Encyclopedia Britannica: 5 things you should know

As the world mourns the loss of the print edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, we've dug through the archives for some of the indispensable resource's most notable facts and memorable moments.

More from GlobalPost: Rule Britannica is at an end

1. The Britannica is the oldest English-language encyclopedia still being produced. It was first published in 1768, making it a whopping 244 years old. 

2. The encyclopedia was dedicated to the reigning British monarch from 1788 to 1901; upon its sale to an American book publisher, Horace Hooper, it was printed in honor of both the British monarch and the president of the United States, according to Kenneth Kister's "Best encyclopedias."

3. In 2009, Encyclopedia Britannica was voted one of the UK's top 10 "superbrands," along with major corporations like Apple, Microsoft, and British Airways, BBC News reported. 

4. The Britannica doesn't do it all by itself, and its Board of Advisors is one of the most distinguished in the publishing world. It includes author Nicholas Carr, religion scholar Wendy Doniger, political economist Benjamin M. Friedman, Nobel laureate for Physics Murray Gell-Mann, and philosopher Thomas Nagel…just to name a few. 

5. This isn't the Encyclopedia's first brush with the world of digital publishing: It published a computer version for LexisNexis subscribers in 1981, and was first posted online in 1994, Reuters reported.