The Editors of The Encyclopædia Britannica
What does this designation mean?
You will notice that many of the articles on this site are attributed in full or in part to the Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. The vast majority of articles attributed solely to the editors have nonetheless been written, reviewed, or revised by experts, and the lack of formal acknowledgment of their contributions was part of a long-standing Britannica policy. In the absence of those experts' names, Britannica's editorial staff, which has played a key role in the development and maintenance of such articles, has been designated as the contributor. In recent years, nearly all contributors to Encyclopædia Britannica have been credited by name—whether they are editors, experts, or other members of the Britannica community.
Britannica's editorial process
Editorial quality has been Encyclopædia Britannica's top priority since the company was founded in 1768. Over these many years, Britannica has developed an editorial process that today is one of the most rigorous in the reference publishing industry. Behind every step of this process are the world's best experts and Britannica's skilled editorial team, which together are the source of Britannica's reputation for accuracy and objectivity.
Britannica's Editorial division is responsible for developing the content of the company's products, from soliciting manuscripts and editing to fact-checking, copy editing, creation and acquisition of media, and indexing. Subject editors are experienced editors as well as subject area specialists, many of whom hold a Ph.D. or other advanced degree in their field. Britannica's artists, cartographers, and media editors, who work in close collaboration with subject editors, produce and acquire a wide range of media for all Britannica products. World data experts research and compile statistical information from a variety of authoritative sources. All the Editorial division's work is supported by an extensive library—staffed by reference librarians and researchers—that makes available reference titles, periodicals, and online subscription databases.
Britannica has always had vigorous interaction with its advisers, contributors, and readers. This interaction represents the first step in Britannica's editorial process. For each article, subject editors, in collaboration with supervisory editors, create an editorial plan that combines their own research and analysis with comments by members of Britannica's worldwide community of experts and with feedback from readers. Prospective contributors are asked to revise or write an article, or several articles, in accordance with that plan and to submit detailed documentation of sources used. Fact checkers verify the content’s factual accuracy, and subject editors ensure that each article fulfills Britannica's goals of clarity, accuracy, objectivity, and fairness. Supervisory editors review each article, and copy editors read it for grammar, style, and consistency. It is then sent to the contributor for review, and the subject editor incorporates the contributor's responses. Copy editors do a final reading, after which the information management team analyzes the article and classifies its contents.
Once an article has been published, the process begins anew, with interaction between readers, contributors, and editors producing refinements and updates that ensure accuracy and timeliness. Editors approach these improvements with the same meticulousness that they apply to a new or substantially revised article, but an abbreviated editorial process allows these changes to be published almost immediately while still being subject to rigorous in-house and external review.
Britannica's editorial staff
The following individuals make up Britannica's editorial staff:
- Mansur G. Abdullah
- Michael C. Anderson
- Michael J. Anderson
- Adam Augustyn
- Marilyn L. Barton
- Patricia Bauer
- Linda Berris
- Naomi Blumberg
- Henry Bolzon
- Peter Bondarenko
- Steven Bosco
- Lisa Bosco
- Yvette Charboneau
- Yamini Chauhan
- Laura Chaveriat
- Kenneth Chmielewski
- Swati Chopra
- Sandra Colmenares
- Paul Cranmer
- John M. Cunningham
- Darshana Das
- Jeannine Deubel
- Nicole DiGiacomo
- Letricia A. Dixon
- Brian Duignan
- Promeet Dutta
- Alison Eldridge
- Annie Feldmeier Adams
- Andrea R. Field
- Shirese Franklin
- Carol A. Gaines
- William Gosner
- Anthony L. Green
- Robert Green
- Erik Gregersen
- William Guerriero
- Anna Ha
- Benedict Hane
- Kurt Heintz
- Carmen-Maria Hetrea
- Joan Hibler
- John Higgins
- Sherman Hollar
- Rosaline Jackson-Keys
- Parul Jain
- Steven N. Kapusta
- Thad King
- Kathleen Kuiper
- Joan Lackowski
- Melinda Leonard
- Robert M. Lewis
- Gloria Lotha
- Amethy Lu
- J.E. Luebering
- Marsha Mackenzie
- Lars Mahinske
- Neha Mathur
- Christine McCabe
- Mary Rose McCudden
- Amy McKenna
- Michele Metych
- E. Moragne
- Ned Mulka
- Lorraine Murray
- Kimiyo Naka-Michaeli
- Kathy Nakamura
- Richard Pallardy
- Theodore Pappas
- Neha Parwani
- Renie Petropoulos
- Melissa Petruzzello
- Kenneth Pletcher
- John P. Rafferty
- Michael Ray
- Patrick Riley
- Kara Rogers
- Isabella Saccà
- Marco Sampaolo
- Barbara Schreiber
- Susan Schumer
- Stephen Seddon
- Tatyana Sergeyeva
- Veenu Setia
- Kathleen B. Sheetz
- Melinda C. Shepherd
- Dennis Skord
- Karen Sparks
- Matt Stefon
- David Stokes
- Noah Tesch
- Amy Tikkanen
- Sheila Vasich
- Sylvia Wallace
- Jeffrey Wallenfeldt
- Bruce Walters
- Joshua Werth
- Barbara Whitney
- Mark Wiechec
- Grace Young