About Charles Scribner's Sons

Charles Scribner's Sons was founded in 1846 at the Brick Church Chapel on New York's Park Row — in 1996 we celebrated the 150th anniversary of our founding. The house has moved many times since then and yet there has been remarkable continuity. Nowhere is that continuity more evident than in our publishing program, where the way we edit, fact-check, proofread and even sell our books has been handed down over the decades. Our predecessors — published the first Dictionary of American Biography in the 1920s and the first edition of the Dictionary of American History in 1940. Our mission remains the same: to produce reference works that will serve a wide range of readers, from high school students to advanced scholars.

In 1999 Charles Scribner's Sons joined Gale. With Gale we find our reference mission strengthened, energized and ready for the 21st century.

We thank our librarian customers for their support over the years and welcome new readers. We remain open, as always, to your ideas.