| Event type: | Monthly meeting |
| Date: | Mon 8 Jun 2026 |
| Time: | 10:00am - 12:00pm |
| Venue: | St Margaret’s United Reformed Church, N3 1BD |
| Booking: | Note that booking is required. |
What do three murderers, Karl Marx’s daughter, a kleptomaniac and a vegetarian vicar have in common? In fact they all helped create the Oxford English Dictionary. While the OED has long been associated with elite institutions, it has also relied on contributions from a surprising and diverse group of people – from astronomers to naturists, pornographers, suffragists, and several key contributors from Finchley. In this talk, Sarah Ogilvie dives deep into previously untapped archives to tell a people's history of one of the most famous books in the world.
Sarah is Professor of Language and Lexicography at the University of Oxford and a former editor on the Oxford English Dictionary. She specialises in lexicography, endangered languages, language revitalization, the history of dictionaries, and digital humanities. She is author of seven books including The Dictionary People: the unsung heroes of the Oxford English Dictionary (2023).