Michael Louis Samuels (14 September 1920 – 24 November 2010)[1] was a British Ashkenazi historical linguist, responsible for the Historical Thesaurus of English.
[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.
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 English, a project he had begun in 1965.
[4][1] He died 24 November 2010 and was survived by his wife, daughter and sister.