Noah Webster, Jr. (October 16, 1758 – May 28, 1843), was an American
lexicographer, textbook pioneer,
English-language spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and prolific author. He has been called the "Father of American Scholarship and Education". His blue-backed speller books taught five generations of American children how to spell and read,
secularizing their education. According to Ellis (1979) he gave Americans "a secular
catechism to the nation-state."