JOHNSON, SAMUEL

JOHNSON, SAMUEL
   the great English lexicographer, born in Lichfield, the son of a bookseller; received his early education in his native town and completed it at Pembroke College, Oxford, in 1728; in 1736 he married a widow named Porter, who brought him £800; started a boarding-school, which did not prosper, and in the end of a year he removed to London along with David Garrick, who had been a pupil under him; here he became connected with Cave, a printer, the proprietor of the Gentleman's Magazine, with whom he had previously corresponded, and contributed to the pages of the magazine, earning thereby a meagre livelihood, eking out his means by reporting Parliamentary debates in terms which expressed the drift of them, but in his own pompous language; in 1740 he published a poem entitled the "Vanity of Human Wishes," and about the same time commenced his world-famous Dictionary, which was Published in 1755, "a great, solid, square-built edifice, finished, symmetrically complete, the best of all dictionaries"; during the progress of the Dictionary Johnson edited the Rambler, writing most of the contents himself, carrying it on for two years; in 1758 he started the Idler; in 1762 the king granted him a pension of £300, and by this he was raised above the straitened circumstances which till then had all along weighed upon him, and able to live in comparative affluence for the last 22 years of his life; five years after he instituted the Literary Club, which consisted of the most celebrated men of the time, his biographer, Boswell, having by this time been introduced to him, as subsequently the family of Mr. Thrale; in 1770 he began his "Lives of the English Poets," and in 1773 he made a tour in the Highlands along with Boswell, of which journey he shortly afterwards published an account; Johnson's writings are now dead, as are many of his opinions, but the story of his life as written by BOSWELL (q.v. BOSWELL, JAMES) will last as long as men revere those qualities of mind and heart that distinguish the English race, of which he is the typical representative (1709-1783).

The Nuttall Encyclopaedia. . 1907.

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  • Johnson,Samuel — Johnson, Samuel. Known as “Dr. Johnson.” 1709 1784. British writer and lexicographer. The leading literary figure in the second half of the 18th century, he wrote Dictionary of the English Language (1755) and Lives of the Poets (1779 1781). * * * …   Universalium

  • Johnson, Samuel — known as Dr. Johnson born Sept. 18, 1709, Lichfield, Staffordshire, Eng. died Dec. 13, 1784, London British man of letters, one of the outstanding figures of 18th century England. The son of a poor bookseller, he briefly attended Oxford… …   Universalium

  • Johnson, Samuel — (1709 1784)    The son of a poor bookseller of Lichfield, Staffordshire, he was educated at the local grammar school and from 1728 to 1731 at Pembroke College, Oxford, but poverty forced him to leave without graduating. He started working for… …   British and Irish poets

  • Johnson, Samuel — 1. (1696–1772) American philosopher. A symptomatic figure rather than an independently important philosopher, Johnson was born in Connecticut and taught at Yale. He was instrumental in founding the university of Pennsylvania and Columbia… …   Philosophy dictionary

  • Johnson, Samuel — (1709–94)    Literary Figure.    Johnson is famous in the history of English literature for his Dictionary of the English Language and as the subject of James Boswell’s biography. He was a highly influential writer in his own time. He was born in …   Who’s Who in Christianity

  • Johnson, Samuel — ► (1709 84) Literato inglés, llamado Doctor Johnson. Autor del Diccionario de la lengua inglesa (1747 55) y Rasselas (1759). * * * llamado Dr. Johnson (18 sep. 1709, Lichfield, Staffordshire, Inglaterra–13 dic. 1784, Londres). Literato británico …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Johnson, Samuel Curtis — ▪ 2005       American business executive (b. March 2, 1928, Racine, Wis. d. May 22, 2004, Racine), served for more than 30 years, until 2000, as head of S.C. Johnson & Son, a company founded by his great grandfather in 1886. Under his guidance… …   Universalium

  • JOHNSON, Samuel — (1709 1784)    English ESSAYIST, man of letters and defender of CHRISTIANITY against DEISM and other criticisms of his age …   Concise dictionary of Religion

  • Johnson, Samuel — 1) (1649 1703)    Political writer, sometimes called the Whig to distinguish him from his great namesake. Of humble extraction, he was ed. at St. Paul s School and Camb., and took orders. He attacked James II. in Julian the Apostate (1682), and… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Samuel Johnson — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnsons, grabado a partir del original por sir Joshua Reynolds Nacimiento …   Wikipedia Español

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