Thomas Bowdler was a physician and self-appointed editor of great literature. He published The Family Shakespeare, a family friendly version of Shakespearean works, in 1807, and gave rise to the term "Bowdlerized."
Thomas Bowdler was born on July 11, 1754, near Bath, Somerset, England. A physician, Bowdler published The Family Shakespeare—considered at the time a more "appropriate" version of many Shakespearean plays for women and children—in 1807. Bowdler gave a similar treatment to Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The term "Bowdlerized" was coined after his work. Bowdler died on February 24, 1825.
Thomas Bowdler. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 09:37, May 23, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/thomas-bowdler-9221916.
Thomas Bowdler. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/thomas-bowdler-9221916 [Accessed 23 May 2013].
"Thomas Bowdler." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 23 2013, 09:37 http://www.biography.com/people/thomas-bowdler-9221916.
"Thomas Bowdler," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/thomas-bowdler-9221916 [accessed May 23, 2013].
"Thomas Bowdler," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/thomas-bowdler-9221916 (accessed May 23, 2013).
Thomas Bowdler [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 23] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/thomas-bowdler-9221916.
Thomas Bowdler, http://www.biography.com/people/thomas-bowdler-9221916 (last visited May 23, 2013).
Thomas Bowdler. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/thomas-bowdler-9221916. Accessed May 23, 2013.