Michael Louis Samuels (14 September 1920– 24 November 2010)[1] was a British historical linguist, responsible for the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Samuels was born 14 September 1920 in London, the son of Harry Samuels Karlin, and Céline Aronowitz: his sister was actress Miriam Karlin (1925-2011).[1] His was an orthodox Jewish upbringing, but he later said he was an atheist.[2]
He studied at St Paul's school, and Balliol College, Oxford, initially to study classics, but graduating with first-class honours in English in 1947, after wartime service with the Air Ministry.[1] In 1950 he married Hilary, and they had a daughter Vivien.[1]
His academic career began with a research fellowship at the University of Birmingham followed by a lectureship at Edinburgh University. He became Professor of English Language at Glasgow University in 1959, staying until his retirement in 1990.[1][3]
After this academic retirement he continued to work, especially on the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, a project he had begun in 1965, and which was eventually published in October 2009.[1] He died 24 November 2010 and was survived by his wife, daughter and sister.[1]