<P> His library became noted for its theological and philological treasures . He studied botany, and his garden was said to exceed in variety the Royal Gardens at Kew . The summer house in which his grammars were composed still remains . Murray's first published work, The Power of Religion on the Mind, York, 1787, 20th edition 1842, was twice translated into French . To the 8th edition (1795) was added' Extracts from the Writings of divers Eminent Men representing the Evils of Stage Plays, &c.,' published separately 1789 and 1799 . </P> <P> His attention was then drawn to the want of suitable lesson - books for a Friends' school for girls in York, and in 1795 he published his English Grammar . The manuscript petition from the teachers requesting him to prepare it has been preserved . The work became rapidly popular; it went through nearly fifty editions, was edited, abridged, simplified, and enlarged in England and America, and for a long time was used in schools to the exclusion of all other grammar - books . See History of English grammars . </P> <P> In 1816, an edition corrected by the author was issued in 2 vols . 8vo . An' Abridgment' of this version by Murray, issued two years later, went through more than 120 editions of ten thousand each . It was printed at the New England Institution for the Blind in embossed characters, Boston, 1835, and translated into Marathi, Bombay, 1837 . English Exercises followed (1797), with A Key (27th edit . London, 1847), and both works were in large demand . Murray's English Reader, Sequel, and Introduction, issued respectively 1799, 1800, and 1801 (31st edit . 1836), were equally successful, as well as the Lecteur Francais, 1802, and Introduction to the Lecteur Francais, 1807 . An English Spelling Book, 1804, reached forty - four editions, and was translated into Spanish (Cadiz, 1841). Of a First Book for Children the 150th thousand, with portrait and woodcuts, was issued in 1859 . </P> <P> The sales of the Grammar, Exercises, Key, and Lecteur Francais brought Murray in each case £ 700, and he devoted the whole sum to philanthropic objects . The copyright of his religious works he presented to his publishers . By his will, a sum of money for the purchase and distribution of religious literature was vested in trustees in America . When the Retreat for the Insane was founded at York by William Tuke in 1792, Murray did his utmost to second Tuke's efforts to introduce a humane system of treatment . </P>

Who is called the father of english grammar