around 133 pages each at 6 shillings per part. Completed in 1842 in 20 volumes at 36 shillings per volume (£24 for the full set), plus an index bound as an unnumbered thin volume or together with volume I
08	1853-1860	Published in Edinburgh as a thorough revision, even more than the 7th. Completed in 1861 in 21 volumes, at 24 shillings per volume, cloth bound
09	1875-1889	Published in Edinburgh as a landmark edition, often called the "Scholar's Edition" in 25 volumes, with volume 25 the index volume. It was even more luxurious, with thick boards and high-quality leather bindings, premier paper, with the ability to print large graphic illustrations on the same pages as the text. Colourful agents in Australia and US sell subscriptions. With no foreign copyright law till 1891, US printers are "authorized" (eg Scribners in New York) but "bootleg" (eg Werner in Ohio) sales huge. Struggling financially in 1897, A & C Black turn over promotion to US Publisher Horace Everett Hooper and Walter Montgomery Jackson. They partnered with The Times in London (and its respectable name) to heavily advertise and sell the Britannica. On 9 May 1901 Hooper and Jackson purchase its copyright in full, open New York office
10	1902	Still printed in Edinburgh as 25 volume reprint, a 9 volume supplement and map volume, a total of 35 volumes. In US Norwood Press, others contracted. Following a public furore between Hooper and Jackson in 1909, the Times severs its connection
11	1910-1911	Published as 29 volumes by Cambridge University Press in UK and R.R.Donnelley in Chicago in US. Hooper now sole owner of Britannica
12	1922	The poor sales of the war years brought the Britannica to the brink of bankruptcy. CEO of Sears Roebuck, philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, was devoted to its mission and bought its rights on 24 February 1920 from his friend Hooper for $1.25 million. Hooper died in 1922 just after a three volume supplement was printed in New York and London, summarizing developments surrounding World War I. The edition was a commercial failure, losing Sears roughly $1.75 million and Sears gave it back to Hooper's widow, Harriett Meeker Cox, and her brother, William J. Cox. They ran the company from 1923 to 1928
13	1926	Three revised volumes published covering events 1910–1926. In 1928, Rosenwald bought back the rights, but leaving Cox as president until 1932. In 1932 Rosenwald died
14	1929	Published as 24 volumes in Chicago. And with the Depression sales plummeted, the general offices moved to Chicago, Elkan Harrison “Buck” Powell the Secretary-Treasurer of Sears and University of Chicago graduate, became its new president. In 1936, annual revisions printing introduced. In 1943, Chicago-based William Benton becomes new owner, a former US senator and advertising executive, backed by the University. After World War II, Britannica salespeople solicited orders by telephone and by selling door-to-door. By the beginning of the 1960s, having purchased Compton's Encyclopedia and dictionary publisher G. & C. Merriam (later Merriam-Webster), and having published, in 1962, the Great Books of the Western World, the enterprise had nearly 4,000 employees nationwide and was doing about $75 million in annual sales. In 1964 London executive Jack Dixon opened an Australian subsidiary in Sydney. In 1973 William Benton died. In 1974 the William Benton Foundation took over
15	1974	Published as 30 volumes. Contained a single Propædia volume (Primer for Education outlines), a 10-volume Micropædia (Small Education articles less than 750 words), and a 19-volume Macropædia (Large Education more scholarly articles). In 1985, the Britannica responded to reader requests by restoring the index as a two volume set. During the 1990s, the company concentrated on producing electronic references, but competition in this field was heavy, and sales dropped. In 1995, Britannica was purchased by an investment group led by Jacob Safra of Switzerland.

Britannica Global Edition was printed in 2009. It contained 30 volumes and 18,251 pages, with 8,500 photographs, maps, flags, and illustrations in smaller "compact" volumes. It contained over 40,000 articles written by scholars from across the world, including Nobel Prize winners. Unlike the 15th edition, it did not contain Macro and Micropædia sections. On March 14, 2012, Britannica announced it would not be printing any more sets of its paper version, which accounted for less than 1 percent of its sales, and would instead focus on its DVD and online versions.

Globally in 2026, the parent entity Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. is overseen by Jorge Cauz, who operates out of the global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. Editorially, the actual encyclopedic and media content is directed by Editor-in-Chief Jason Tuohey.

Regionally, Michelle Kueh leads the Australian and New Zealand division. Her focus is entirely on digital learning, school curriculum integration, and deploying AI-driven educational tools across Australian classrooms. Its physical footprint in Sydney has shrunk dramatically from the massive warehouses of the 1960s. Its corporate presence is maintained through an administrative team based out of Chatswood West. This office handles institutional licensing for Australian schools, universities and libraries.

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