[Ads-l] Antedating of "Dianetics"

[Baker, John]

Nice find, Fred.  Bear in mind that the cover date on a magazine such as Astounding was the date it was to be removed from newsstands.  Astounding was a monthly in 1950, so the May issue (volume 45, number 3) likely appeared in early April.  Dianetics:  The Modern Science of Mental Health was published on May 9, 1950, according to Wikipedia.


John Baker


From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> On Behalf Of Shapiro, Fred
Sent: Monday, April 25, 2022 8:09 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Antedating of "Dianetics"

The OED's first citation for _dianetics_ is dated July 1950.

"Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science" is an article by American writer L. Ron Hubbard<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Ron_Hubbard<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Ron_Hubbard>>, published in Astounding Science Fiction<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astounding_Science_Fiction<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astounding_Science_Fiction>> (cover date May 1950) published immediately preceding the release of Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics:_The_Modern_Science_of_Mental_Health<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics:_The_Modern_Science_of_Mental_Health>> that introduced Dianetics<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics>>.

Fred Shapiro

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