Samuel Johnson

Author profile

born

in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, The United Kingdom

September 18, 1709

died

December 13, 1784

gender

male

website

http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Johnson/

genre

Nonfiction, Literature & Fiction, Poetry

About this author

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Samuel Johnson was an English author. Beginning as a Grub Street journalist, he made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, novelist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. Johnson has been described as "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history". He is also the subject of one of the most celebrated biographies in English, James Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson. Boswell's Life, along with other biographies, documented Johnson's behaviour and mannerisms in such detail that they have informed the posthumous diagnosis of Tourette syndrome (TS), a condition unknown to 18th-century physicians. He presented a tall and robust figure, but his odd gestures and tics were conf...more Samuel Johnson was an English author. Beginning as a Grub Street journalist, he made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, novelist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. Johnson has been described as "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history". He is also the subject of one of the most celebrated biographies in English, James Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson. Boswell's Life, along with other biographies, documented Johnson's behaviour and mannerisms in such detail that they have informed the posthumous diagnosis of Tourette syndrome (TS), a condition unknown to 18th-century physicians. He presented a tall and robust figure, but his odd gestures and tics were confusing to some on their first encounter with him.

Johnson was born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, and attended Pembroke College, Oxford for a year, before his lack of funds forced him to leave. After working as a teacher he moved to London, where he began to write essays for The Gentleman's Magazine. His early works include the biography The Life of Richard Savage and the poem "The Vanity of Human Wishes." Johnson was a devout and compassionate man, whose Christian morality permeated his works. Although he was a conservative Anglican, he respected those of other denominations who demonstrated a commitment to Christ's teachings.

After nine years of work, his Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1755, bringing him popularity and success; until the completion of the Oxford English Dictionary, 150 years later, Johnson's was viewed as the preeminent British dictionary. In the following years, he published essays, an influential annotated edition of William Shakespeare's plays, and the well-read novel Rasselas. In 1763, he befriended James Boswell, with whom he later travelled to Scotland; Johnson's travel narrative A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland described the journey. Towards the end of his life, he produced the massive and influential Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets, which includes biographies and evaluations of 17th- and 18th-century poets. After a series of illnesses, Johnson died on the evening of 13 December 1784; he was buried in Westminster Abbey. In the years following his death, Johnson began to be recognised as having had a lasting effect on literary criticism, and even as the only great critic of English literature.(less)

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Samuel Johnson's Books

Average rating: 3.50 · 2,599 ratings · 197 reviews · 254 distinct works · Similar authors

	The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia by Samuel Johnson, J.P. Hardy (Editor) 3.38 of 5 stars 3.38 avg rating — 1,709 ratings — published 1759 — 73 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland and The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides by Samuel Johnson, James Boswell, Peter Levi (Annotations) 3.56 of 5 stars 3.56 avg rating — 205 ratings — published 1775 — 18 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Major Works by Samuel Johnson, Donald Greene (Editor) 3.8 of 5 stars 3.80 avg rating — 128 ratings — published 1925 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Selected Essays by Samuel Johnson, David Womersley (Editor) 4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 50 ratings — published 2003	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Vanity of Human Wishes 3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 avg rating — 52 ratings — published 1996 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Preface to Shakespeare 3.43 of 5 stars 3.43 avg rating — 47 ratings — published 2004 — 7 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Lives of the Poets, Vol. 1 4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 33 ratings — published 2008 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Selected Essays from the Rambler, Adventurer, and Idler: Selected Essays from the "Rambler," "Adventurer," and "Idler" by Samuel Johnson, W. J. Bate (Editor) 4.3 of 5 stars 4.30 avg rating — 33 ratings — published 1968 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Dictionary of the English Language: An Anthology by Samuel Johnson, David Crystal (Editor) 4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 45 ratings — published 1755 — 31 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Johnson's Dictionary: A Modern Selection by Samuel Johnson, George Milne (Editor), E.L. McAdam Jr. (Editor) 3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 24 ratings — published 1963 — 5 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Samuel Johnson…

Quotes by Samuel Johnson

“Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion and the last.”
― Samuel Johnson, Works of Samuel Johnson

tags: curiosity

1,443 people liked it

“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.”
― Samuel Johnson

tags: good, measure, misattributed, nobility, treat

242 people liked it

“What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.”
― Samuel Johnson, Johnsonian Miscellanies - Vol II

tags: effort, perseverance

121 people liked it

See all Samuel Johnson's quotes »

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Samuel Johnson

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Samuel Johnson

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Quotes by Samuel Johnson

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Samuel Johnson's Books