| Samuel Johnson |
| English (1709-84) |
| The son of a Lichfield bookseller, Samuel Johnson studied briefly at Oxford (1728, M.A. by diploma 1755, honorary D.C.L. 1775). After a short stint as a schoolmaster he migrated to London with Garrick in 1737 to pursue a literary career. After publishing poetry and working for the Gentleman's Magazine he was engaged on the English Dictionary from 1747 to 1755; his edition of Shakespeare was published in 1765. Among many other projects, Johnson edited the Rambler (1750-52), the Adventurer (1752-54, with Joseph Warton and John Hawkesworth) and the Idler (1758-60). The Lives of the Poets, which some of his contemporaries found so objectionable, set a benchmark for later literary criticism and biography. |
Johnson entries: essay |