Words at Play : 8 Spelling Suggestions That Didn't Stick
Who Proposed the Change:
Melvil Dewey
Why the Change:
Melvil Dewey, the creator of the Dewey Decimal System, was so committed to the principles of simplified spelling that changed his first name from Melville to Melvil, and for a time tried spelling his last name as Dui.
A passionate crusader for an improved system of spelling, Dewey wrote an entire book on decimal classification in his simplified spelling, presciently noting at one point in that work that "Many wil be annoyd and sum wil ridicule."
More Words at Play
