When I first started teaching college students, my dean offered this sobering insight:
“The best don’t need your teaching. The worst, you can’t teach. Only the middle—you can help them move from F to E, C, B, and maybe even to A.”
I asked, “How do you tell the difference among the three groups?”
He smiled and replied, “That’s your job—as a professor.”
This memory came rushing back as I watched The Professor and the Madman, a powerful film based on the true story behind the Oxford English Dictionary. It portrays the collision of brilliance and madness, obsession and discipline—between Professor James Murray and Dr. W.C. Minor, a man imprisoned in an asylum who contributed thousands of entries.
The film is a testament to the unlikely sources of intellectual contribution—and to the transformative power of inclusion in scholarly endeavors. Sometimes, those society labels as “unreachable” or “mad” may carry the deepest insights. And perhaps, as educators, our job isn't merely to classify—but to listen, invite, and be surprised by where the light breaks through.
The Professor and the Madman (2019)
Watch here https://youtu.be/O2FwnaxSTnk?si=vhK58IkYbI_7ZkoB
ChatGPT said:
Yes, that is correct: James Murray did not receive a formal university education and was largely self-taught, especially in linguistics and philology.
Verified Facts about James Murray:
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Full name: Sir James Augustus Henry Murray
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Born: February 7, 1837, in Denholm, Scotland
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Education:
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Left school at age 14 due to financial hardship
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Could not afford to attend university, despite early brilliance
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Became a self-taught polymath, mastering dozens of languages, including Old English, Gothic, and Sanskrit
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Worked as a bank clerk and later as a teacher and headmaster
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Achievement: In 1879, at age 42, he was appointed as the editor of the Oxford English Dictionary (then known as A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles), a monumental task that he led until his death in 1915.
Notable Recognition:
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Despite lacking formal credentials, Murray was eventually awarded an honorary doctorate from Oxford University and was knighted in 1908 for his scholarly contributions.
So yes—James Murray was essentially self-educated, and his story remains one of the most inspiring examples of autodidactic scholarship in modern history.
ChatGPT said:
W.C. Minor did receive formal education and was not entirely self-taught. In fact, he graduated with a medical degree from Yale University in 1863, during the American Civil War.
Key Facts:
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Name: Dr. William Chester Minor
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Born: June 22, 1834, in Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka)
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Education:
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Attended formal schooling in the U.S.
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Earned a medical degree from Yale (M.D.) in 1863, specializing in comparative anatomy
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Military Service: Served as a surgeon in the Union Army during the Civil War
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Later Life: After developing severe mental illness (now believed to be paranoid schizophrenia), he was institutionalized in England. From Broadmoor Asylum, he became one of the most prolific contributors to the Oxford English Dictionary project under James Murray.
So, contrary to the idea that he was self-taught, Minor was highly educated, though his later contributions from within an asylum remain extraordinary.
Would you like a quote from The Surgeon of Crowthorne (the biography by Simon Winchester, on which The Professor and the Madman is based) to cite this?
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The Professor and the Madman
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