Samuel Johnson circa 1772, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds.

Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (September 18 [O.S. September 7] 1709^[1] – December 13, 1784), often referred to simply as Dr. Johnson, was one of England's greatest literary figures: a poet, essayist, biographer, lexicographer and often considered the finest critic of English literature. He was also a great wit and prose stylist whose bon mots are still frequently quoted in print today. dr. ... dr. ... Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (July 16, 1723–February 23, 1792) was the most important and influential of eighteenth-century English painters, specialising in portraits and promoting the Grand Style in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. ... Doctor of Laws (Latin: Legum Doctor, LL.D) is a doctorate-level academic degree in law. ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... In Britain and countries of the British Empire, Old Style or O.S. after a date means that the date is in the Julian calendar, in use in those countries until 1752; New Style or N.S. means that the date is in the Gregorian calendar, adopted on 14 September... // Events January 12 - Two-month freezing period begins in France - The coast of the Atlantic and Seine River freeze, crops fail and at least 24. ... December 13 is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1784 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population –mid-2004... A poet is some one who writes poetry. ... An essayist is an author who writes compositions which can be about any particular subject. ... This article needs cleanup. ... A lexicographer is a person devoted to the study of lexicography, especially an author of a dictionary. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Among students of philosophy, Dr. Johnson is perhaps best known for his "refutation" of Bishop Berkeley's idealism. During a conversation with his biographer, Johnson became infuriated at the suggestion that Berkeley's immaterialism could not be refuted. In his anger, Johnson powerfully kicked a nearby stone and proclaimed, of Berkeley's theory, that "I refute it thus!". Philosopher in Meditation (detail), by Rembrandt. ... Bishop George Berkeley George Berkeley (British English://; Irish English: //) (12 March 1685 – 14 January 1753), also known as Bishop Berkeley, was an influential Irish philosopher whose primary philosophical achievement is the advancement of what has come to be called subjective idealism, summed up in his dictum, Esse est percipi (To... Idealism is an approach to philosophical enquiry which asserts that direct and immediate knowledge can only be had of ideas or mental pictures. ... Immaterialism is the theory propounded by Bishop Berkeley in the 18th century which holds that there are no material objects, only minds and ideas in those minds. ...

Life and work

The son of a poor bookseller, Johnson was born in Lichfield, Staffordshire. He attended Lichfield Grammar School. On October 31, 1728, a few weeks after he turned nineteen, he entered Pembroke College, Oxford. After thirteen months, however, poverty forced him to leave Oxford without taking a degree. He attempted to work as a teacher and schoolmaster, initially being turned down by the headmaster of Adams' Grammar School, Revd. Samuel Lea, but then finding work at a school in Stourbridge. Aged twenty-five, he married Elizabeth "Tetty" Porter, a widow twenty-one years his senior. The West Front of Lichfield Cathedral, June 2005 Lichfield is a small city and civil parish in Staffordshire, 110 miles northwest of London and 14 miles north of Birmingham. ... Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. ... October 31 is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 61 days remaining. ... Events Astronomical aberration discovered by the astronomer James Bradley Swedish academy of sciences founded at Uppsala The founding of the University of Havana (Universidad de la Habana), Cubas most well-established university. ... College name Pembroke College Named after The Earl of Pembroke Established 1624 Sister College Queens College Master Giles Henderson JCR President Claire Addison Undergraduates 408 MCR President Ryan Glomsrud Graduates 94 Homepage Boatclub Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... Adams Grammar School is a state grammar school in Newport, Shropshire. ... The Reverend is an honorary prefix to the names of most Christian clergy and ministers. ... Map sources for Stourbridge at grid reference SO8883 Stourbridge is a town in the West Midlands, England. ... Elizabeth Jervis Porter (1689-1752) was the wife of Samuel Johnson. ...

A portrait of Johnson from 1775 by Joshua Reynolds showing Johnson's intense concentration and the weakness of his eyes.

In 1737, Johnson, penniless, left for London with his former pupil David Garrick. There he found employment with Edward Cave, writing for The Gentleman's Magazine. For the next three decades, Johnson wrote biographies, poetry, essays, pamphlets, parliamentary reports and even prepared a catalogue for the sale of the Harleian Library. He continued to live in poverty for much of this time. The poem London (1738) and the Life of Savage (1745; a biography of Johnson's friend and fellow writer Richard Savage, who had shared in Johnson's poverty and died in 1744) are important works from this period. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (832x1119, 534 KB)The famous Joshua Reynolds portrait of Samuel Johnson showing Johnson pulling a books cover back and concentrating intensely on its words. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (832x1119, 534 KB)The famous Joshua Reynolds portrait of Samuel Johnson showing Johnson pulling a books cover back and concentrating intensely on its words. ... 1775 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Portrait of David Garrick David Garrick (February 19, 1717 – January 20, 1779) was an English actor, dramatist, theatrical producer and theatrical manager, and a friend and pupil of Samuel Johnson. ... Edward Cave (1691-1754) was a printer, editor and publisher. ... The Gentlemans Magazine was the first general-interest magazine, and the most influential periodical of its time. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

Between 1747 and 1755, Johnson wrote perhaps his best-known work, A Dictionary of the English Language. Although widely praised and enormously influential, Johnson did not make much money from it as he had to bear the expense of its long composition. During this time, Johnson also wrote a series of semi-weekly essays under the title The Rambler. These essays, often on moral and religious topics, tended to be more grave than the title of the series would suggest. They ran until 1752. Initially they were not popular, but once collected as a volume they found a large audience. Johnson's wife died shortly after the final number appeared. A Dictionary of the English Language, one of the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language, was prepared by Samuel Johnson and published on April 15, 1755. ... The Rambler was a periodical by Samuel Johnson published on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 1750 to 1752. ...

Dr Johnson's House, 17 Gough Square, London.

Johnson began another series, The Idler, in 1758. These were shorter and lighter than The Rambler and ran weekly for two years. Unlike his independent publication of The Rambler, The Idler was published in a weekly news journal. Download high resolution version (457x640, 69 KB)photo by lonpicman File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (457x640, 69 KB)photo by lonpicman File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

In 1759, Johnson published his satirical novel Rasselas, said to have been written in two weeks to pay for his mother's funeral. At some point, however, Johnson gained a notoriety for dilatory writing; contemporary poet Charles Churchill wrote of him that "He for subscribers baits his hook / and takes your cash, but where's the book?" [1]. The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia, often abbreviated to Rasselas, is a short story by Samuel Johnson, which he wrote in 1759 to help pay for his mothers funeral. ... Charles Churchill (February, 1731 - November 4, 1764), was an English poet and satirist. ...

In 1762, Johnson was awarded a government pension of three hundred pounds a year, largely through the efforts of Thomas Sheridan and the Earl of Bute. Johnson met James Boswell, his future biographer, the following year. Around the same time, Johnson formed "The Club", a social group that included his friends Joshua Reynolds, Edmund Burke, David Garrick and Oliver Goldsmith. By now, Johnson was a celebrated figure. He received an honorary doctorate from Trinity College, Dublin in 1765, followed by one from Oxford ten years later. Thomas Sheridan (1719 - 1788) was a stage actor and a major proponent of the elocution movement. ... John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (May 25, 1713 - March 10, 1792), was a Scottish nobleman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain (1762-1763) under George III. A close relative of the Campbell clan (his mother was a daughter of the First Duke of Argyll), Bute succeeded to... James Boswell James Boswell (October 29, 1740 - May 19, 1795) was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (July 16, 1723–February 23, 1792) was the most important and influential of eighteenth-century English painters, specialising in portraits and promoting the Grand Style in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. ... Edmund Burke The Right Honourable Edmund Burke (January 12, 1729 – July 9, 1797) was an Anglo-Irish statesman, author, orator and political philosopher, who served for many years in the British House of Commons as a member of the Whig party. ... Portrait of David Garrick David Garrick (February 19, 1717 – January 20, 1779) was an English actor, dramatist, theatrical producer and theatrical manager, and a friend and pupil of Samuel Johnson. ... Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (November 10, 1730(?) – April 4, 1774) was an Irish writer and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1766), his pastoral poem The Deserted Village (1770) (written in memory of his brother), and his plays The Good-naturd Man (1768) and She Stoops... The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin or more commonly Trinity College, Dublin was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, and is the only constituent college of the University of Dublin, Irelands oldest university. ...

In 1765, Johnson met Henry Thrale, a wealthy brewer and Member of Parliament, and Thrale's wife, Hester. They quickly became friends and soon Johnson became a member of the family. He stayed with the Thrales for fifteen years until Henry's death in 1781. Hester Thrale's reminiscences of Johnson, together with her diaries and correspondence, are second only to Boswell as a source of biographical information on Johnson. Henry Thrale by Sir Joshua Reynolds Henry Thrale (born 1724-30, at the Alehouse in Harrow Corner, Southwark, died 4 April 1781, London) was an 18th century English MP and a close friend of Samuel Johnson. ... Hester Lynch Thrale by Sir Joshua Reynolds Hester Lynch Thrale (born Hester Lynch Salusbury and after her second marriage, Hester Lynch Piozzi ) (16 January 1741 (she mistakenly celebrated her own birthday on 27 January) - May 2, 1821) was a British diarist, author, and a friend and confidante of Samuel Johnson. ...

In 1773, ten years after Johnson had met Boswell, the two of them set out on A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, the title Johnson used for his account of their travels published in 1775. (Boswell's account, The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, was published in 1786.) Their visit to the Scottish Highlands and the Hebrides took place while the post-Jacobite pacification was crushing the Scottish clan system and the consequent romanticisation of Gaelic culture. Johnson proceeded to attack the claims that James Macpherson's Ossian poems were translations of ancient Scottish literature, on the false basis that the Scottish Gaelic language "never was a written language." However, Johnson also aided Scottish Gaelic by calling for a Bible translation, which was produced soon afterward. Until then, Scottish Gaels had been made to use Bedell's Irish Gaelic translation. The Scottish Highlands are the mountainous regions of Scotland north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault. ... The Hebrides The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland, and in geological terms are composed of the oldest rocks in the British Isles. ... Charles Edward Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie, wearing the Jacobite blue bonnet Jacobitism was (and, to a very limited extent, is) the political movement dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England and Scotland. ... Clan map of Scotland Scottish clans give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relatives throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs officially registered with the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which controls the heraldry and Coat... Romanticism was a secular and intellectual movement that originated in late 18th century Western Europe. ... The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, whose language is one that is Gaelic (Goidelic), a division of Insular Celtic languages. ... James Macpherson (October 27, 1736–February 17, 1796), was a Scottish poet, known as the translator of the Ossian cycle of poems (also known as the Oisín cycle). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Oisín. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... The Gutenberg Bible owned by the United States Library of Congress The Bible (Hebrew: תנ״ך tanakh, Greek: η Βίβλος hē biblos, the book) (sometimes The Holy Bible, Scripture, is the name used by Jews and Christians for their differing (and overlapping) canons of sacred texts. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ...

During the 1770s, Johnson spent considerable time in Edinburgh with Boswell and Lord Monboddo, who between them produced an extensive correspondence and mutual literary reviews. Events and Trends For more events, see 18th century United States Declaration of Independence ratified by the Continental Congress (July 4, 1776). ... Edinburgh (pronounced ; Dùn Èideann () in Scottish Gaelic) is Scotlands capital, and its second-largest city. ... James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (1714 - May 26, 1799) was a Scottish judge, scholar and eccentric. ...

Johnson's final major work was the Lives of the English Poets, a project commissioned by a consortium of London booksellers. The Lives, which were critical as well as biographical studies, appeared as prefaces to selections of each poet's work. Johnson died in 1784 and received a burial in Westminster Abbey. Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1781) was a work by Samuel Johnson, comprising short biographies of about 50 poets, most of whom were alive in the eighteenth century. ... The Abbeys western façade The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster, which is almost always referred to as Westminster Abbey, is a mainly Gothic church, on the scale of a cathedral, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. ...

Sketch

Large and powerfully built, Johnson had poor eyesight, was hard of hearing and had a scarred face as a result of childhood scrofula. He also suffered from a number of tics and other involuntary movements; the symptoms described by his contemporaries suggest that Johnson may have suffered from Tourette syndrome and possibly obsessive-compulsive disorder. He tended towards melancholia. King Henry IV of France touching a number of sufferers of scrofula who are gathered about him in a circle. ... A tic is a repetitive, stereotyped, nonrhythmic, involuntary movement (motor tic) or sound (phonic tic). ... Tourette syndrome (also called Tourettes syndrome, Tourettes disorder, Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, GTS or the more common Tourettes or TS) is an inherited neurological disorder with onset in childhood, characterized by the presence of multiple motor tics and at least one phonic tic, which characteristically wax... Melancholia (Greek μελανχολια) is a mood of non-specific depression. ...

Johnson was a devout, conservative Anglican, a staunch Tory and a compassionate man, supporting a number of poor friends under his own roof. He was an opponent of slavery and once proposed a toast to the "next rebellion of the negroes in the West Indies". ^[2] He had a black manservant, Frank, whom Johnson made his heir. ^{[citation needed]} He admitted to sympathies for the Jacobite cause but by the reign of George III he had come to accept the Hanoverian Succession. He remained a fiercely independent and original thinker, which may explain his deep affinity for John Milton's work despite Milton's intensely radical — and, for Johnson, intolerable — political and religious outlook. The term Anglican (from medieval Latin ecclesia Anglicana meaning the English church) is used to describe the people, institutions, and churches that adhere to the religious traditions developed by the established Church of England, the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican Churches, a loosely affiliated group of independent churches which... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Charles Edward Stuart, Bonnie Prince Charlie, wearing the Jacobite blue bonnet Jacobitism was (and, to a very limited extent, is) the political movement dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England and Scotland. ... George III (George William Frederick) (4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until 1 January 1801, and thereafter King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death. ... The Electress Sophia The Act of Settlement (12 & 13 Wm 3 c. ... John Milton, English poet John Milton (December 9, 1608 – November 8, 1674) was an English poet, best-known for his epic poem Paradise Lost. ...

Johnson's fame is due in part to the success of Boswell's Life of Johnson. Boswell, however, met Johnson after Johnson had already achieved a degree of fame and stability, leading Boswell's biography to emphasize the latter part of Johnson's life. Consequently, Johnson has been seen more as a gruff but lovable society figure than as the struggling and poverty-stricken writer he was for much of his life. In English literature, The Life of Samuel Johnson, L.L.D. was a biography of Dr. Samuel Johnson by James Boswell, published in 1791. ...

Before arriving in London, Johnson stayed in Birmingham, where he is remembered in a frieze within the Old Square. Birmingham Central Library holds a Johnson Collection, containing around two thousand volumes of his works (including many first editions) plus literary periodicals and books about him. The city from above Centenary Square. ... Frieze of the Tower of the Winds. ... Birmingham Central Library is the main library in Birmingham, England. ...

Major works

A Dictionary of the English Language, one of the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language, was prepared by Samuel Johnson and published on April 15, 1755. ... The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia, often abbreviated to Rasselas, is a novella by Samuel Johnson. ... Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1781) was a work by Samuel Johnson, comprising short biographies of about 50 poets, most of whom were alive in the eighteenth century. ... The Rambler was a periodical by Samuel Johnson published on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 1750 to 1752. ... The Idler was a series of 103 essays, all but 12 of them by Samuel Johnson, published in the London weekly the Universal Chronicle between 1758 and 1760. ...

Popular culture

Jonhson (right) and Prince George

• Johnson (played by Robbie Coltrane) was featured in the third series of Blackadder (in the episode titled 'Ink and Incapability'), presenting his dictionary to idiot Prince George for his patronage, whereupon it is believed to be burnt by the servant Baldrick; Blackadder then attempts to rewrite the entire thing in one night, out of fear of Johnson and his companions.
• Johnson was again played by Coltrane in the film Boswell and Johnson's Tour of the Western Islands.
• One of Johnson's famous quotes, "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man" is displayed in the intro of the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
• The song "Bat Country" by Avenged Sevenfold mentions the quote "He who makes a beast out of himself, gets rid of the pain of being a man".

Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid Robbie Coltrane, OBE, baptised Anthony Robert McMillan, born on March 30, 1950, is a Scottish actor. ... Blackadder is the generic name that encompasses four series of an acclaimed BBC historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. ... A dictionary is a list of words with their definitions, a list of characters with their glyphs, or a list of words with corresponding words in other languages. ... Prince George Prince George (1762-1816) was a fictional caricature of the historical figure HRH The Prince George, Prince of Wales, played by Hugh Laurie in the third series of the popular BBC sitcom Blackadder. ... Baldrick is a fictional character featured in the television series Blackadder. ... Edmund Blackadder esq. ... The hard cover version of the book. ... Avenged Sevenfold, sometimes abbreviated to A7X, is a band from Huntington Beach, California, consisting of members M. Shadows, Zacky Vengeance, Synyster Gates, Johnny Christ, and The Rev. ...

Notes

The Julian calendar was introduced in 46 BC by Julius Caesar and took force in 45 BC (709 ab urbe condita). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ...

See also

• Dr Johnson's House
• Life of Johnson by James Boswell, the most notable biography of Samuel Johnson.

Dr Johnsons House, 17 Gough Square, London Dr Johnsons House in the City of London is a former home of the 18th century English writer Samuel Johnson. ... In English literature, The Life of Samuel Johnson, L.L.D. was a biography of Dr. Samuel Johnson by James Boswell, published in 1791. ... James Boswell James Boswell (October 29, 1740 - May 19, 1795) was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland. ...

References

• Bate, Walter Jackson. The Achievement of Samuel Johnson (1978), and Samuel Johnson (1977).
• Reddick, Alan: The Making of Johnson's Dictionary (Cambridge, 1990)
• Quinney, Laura. "Chapter 2: Johnson in Mourning" in Literary Power and the Criteria of Truth (1995).
• Watkins, W. B. C. Perilous Balance: The Tragic Genius of Swift, Johnson, and Sterne (1939).
• Wharton, T. F. Samuel Johnson and the Theme of Hope (1984).

Walter Jackson Bate (May 23, 1918 - July 26, 1999) was an American literary critic and biographer. ...

External links

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Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... Wikisource – The Free Library – is a Wikimedia project to build a free, wiki library of source texts, along with translations into any language and other supporting materials. ... Image File history File links Wikiquote-logo-en. ... Wikiquote logo Wikiquote is a sister project of Wikipedia, using the same MediaWiki software. ... Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...

Online texts

• Life Of Johnson by James Boswell (Project Gutenberg)
• Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson by Hester Thrale
• A list of e-texts of Johnson's works from the University of Pennsylvania Online Books Page.
• Works by Samuel Johnson at Project Gutenberg
• An online data base of the contents of Dr. Johnson's dictionary, 1st and 4th editions.

James Boswell James Boswell (October 29, 1740 - May 19, 1795) was a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... Project Gutenberg (often abbreviated as PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute cultural works. ... Hester Lynch Thrale by Sir Joshua Reynolds Hester Lynch Thrale (born Hester Lynch Salusbury and after her second marriage, Hester Lynch Piozzi ) (16 January 1741 (she mistakenly celebrated her own birthday on 27 January) - May 2, 1821) was a British diarist, author, and a friend and confidante of Samuel Johnson. ... Project Gutenberg (often abbreviated as PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute cultural works. ...

Quotations by Johnson

• Over 1,700 Johnson quotations are at The Samuel Johnson Sound Bite Page
• More quotes from Samuel Johnson on The Quotations Page

Other

• Jack Lynch's Samuel Johnson page, maintained by Jack Lynch, editor of The Age of Johnson: A Scholarly Annual.
• A discussion of the question of how liberal or conservative Johnson actually was.
• Samuel Johnson at Find-A-Grave
• The Johnson Society of London