In the mid-18th century, an Enlightenment movement was launched in Scotland, and a cultural trend with reading as the mainstream swept over us. Edinburgh bookseller and printer Colin MacFacar and engraver Andrew Bell decided to write a set of encyclopedias together in a new scientific spirit, publishing them under the name of the "Scottish Gentlemen's Association". They hired William Smellie, a 28-year-old printer and naturalist at the time, to write the first three volumes and 100 chapters, in exchange for ￡200. In December 1768, the first volume of the Encyclopedia finally appeared, priced at sixpence. In 1771, Smellie completed the remaining two volumes. This set of large reference books has 2391 pages, including 160 copper plate engravings. The three volumes are similar in length and are arranged alphabetically, divided into A-B, C-L and M-Z. The price of such a large book is naturally very high, priced at 12 pounds per set. At that time, Robinson Crusoe could buy an island for one hundred pounds. Being able to buy a set of encyclopedias to keep at home has gradually become a status symbol. The encyclopedia sold out as soon as it was launched, with 3,000 copies sold in one day. Unlike previous information books that simply listed scattered entries in alphabetical order, this encyclopedia first classifies entries on the same topic and then arranges them in alphabetical order, making it easier for readers to access information. Moreover, Smellie's vivid writing style also adds a lot to this set of books. The success of the first edition of the encyclopedia strengthened MacFacar and Bell's determination to continue editing. In 1776, they decided to publish a larger and thicker second edition, correcting errors in the first edition. But Smellie declined the invitation, so MacFarcar became editor himself, with pharmaceutical scientist James Tytler becoming the main writer. Tytler's academic background allowed him to include many scientific entries when compiling the book. The second edition of the Encyclopedia was published in 10 volumes from 1777 to 1784, with a total of 8,595 pages, and the number of copper plate engravings increased to 340. The second edition was priced at ￡10 and more than 1,500 copies were sold within a year.

Although the second edition is more well-edited than the first edition, it was found that there is still a lot of outdated information. It was not until the third edition, published between 1788 and 1797, that it truly reached encyclopedic standards. However, MacFarcar, one of the founders of the encyclopedia, could not wait until this day. In 1793, after MacFarcar's death, George Gregg took up the mantle as editor of the third edition. The third edition of the encyclopedia contains a wider range of content, with a total of 18 volumes, plus two supplementary volumes, and more than 16,000 pages. From the fourth to the sixth edition, there are many articles written by well-known Scottish and English writers and scholars. Essayist William Hazlitt, philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill, demographer and political economist Thomas Robert Malthus, classical economist David Ricardo, novelist and Poet Walter Scott and others are on the list. The ninth edition, published from 1875 to 1889, added more esoteric academic articles written by famous authors and was written by more than 1,100 people. It was only then that the Encyclopedia Britannica became the most important tool in the world. The basis of one of the books. The 24-volume ninth edition has therefore been nicknamed the "Scholar's Edition" and has even become the "Bible" of academic circles. More than 8,500 sets have been sold in the UK alone.

This prestigious encyclopedia is revised every two years. Encyclopedia Britannica, known for its intellectual and academic nature, has more than 100 editors and thousands of professional consultants, including Nobel Prize winners. Edinburgh is the birthplace of the Encyclopedia, but it is not its final destination. Over the past 200 years, it has changed owners several times, moving from the United Kingdom to the United States. In 1790, the Encyclopedia Britannica first entered the United States in the form of pirated copies. Although the United States had just passed copyright law at the time, the law did not protect foreign publications. The encyclopedia was reprinted to the United States by Thomas Dobson, who was born in Scotland, under the name of publishing "Dobson's Encyclopedia". A large number of pirated encyclopedias appeared in the American market. The founding fathers of the United States, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, the third president Thomas Jefferson, and his vice president Aaron Burr are all owners of this version. With misfortune comes blessing. Piracy actually allowed the encyclopedia to go out of the small circle in Britain at that time and go to the world. At the end of 1820, Encyclopedia Britannica was acquired by Black Brothers Publishing House in Edinburgh. In 1895 Blake's Press moved to London.

Although the ninth edition was still selling well at this time, the compilation of the encyclopedia took too long, the content was inevitably lagging behind, the cost was too high, and the sales method was single, which put the operation into financial difficulties. Even the financial support from The Times did not improve the economic situation. There was a popular joke at the time: "The Times is behind Encyclopedia Britannica, and Encyclopedia Britannica is behind Times."

In 1901, American Horace Everard Hu Pa bought the rights and served as editor-in-chief. Americans brought a new way of selling books—direct sales. Encyclopedias were sold from the shelves of Yangchun Baixue's bookstore to door-to-door sales. Not only have sales methods changed, but content and genres have also been revolutionized. The 11th edition was essentially rewritten in collaboration with the University of Cambridge. This edition of articles not only preserves academic rigor, but also improves readability. The article isn't as long as it used to be, but it's still very complete. British biologist Thomas Henry Huxley, mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, poet Algarnon Charles Swinburne, and Russian revolutionary Pyotr Alexevich Kropotkin joined the ranks of editors. This edition was also the first in which all volumes were published simultaneously, and it is considered the classic edition of Encyclopedia Britannica. The First World War caused a sharp decline in the British economy. In 1920, Hooper sold the publishing rights and trademarks of "Encyclopedia Britannica" to the American Sears Department Store, and the focus of operations moved to the United States. The Americans invested a lot of manpower and material resources, invited more than 4,000 scholars and experts from nearly 140 countries and regions to participate in writing the encyclopedia, and collected a large amount of materials from outside Europe to complete the 14th edition of 24 volumes. This edition finally jumped from a "national and regional encyclopedia" to a "worldwide encyclopedia", establishing its most noble and authoritative status in the encyclopedia world. It is completely different from the conservative British style. In the hands of Americans, the encyclopedia has begun to lose weight and update information faster. The 14th edition published in 1929 not only had fewer volumes, but also shorter articles, causing many users to use the encyclopedia as a reference book. With the advent of the 14th edition, the publisher's headquarters was also moved to Chicago, the United States, where the Sears Department Store is located. Before this, the encyclopedia would lay off its editorial staff every time a new edition was completed, but after arriving in the United States, the company began to maintain a fixed editorial department. The encyclopedia has since abandoned the ten-year reprinting system it has always adopted, and has changed to a continuous revision system in which one-tenth of the entries are revised every year. In 1941, Sears Department Store donated the rights to the encyclopedia to the University of Chicago. The Encyclop?dia Britannica is finally settled in Chicago for the long term. From the first three volumes to today, it has grown to 32 volumes, systematically introducing knowledge of various subjects, important figures, history, and geography. From conservative Edinburgh to avant-garde Chicago, what remains unchanged is its insistence on academic authority and seriousness.