(e.g. the spelling of theater and center instead of theatre and centre) and many others may well have happened anyway. But he was largely responsible for the revised spelling of words like color and honor (instead of the British colour and honour), traveler and jeweler (for traveller and jeweller), check and mask (for cheque and masque), defense and offense (for defence and offence), plow for plough, as well as the rather illogical adoption of aluminum instead of aluminium.