Ancient World:
* Ancient Greeks: The "fathers of encyclopedic thought" were philosophers like Aristotle (4th century BCE) and Plato (5th century BCE), who attempted to organize and systematize knowledge.
* Pliny the Elder: In the 1st century CE, he wrote the massive "Naturalis Historia," which covered a vast range of topics from natural history to art, making it a proto-encyclopedia.
Medieval Period:
* Islamic scholars: During the Golden Age of Islam (8th-13th centuries), scholars like Al-Razi (9th century) and Al-Biruni (11th century) wrote comprehensive works encompassing knowledge across different disciplines.
* Medieval Encyclopedists: In the 13th century, Vincent of Beauvais wrote the "Speculum Maius" ("Greater Mirror"), a massive three-volume work that synthesized knowledge from various sources.
Early Modern Period:
* Francis Bacon: In the 17th century, Bacon's "The Great Instauration" advocated for a systematic approach to organizing knowledge, inspiring later encyclopedists.
* Étienne Chauvin: In 1627, he published "Lexicon Universale," considered by some to be the first true modern encyclopedia, which arranged information alphabetically.
18th Century:
* Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert: The most famous 18th-century encyclopedia was the "Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers" (1751-1772), a monumental work that aimed to promote reason and knowledge during the Enlightenment.
Therefore, there is no single "first encyclopedia." The concept emerged gradually through contributions from various cultures and periods, with each work building upon the ideas of its predecessors.