"Start the campaign for simple spelling"(PDF). The New York Times. 1 April 1906. Retrieved 2009-07-12. [c]hange ... has been almost continuous in the history of English spelling.
"an attempt to change the spelling of English words to make it conform more closely to pronunciation." Spelling reform at dictionary.reference.com. Merriam-Webster dictionary has a similar definition.
Thomas Smith (1568). De recta & emendata lingvæ Anglicæ scriptione, dialogus: Thoma Smitho equestris ordinis Anglo authore [Correct and Improved English Writing, a Dialog: Thomas Smith, knight, English author]. Paris: Ex officina Roberti Stephani typographi regij [from the office of Robert Stephan, the King's Printer]. OCLC20472303.