Semicolons have an interesting history.

The Italian printer Aldus Manutius the elder was the first to use the semicolon to separate words opposed in meaning and to mark off interdependent statements:

In 1560, it was introduced into English. A London printer, Henry Denham, used semicolons regularly; we can see them in the publication of “A Golden Chaine” by Thomas Rogers:

The earliest general use of the semicolon occured in 1591. Shakespeare's sonnets contains semicolons, but Ben Johnson was the first English writer of note to use the semicolon systematically.

By the late 18th century, the semicolon had gained widespread acceptance throughout Europe.

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