Encyclopedia Britannica has just made it easier for other web sites to link to their content, so that data that
was once hidden away in their subscription only site can now be viewed freely.
Their coverage on windmills is largely comprised of two articles:
The articles cover much of the same ground as each other, but the second one is generally slightly better - it
carries the byline of Rex Wailes and Fred Landis. However, Encyclopedia Britannica makes a big point of its
fact checked and consistently edited content - so it's worrying to see the errors in both that occur in just these
example articles, which include:
- The introduction of the windpump in America is ascribed to David Hallay in the 2nd article (an error Rex Wailes would
not have made), whereas the first has it as Daniel Hallady. The name is in fact normally given as Daniel Halladay.
- The articles variously refer to post mills and tower mills as both two words, and as the hyphenated post-mill and
tower-mill
- The fantail is described as driving on to a track on the ground, which whilst true for post mills, is hardly the
normal arrangement which simply turns the cap into the wind by driving onto the curb.
- The further reading suggestions include "Euclid's Windmill" and "tumble windmill grass", both of which
are totally irrelevant to the subject, but match only in name.
The leading online encyclopedia is of course Wikipedia, and in this case its article
Windmill is now in very good shape. (By being open to anyone to edit,
it is possible to correct and improve the article over time). It's particularly strong on the early history, providing
accurate citations for the claims of Persian origin.
Wikipedia also has an increasing number of articles on individual windmills, many of which are linked together via the
List of windmills page, and the
Windmills category.
Encyclopedia entries on windmills