Clarence Wilbur Taber
Encyclopedia
Clarence Wilbur Taber was an American businessman best known for publishing Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary with the F.A. Davis Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
. In 1884, he moved with his mother and stepfather to the prairies near Pierre in the Dakota Territory
. Taber left home at the age of 17. He worked as a farm hand, then found a job as a stableman and janitor for a local banker. Taber eventually became a teller, cashier, and loan officer at his employer’s bank.
Taber joined a militia in the northern Dakota Territory during the Indian resistance of September 1890. The uprising in the north ended with the death of Sitting Bull, who was shot and killed by an Indian policeman. The Indian resistance in the south ended with the Battle of Wounded Knee.
Taber then went to Chicago and worked for Montgomery Ward
, edited a monthly magazine called The National Progress, and then served as the literary editor of the Chicago Daily News
. In 1905, he published a Dictionary for Nurses which he sold through mail order with help from his family.
Next, Clarence Taber was hired to be an educational sales representative by the G & C Merriam Company. In 1916, he became the editor and manager of the J.B. Lippincott Company’s school-book department in Chicago. Taber worked for Lippincott until 1929.
Ken Bussy in his Philadelphia Publishers and Printers: An Informal History called Clarence Taber “an American original”.
The American Medical Association
offered him equally high praise. On what turned out to be his last birthday, the AMA sent Taber a telegram that read, “Congratulations on your 97th birthday and your great contributions to American medicine.”
The 21st edition of Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary was published in February 2009. It contains more than 61,000 terms and more than 1,200 illustrations and tables. The 21st edition is available in print, on DVD, and in many electronic formats.
Clarence Wilbur Taber edited ten editions between 1940 and 1965. The eleventh edition was published in 1970, after Taber’s death. Clayton Thomas edited seven editions between 1973 and 1997. Clayton Thomas and Donald Venes co-edited the 19th edition published in 2001. Donald Venes edited the 20th and 21st editions.
Early life
Clarence Taber was born in Jersey City, New JerseyJersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
. In 1884, he moved with his mother and stepfather to the prairies near Pierre in the Dakota Territory
Dakota Territory
The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of North and South Dakota.The Dakota Territory consisted of...
. Taber left home at the age of 17. He worked as a farm hand, then found a job as a stableman and janitor for a local banker. Taber eventually became a teller, cashier, and loan officer at his employer’s bank.
Taber joined a militia in the northern Dakota Territory during the Indian resistance of September 1890. The uprising in the north ended with the death of Sitting Bull, who was shot and killed by an Indian policeman. The Indian resistance in the south ended with the Battle of Wounded Knee.
Career in Publishing
Clarence Taber moved to Minneapolis and began his business career with the “Anatomical and Physiological Chart of the Human Body” which he published in partnership with I.J. Eales.Taber then went to Chicago and worked for Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
, edited a monthly magazine called The National Progress, and then served as the literary editor of the Chicago Daily News
Chicago Daily News
The Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The Daily News was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty in 1875 and began publishing early the next year...
. In 1905, he published a Dictionary for Nurses which he sold through mail order with help from his family.
Next, Clarence Taber was hired to be an educational sales representative by the G & C Merriam Company. In 1916, he became the editor and manager of the J.B. Lippincott Company’s school-book department in Chicago. Taber worked for Lippincott until 1929.
Work with the F.A. Davis Company
Clarence Taber was hired as a full-time nursing textbook editor by the F.A. Davis Company in 1931. His most important contribution to the firm was Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, a book that enjoyed instant success on its publication and which remains a mainstay of the F.A. Davis Company’s publication list today. Clarence Taber also published 30 nursing textbooks that influenced nursing education for a generation.Ken Bussy in his Philadelphia Publishers and Printers: An Informal History called Clarence Taber “an American original”.
The American Medical Association
American Medical Association
The American Medical Association , founded in 1847 and incorporated in 1897, is the largest association of medical doctors and medical students in the United States.-Scope and operations:...
offered him equally high praise. On what turned out to be his last birthday, the AMA sent Taber a telegram that read, “Congratulations on your 97th birthday and your great contributions to American medicine.”
Notable Books edited by Clarence Wilbur Taber
Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, originally published in 1940. The first edition contained 50,000 to 60,000 terms and 273 illustrations on 1,488 pages. The plain version cost $2.50. The indexed version cost $3.00.The 21st edition of Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary was published in February 2009. It contains more than 61,000 terms and more than 1,200 illustrations and tables. The 21st edition is available in print, on DVD, and in many electronic formats.
Clarence Wilbur Taber edited ten editions between 1940 and 1965. The eleventh edition was published in 1970, after Taber’s death. Clayton Thomas edited seven editions between 1973 and 1997. Clayton Thomas and Donald Venes co-edited the 19th edition published in 2001. Donald Venes edited the 20th and 21st editions.