Samuel Johnson

Born

in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England

September 18, 1709

Died

December 13, 1784

Website

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

Genre

Nonfiction, Literature & Fiction, Poetry

Influences

Martin Martin, Thomas Pennant, David Dalrymple ...more

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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 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. ...more

Combine Editions
Samuel Johnson’s books

Average rating: 3.64 · 10,034 ratings · 649 reviews · 1,748 distinct works • Similar authors

	The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia by Samuel Johnson, J.P. Hardy (Editor) 3.46 avg rating — 5,742 ratings — published 1759 — 136 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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) 3.52 avg rating — 620 ratings — published 1775 — 22 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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 J. Greene (Editor) 3.91 avg rating — 346 ratings — published 1925 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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 3.61 avg rating — 231 ratings — published 1778 — 32 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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 Vanity of Human Wishes 3.43 avg rating — 184 ratings — published 1749 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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 avg rating — 113 ratings — published 2003 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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) 4.21 avg rating — 103 ratings — published 1755 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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 Grammar of the English Tongue 3.63 avg rating — 136 ratings — published 2005 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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 from the "Rambler," "Adventurer," and "Idler" by Samuel Johnson, W.J. Bate (Editor) 4.30 avg rating — 64 ratings — published 1899 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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
	Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland 3.39 avg rating — 113 ratings — published 1775 — 55 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. 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

1652 likes

“I hate mankind, for I think myself one of the best of them, and I know how bad I am.”
― Samuel Johnson

tags: humor, humour, mankind, misanthropy

494 likes

“He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.”
― Samuel Johnson

338 likes

See all Samuel Johnson's quotes »

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