Editing Encyclopædia Britannica (section)

==== 1901–1973 ====
[[File:EncycBrit1913.jpg|thumb|An advertisement for the 11th edition, published in the May 1913 issue of ''[[National Geographic]]'']]
[[File:Shipping box for the encyclopedia Britannica 2013-04-13 12-24.jpg|alt=A wooden crate reading "THE / ENCYCLOPAEDIA / BRITANNICA / STANDARD OF THE WORLD / FOURTEENTH EDITION / BLUE CLOTH / BOOKS KEEP DRY"|thumb|A wooden shipping crate for the 14th edition of the ''Britannica'']]
In the third era (10th–14th editions, 1901–1973), the ''Britannica'' was managed by American businessmen who introduced [[direct marketing]] and [[door-to-door]] sales. The American owners gradually simplified articles, making them less scholarly for a mass market. The 10th edition was an eleven-volume supplement (including one each of maps and an index) to the 9th, numbered as volumes 25–35, but the 11th edition was a completely new work; its owner, Horace Hooper, lavished enormous effort on the project.<ref name="kogan_1958" />

When Hooper fell into financial difficulties, the ''Britannica'' was managed by [[Sears Roebuck]] for 18 years (1920–1923, 1928–1943). In 1932, the vice-president of Sears, Elkan Harrison Powell, assumed presidency of the ''Britannica''; in 1936, he began the policy of continuous revision. This was a departure from earlier practice, in which the articles were not changed until a new edition was produced, at roughly 25-year intervals, some articles unchanged from earlier editions.<ref name="encyclopaedia_1954" /> Powell developed new educational products that built upon the ''Britannica''{{'s}} reputation.

In 1943, Sears donated the {{lang|la|Encyclopædia Britannica}} to the [[University of Chicago]]. [[William Benton (senator)|William Benton]], then a vice president of the university, provided the working capital for its operation. The stock was divided between Benton and the university, with the university holding an option on the stock.<ref>''Chicago Tribune'', 22 February 1945.</ref> Benton became chairman of the board and managed the ''Britannica'' until his death in 1973.<ref>''Chicago Tribune'', 28 January 1943.</ref> Benton set up the Benton Foundation, which managed the ''Britannica'' until 1996, and whose sole beneficiary was the University of Chicago.<ref>{{cite news |last=Feder |first=Barnaby J. |date=19 December 1995 |title=Deal Is Set for Encyclopaedia Britannica |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/19/business/deal-is-set-for-encyclopaedia-britannica.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200521234943/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/19/business/deal-is-set-for-encyclopaedia-britannica.html |archive-date=21 May 2020 |access-date=2 May 2020 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> In 1968, the ''Britannica'' celebrated [[Bicentennial of the Encyclopædia Britannica|its bicentennial]].