William Smellie (encyclopedist)

William Smellie FRSE, FSA Scot
Smellie, by Henry Bryan Hall
Born	1740 The Pleasance, Edinburgh
Died	24 June 1795 Edinburgh
Resting place	Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh 55°56′48″N 3°11′32″W / 55.94667°N 3.19222°W / 55.94667; -3.19222
Nationality	Scottish
Education	Duddingston parish school High School, Edinburgh
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh
Occupation(s)	Printer, editor, naturalist, antiquary
Employer(s)	Apprentice, Hamilton, Balfour & Neil, printers, 1752 Substitute lecturer, botany, University of Edinburgh Founded Balfour & Smellie, printers, Edinburgh, 1765 Edited 1st edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, 1771- Editor, Edinburgh Magazine and Review, 1773-1776 Partner with William Creech, 1782-
Known for	Editor of the Encyclopædia Britannica First Edition
Spouse	Jean Robertson (m. 1763)
Parent(s)	Alexander Smellie, architect, Edinburgh
Notes
Member of the Edinburgh Philosophical Society, thereby becoming a founding fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh upon the Philosophical Society receiving its royal charter in 1783 Founder of the Newtonian Club (1760)

William Smellie (1740–1795) was a Scottish printer who edited the first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. He was also a naturalist and antiquary. He was a joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, co-founder of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and a friend of Robert Burns.