List of English-language 20th-century general encyclopedias

1900s

1900

1901

1902

1903

  • Crown Encyclopaedia and Gazetter (1903) (Link includes vols. 1 and 5)
    • Continental Encyclopedia (1905)
    • New Century Reference Library (1907) (Link includes vols. 2-8)
    • Current Cyclopedia of Reference (1909)
    • Everybody's Encyclopedia (1910)
    • People's Encyclopedia (1914)
    • New World Wide Encyclopedia (1918)
    • World Wide Encyclopedia (1919)
    • New World Encyclopedia (1919) (Link includes vol. 1)
    • Adair's New Encyclopedia (1923) (Link includes vols. 2-5)
    • Time's Encyclopedia and Gazetteer (1929)
    • Twentieth Century Encyclopedia (1930)
    • Worlds Popular Encyclopedia (1937)
  • Imperial Encyclopedia and Dictionary (1903), a continuation of Columbian Cyclopaedia (1899)
    • New Imperial Encyclopedia and Dictionary (1906)
    • United Editors Encyclopedia and Dictionary (1909)
    • United Editors Perpetual Encyclopedia (1911)
  • New People's Cyclopedia of Universal Knowledge (1903) (Link includes vols. 1-4) re-issue of People's Cyclopedia of Universal Knowledge (1883)
    • World Wide Encyclopedia and Gazetteer (1908)
  • Twentieth Century Household Library (1903)

1904

  • Cassells Cabinet Cyclopedia (1904)
  • Complete Library of Universal Knowledge (1904)
    • New Idea Self-Instructor (1904)
    • The Knowledge Book (1915)
    • The Knowledge Library (1918)
    • New Knowledge Library (1919)
  • Modern Achievement (1904)

1905

1906

1907

  • Everyone's Cyclopedia (1907)
  • Library of Original Sources (1907)

1908

1909

1910s

1910

1911

  • Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing (1911)
  • Volume Library (1911) (Returned to original title in 1970)

1912

  • Modern Encyclopedia (1912)
  • Standard Illustrated Book of Facts (1912)

1913

1914

1916

  • Circle of Knowledge (1916)
  • Pictured Knowledge 1916

1917

1919

  • Bufton's Universal Cyclopedia (1919)
    • Library of Knowledge (1929)

1920s

1920

1921

1922

1924

1925

  • Concise Pocket Encyclopedia (1925)

1927

  • Universal Knowledge (1927)

1928

  • I See All (1928)
  • New Universities Encyclopedia (1928)

1929

1930s

1930

  • American Home Library (1930)

1931

1932

  • National Encyclopedia (1932)
  • Newnes Pictorial Encyclopedia (1932)
  • New Standard Encyclopedia and World Atlas (1932)
    • Wonder World of Knowledge (1935)
    • Wonder World Encyclopedia (1936)
    • Standard Encyclopaedia (1937)
    • Modern Standard Encyclopedia (1938)
    • New Wonder World Encyclopedia (1964)

1933

  • Modern Encyclopaedia (1933) 1 vol.
    • Concise Encyclopaedia (1937) 8 vols.
    • Modern Concise Encyclopaedia (1940) 12 vols.
    • New Modern Encyclopaedia (1943) 1 vol.
  • Modern Encyclopedia for Children (1933)
    • Wonder Encyclopedia for Children (1933)
    • Golden Encyclopedia for Children (1934)
    • Clear Type Encyclopedia (1935)
    • Laural and Gold Encyclopedia (1935)
    • Modern Encyclopedia for Young People (1935)
    • Modern Illustrated Encyclopedia (1940)
  • Newes Everything Within (1933)
    • Newnes Golden Treasury (1933)
    • Children's Everything Within (1939)
  • New Illustrated Universal Reference Book (1933)
  • Richards Cyclopedia (1933)
    • Richard's Topical Cyclopedia (1939)

1934

  • Daily Express Encyclopedia (1934)
  • Routledge's Universal Encyclopedia (1934) British ed.
    • Facts; the New Concise Encyclopedia (1934) American ed.
    • New Concise Pictorial Encyclopedia (1938)
    • Comprehensive Pictorial Encyclopedia (1942)
    • World Home Reference Encyclopedia (1951)
  • Practical Knowledge for All (1934)

1935

1936

  • Children's Home Educator and Treasury of Knowledge (1936)
    • Waverley Encyclopedia (1953)
  • Everyday Knowledge (1936)
  • Hutchinson's Pictorial Encyclopedia (1936)
    • Hutchinson's Twentieth Century Encyclopedia (1948)
    • Hutchinson's New Twentieth Century Encyclopedia (1965)
    • New Hutchinson's Twentieth Century Encyclopedia (1977)
  • International Encyclopedia and Dictionary (1936)

1937

1938

  • Book of General Knowledge (1938)
    • Teach Yourself Concise Encyclopedia of General Knowledge (1956)
  • Universal Knowledge A - Z (1938)
    • Great Encyclopedia of Universal Knowledge (1948)

1940s

1940

  • Modern Library of Knowledge (1940)
  • Webster's Columbia Encyclopedic Dictionary (1940)
    • Webster's Comprehensive Encyclopedic Dictionary (1941)
    • Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary (1941)
    • Library of Essential Information (1942)
    • American People's Encyclopedia (1946)
    • Consolidated Webster Comprehensive Encyclopedic Dictionary (1954)
    • Consolidated Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary (1954)

1943

  • International American Encyclopedia (1943)

1944

  • Encyclopedia for Boys and Girls (1944)
    • Children's Illustrated Encyclopedia of General Knowledge (1957)

1946

  • Golden Encyclopedia (1946)
    • New Golden Encyclopedia (1963)
  • Handy Encyclopedia of Useful Information (1946)
    • Austin's New Encyclopedia of Useable Information (1948)
    • Everyday Reference Library (1951)

1947

1948

  • Children's Pictorial Encyclopedia (1948)
  • Oxford Junior Encyclopedia (1948)
    • American Oxford Encyclopedia for Home and School (1964)
  • World of the Children (1948)

1949

1950s

1953

  • Odham's Encyclopedia (1953)
    • Modern Encyclopedia (1961)

1954

  • Basic Everyday Encyclopedia (1954)
  • Illustrated Encyclopedia of Knowledge (1954)
    • Illustrated Home Library Encyclopedia (1955)
    • Illustrated World Encyclopedia (1958)
  • New Pictorial Encyclopedia of the World (1954)
    • Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Modern World (1956)
    • Little & Ives Illustrated Ready Reference Encyclopedia (1961)
  • New Wonder Book Cyclopedia of World Knowledge (1954)

1955

  • New Masters Pictorial Encyclopedia (1955)
  • Our Wonderful World (1955)

1956

  • Wonder Book Encyclopedia (1956)
    • Junior Pictorial Encyclopedia (1959)
    • Encyclopedia of Modern Knowledge (1965)
  • Young Children's Encyclopedia (1956)

1957

  • Children's Guide to Knowledge (1957) American version
  • Modern Children's Library of Knowledge (1957)
  • Modern University Encyclopedia (1957)
    • New Age Encyclopedia, World Atlas and Sports Supplement (1957)
  • Pearson's Everything Within (1957)
  • Pictorial Encyclopedia (1957)

1959

1960s

1960

  • Junior World Encyclopedia (1960)
    • Harver Junior World Encyclopedia (1972)
  • Newnes Popular Encyclopedia (1960)
    • Newnes Family Encyclopedia (1966)

1961

  • Black's Children Encyclopedia (1961)
  • Golden Home and High School Encyclopedia (1961)
  • Golden Treasury of Knowledge (1961)
  • Junior Pears Encyclopedia (1961)
  • Knowledge: the weekly colored encyclopedia (1961 - 1965)
  • Odham's Encyclopedia for Children (1961)
    • Odham's Wonder World of Knowledge (1961)

1963

  • Encyclopedia International (1963-4)
    • Grolier Universal Encyclopedia (1965)

1964

  • Child's First Encyclopedia (1964)
  • Complete Reference Handbook (1964)
    • Quick Reference Encyclopedia (1976)
    • Quick Reference Handbook of Basic Knowledge (1979)

1965

  • Catholic Encyclopedia for School and Home (1965)
  • The Penguin Encyclopedia (1965)

1966

  • Purnell's New English Encyclopedia (1966)
    • New Caxton Encyclopedia (1966)

1967

1968

  • Longmans English Larousse (1968)

1970s

1971

  • Compton's Young Children's Precyclopedia (1971)
    • Comton's Precyclopedia (1973)
  • Talking Cassette Encyclopedia (1971)
    • New Talking Cassette Encyclopedia (1984)

1972

  • Young Student's Encyclopedia (1972)

1973

  • Cadillac Modern Encyclopedia (1973)
    • Kussmaul Encyclopedia (1981)
  • Disney's Wonderful World of Knowledge (1973)
  • Harver World Encyclopedia (1973)

1976

1977

1978

  • Junior Encyclopedia of General Knowledge (1978)

1979

  • Knowledge Encyclopedia (1979)
  • Purnell's Pictorial Encyclopedia (1979)

1980s

1980

1981

  • Macmillan Encyclopedia (1981)
    • New Universal Family Encyclopedia (1985)
  • New Knowledge Library (1981)

1985

  • Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia (1985)

1990s

1991

  • American Spectrum Encyclopedia (1991)

1993

Britannica

  • Tenth edition (supplement to the 9th) (1903)
  • 11th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1910-1)
  • Twelfth edition (1922) a 3-volume supplement to the eleventh edition was released that summarized the developments just before, during and after World War I; these three volumes, taken together with the eleventh edition of 1910, became known as the twelfth edition.
  • These eventful years; the twentieth century in the making, as told by many of its makers; being the dramatic story of all that has happened throughout the world during the most momentous period in all history, (1924)
  • Thirteenth edition (1926) three new volumes covering the history of 1910–1926, which were intended to supplant those of the twelfth edition. Again taken together with the eleventh edition, the new volumes became known as the thirteenth edition.
  • Fourteenth edition (1929) after this the Britannica began a policy of continuous revision.
  • 10 Eventful Years (1947) a special supplement on 1937-1947 - the Second World War, as well as the years immediately preceding it and following it.
  • Fifteenth edition, first version, other wise known as the New Encyclopædia Britannica (1974) this began the change of format into Propædia, Micropædia, and Macropædia, as well as eschewing an index.
  • Fifteenth edition, second version (1985) restored the index as a two volume supplement, streamlined the three type format for easier use.
  • Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite (2004)
  • Britannica Global Edition (2010)

Other English language Britannica publications

  • The Historians' History of the World (1902)
  • The reader's guide to the Encyclopædia britannica; a handbook containing sixty-six courses of systematic study or occasional reading. (1913)
  • Britannica Book of the Year (1913, 1938-)
  • The Britannica book of the war (1914)
  • Britannica Home University (1920)
  • Weedon's Modern Encyclopedia (1931) a non-Britannica publication that was bought out and repackaged by Britannica as
    • Britannica Junior (1934)
  • Great Books of the Western World (1952)
  • Children's Britannica (1960) aimed at ages seven to 14.
  • Gateway to the Great Books (1963)
  • Young Children's Encyclopaedia (1970) for children just learning to read
  • My First Britannica (1974) aimed at children ages six to 12
  • Britannica Discovery Library (1974) for children aged three to six

See also