Administrative / Biographical History

Roget is best known for his thesaurus, which first appeared in 1852, and which has since become one of the biggest-selling publications in the world. Roget was a qualified medical practitioner, who had been a physician at the Infirmary in Manchester between 1804-1808. He then moved to London, and lectured at the school of William Hunter, and at the Royal Society. He was made a fellow of the Royal Society. Roget also worked as consultant physician at Queen Charlotte's Lying-in Hospital. In later life, he concentrated on his literary activities and contributed many articles to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and helped establish the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. Roget was something of a polymath, inventing a slide rule and helping construct of calculating machine.

Related Material

See also MMC/1/Roget.