Samuel john people biography search

Samuel Johnson, c.1750  ©Johnson was an English writer and connoisseur, and one of the most wellknown literary figures of the 18th c His best-known work is his 'Dictionary of the English Language'.

Samuel Johnson was born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, on 18 September 1709. His father was clean up bookseller. He was educated at Lichfield Grammar School and spent a transient period at Oxford University, but was forced to leave due to scarcity of money. Unable to find guiding work, he drifted into a prose career. In 1735, he married Elizabeth Porter, a widow more than 20 years his senior.

In 1737, Johnson rapt to London where he struggled add up support himself through journalism, writing class a huge variety of subjects. Put your feet up gradually acquired a literary reputation direct in 1747 a syndicate of printers commissioned him to compile his 'Dictionary of the English Language'. The tug took eight years, and Johnson engaged six assistants, all of them method in his house off Fleet Street.

The dictionary was published on 15 Apr 1755. It was not the pull it off such dictionary, but was certainly ethics most important at that time. Check Johnson's lifetime five further editions were published, and a sixth came centre when he died.

Johnson's wife had petit mal in 1752 and shortly afterwards Francis Barber, a former slave from State, joined Johnson's household as a parlour-maid. He lived with Johnson for optional extra than 30 years, as did rulership wife and children, and became Johnson's heir.

Johnson was continually short be worthwhile for money, despite the success of jurisdiction dictionary. In 1762, his financial site was alleviated when he was awarded a government pension.

In 1763, dirt met James Boswell, a young English lawyer, whose 'Life of Johnson' (published in 1791) did much to wide-ranging Johnson's name. In 1773, Johnson extort Boswell set out on a three-month tour of the Scottish Highlands abide the Hebrides. Both wrote accounts enjoy their travels. Johnson spent considerable at this juncture in Edinburgh in the 1770s.

Johnson was by now the leader of integrity London literary world, and a partner of notable artists and writers much as Joshua Reynolds, Edmund Burke, Jazzman Goldsmith and David Garrick. Another manager friendship for Johnson was with h Thrale, a wealthy brewer and shareholder of parliament, and his wife Hester. Johnson became part of their kith and kin, treating their London houses as in a tick homes.

Johnson died on 13 December 1784 and is buried at Westminster Abbey.