John Comly

John Comly (November 19, 1773 – August 17, 1850) was an American author, educator, Quaker minister, and lawyer. He published numerous books, a portion of which pertained to grammar and spelling, wherein it is possible that he was the first to document opposition to split infinitives.

Biography John Comly was born on November 19, 1773 to Quakers Isaac and Asenath Hampton Comly, in Byberry, Philadelphia. In 1780, in the journal of his formative years, he recalled the first book he had ever read: I believe the first book put into my hands was Woolman's or Benezet's Primer. In his 1803 work English Grammar Made Easy to the Teacher and Pupil, he expressed disapproval with respect to split infinitives—perhaps marking the advent of the sentiment in written word—although he did not refer to them as such, merely explicating the concept without attributing a label: An adverb should not be placed between a verb of the infinitive mood and the preposition to which governs it. In 1827, as leader of the Philadelphia Hicksites—a liberal school of Quakerism—he had been "proposed as a clerk but not affirmed," litigation pertaining thereto ensuing in 1831. In 1829, he visited the American South.

Personal life In 1803, he married Rebecca Budd—a fellow schoolteacher, who had hailed from Mount Holly, New Jersey—a union whence five children were born: Stacy (1805–?), Ann (1806–1872), Charles (1808–1894), Sarah (1810–1903), and Emmor (1811–1889). He was also said to be of a quiet demeanor. He died on August 17, 1850, at the age of 76.