Dr. Samuel Johnson

English writer, critic, and lexicographer of the 18th century

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About

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) is a major figure in English literature. Born in Lichfield, he moved to London in 1737 and wrote for The Gentleman's Magazine. His masterpiece, A Dictionary of the English Language (1755), revolutionized lexicography. He also published essays, poems, an edition of Shakespeare, and biographies of poets. Famous for his conversation, he is immortalized by James Boswell's biography.

Major works

London (1738)poem
The Vanity of Human Wishes (1749)poem
A Dictionary of the English Language (1755)dictionary
The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia (1759)philosophical tale
Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1779-1781)critical biographies

Key milestones

1755Publication of his Dictionary of the English Language, a reference work for over a century.
1765Publication of his annotated edition of Shakespeare's plays.
1791James Boswell publishes his biography, considered one of the greatest in literature.

Themes

Vanity of human wishesLanguage and lexicographyLiterary criticismMorality and religionSocial life and conversation

Sources: britannica.com · lmh.ox.ac.uk

“The love of life is necessary to the vigorous prosecution of any undertaking.”

— Dr. Samuel JohnsonTheme · Motivation

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“Labor, if it were not necessary for existence, would be indispensable for the happiness of man.”

— Dr. Samuel JohnsonTheme · Work

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“That all who are happy are equally happy is not true. A peasant and a philosopher may be equally satisfied, but not equally happy. A small drinking glass and a large one may be equally full, but the large one holds more than the small.”

— Dr. Samuel JohnsonTheme · Philosophy

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“There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn.”

— Dr. Samuel JohnsonTheme · Society

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“When once a man has made celebrity necessary to his happiness, he has put it in the power of the weakest and most timorous malignity, if not to take away his satisfaction, at least to withhold it. His enemies may indulge their pride by airy negligence and gratify their malice by quiet neutrality.”

— Dr. Samuel JohnsonTheme · Psychology

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“No two men can be half an hour together, but one shall acquire an evident superiority over the other.”

— Dr. Samuel JohnsonTheme · Society

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“Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.”

— Dr. Samuel JohnsonTheme · Motivation

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