Richard Chenevix Trench (1807–1886) played the key role in the project's first months, but his appointment as Dean of Westminster meant that he could not give the dictionary project the time that it required.
He withdrew and Herbert Coleridge became the first editor.

On 12 May 1860, Coleridge's dictionary plan was published and research was started.
His house was the first editorial office.
He arrayed 100,000 quotation slips in a 54 pigeon-hole grid.
In April 1861, the group published the first sample pages; later that month, Coleridge died of tuberculosis, aged 30.

Thereupon Furnivall became editor; he was enthusiastic and knowledgeable, but temperamentally ill-suited for the work.
Many volunteer readers eventually lost interest in the project, as Furnivall failed to keep them motivated.
Furthermore, many of the slips were misplaced.

Furnivall believed that, since many printed texts from earlier centuries were not readily available, it would be impossible for volunteers to efficiently locate the quotations that the dictionary needed.
As a result, he founded the Early English Text Society in 1864 and the Chaucer Society in 1868 to publish old manuscripts.
Furnivall's preparatory efforts lasted 21 years and provided numerous texts for the use and enjoyment of the general public, as well as crucial sources for lexicographers, but they did not actually involve compiling a dictionary.
Furnivall recruited more than 800 volunteers to read these texts and record quotations.
While enthusiastic, the volunteers were not well trained and often made inconsistent and arbitrary selections.
Ultimately, Furnivall handed over nearly two tons of quotation slips and other materials to his successor.

In the 1870s, Furnivall unsuccessfully attempted to recruit both Henry Sweet and Henry Nicol to succeed him.
He then approached James Murray, who accepted the post of editor.
In the late 1870s, Furnivall and Murray met with several publishers about publishing the dictionary.
In 1878, Oxford University Press agreed with Murray to proceed with the massive project; the agreement was formalized the following year.
20 years after its conception, the dictionary project finally had a publisher.
It would take another 50 years to complete.

Late in his editorship, Murray learned that a prolific reader named W. C. Minor was a criminal lunatic.
 Minor was a Yale University-trained surgeon and military officer in the American Civil War, and was confined to Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane after killing a man in London.
Minor invented his own quotation-tracking system, allowing him to submit slips on specific words in response to editors' requests.
The story of Murray and Minor later served as the central focus of The Surgeon of Crowthorne (US title: The Professor and the Madman), a popular book about the creation of the OED.
This book was then the basis for the 2019 film The Professor and the Madman, starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn.
Richard Chenevix Trench (1807–1886) played the key role in the project's first months, but his appointment as Dean of Westminster meant that he could not give the dictionary project the time that it required. He withdrew and Herbert Coleridge became the first editor.
On 12 May 1860, Coleridge's dictionary plan was published and research was started. His house was the first editorial office. He arrayed 100,000 quotation slips in a 54 pigeon-hole grid. In April 1861, the group published the first sample pages; later that month, Coleridge died of tuberculosis, aged 30.
Thereupon Furnivall became editor; he was enthusiastic and knowledgeable, but temperamentally ill-suited for the work. Many volunteer readers eventually lost interest in the project, as Furnivall failed to keep them motivated. Furthermore, many of the slips were misplaced.
Furnivall believed that, since many printed texts from earlier centuries were not readily available, it would be impossible for volunteers to efficiently locate the quotations that the dictionary needed. As a result, he founded the Early English Text Society in 1864 and the Chaucer Society in 1868 to publish old manuscripts. Furnivall's preparatory efforts lasted 21 years and provided numerous texts for the use and enjoyment of the general public, as well as crucial sources for lexicographers, but they did not actually involve compiling a dictionary. Furnivall recruited more than 800 volunteers to read these texts and record quotations. While enthusiastic, the volunteers were not well trained and often made inconsistent and arbitrary selections. Ultimately, Furnivall handed over nearly two tons of quotation slips and other materials to his successor.
In the 1870s, Furnivall unsuccessfully attempted to recruit both Henry Sweet and Henry Nicol to succeed him. He then approached James Murray, who accepted the post of editor. In the late 1870s, Furnivall and Murray met with several publishers about publishing the dictionary. In 1878, Oxford University Press agreed with Murray to proceed with the massive project; the agreement was formalized the following year. 20 years after its conception, the dictionary project finally had a publisher. It would take another 50 years to complete.
Late in his editorship, Murray learned that a prolific reader named W. C. Minor was a criminal lunatic.  Minor was a Yale University-trained surgeon and military officer in the American Civil War, and was confined to Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane after killing a man in London. Minor invented his own quotation-tracking system, allowing him to submit slips on specific words in response to editors' requests. The story of Murray and Minor later served as the central focus of The Surgeon of Crowthorne (US title: The Professor and the Madman), a popular book about the creation of the OED. This book was then the basis for the 2019 film The Professor and the Madman, starring Mel Gibson and Sean Penn.
Oxford English Dictionary