To celebrate the 250th birthday of West Hartford native Noah Webster, the Noah Webster House and the President's College at the University of Hartford are conducting a six-month marathon reading of all of the approximately 63,000 headwords (the words that are defined) in the 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, which was authored by Webster.

 

The dictionary marathon will continue at Mercy Community Health August 4-8, 2008 with a public reading of the 2935 headwords beginning with the letter M.  The reading will take place as follows:

 

Monday, August 3  12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.    

Frances Warde Towers Dining Room, Saint Mary Home

 

Tuesday, August 5    3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.    The McAuley Auditorium

 

Wednesday, August 6    10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.    

Center 1 Dining Room, Saint Mary Home

 

Thursday, August 7        10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.    

Baggott St. Lounge, Saint Mary Home

 

Friday, August 8            3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.  The McAuley Auditorium 

 

Various businesses and organizations throughout West Hartford have adopted letters of the alphabet and staged public readings.  These events will conclude on October 16, which is the date of the 250th anniversary of Noah Webster's birth.