Samuel Johnson
On the 18th of September 1709, a baby named Samuel Johnson did not cry when he was born in Lichfield. His mother Sarah had been forty years old during the delivery, and a man-midwife named George Hector assisted with the difficult birth. The infant's silence caused fear among his family that he would not survive. They summoned the vicar of St Mary's to perform an emergency baptism for their son.
Johnson contracted scrofula, known at the time as the King's Evil, which left permanent scars across his face and body. Queen Anne touched him on the 30th of March 1712 in hopes of curing the disease, but the ritual failed. An operation performed later left deep marks that remained visible throughout his life. He wore an amulet given by the queen on a chain until his death.
His education began at age three under his mother's guidance. She made him memorize passages from the Book of Common Prayer before sending him to school at four. By six, he attended a retired shoemaker's lessons, then moved to Lichfield Grammar School where he excelled in Latin. At nine, he was promoted to the upper school, though he displayed tics that confused some observers.
Family poverty forced him to leave Pembroke College, Oxford, after only thirteen months in December 1731. He could not afford fees or transport books back home. His father died in debt in December 1731 when Johnson was twenty-two. The young man stood bareheaded in the rain for a considerable time where his father's book stall had been.
A group of publishers approached Samuel Johnson in 1746 with an offer to create an authoritative dictionary of the English language. They signed a contract worth 1,500 guineas on the morning of the 18th of June 1746. Johnson claimed he could finish the project in three years, yet it took eight years of constant work.
He employed assistants to copy out sentences from hundreds of books onto individual paper slips. These slips were later alphabetized and accompanied by examples illustrating word usage. The house became filled with incessant noise and clutter as they worked through his own collection and borrowed volumes.
The final product appeared in April 1755 with 42,773 entries. It sold for £4 10s, roughly equivalent to £350 today. The book contained approximately 114,000 literary quotations drawn from authors like Shakespeare, Milton, and Dryden. No royalties followed its sale despite its popularity.
Johnson wrote Plan of a Dictionary of the English Language in 1747 under the patronage of Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield. Seven years later, Chesterfield published two anonymous essays recommending the work. Johnson responded harshly in a letter stating that patrons who look unconcernedly at a man struggling are useless once help arrives.
In May 1738, Johnson's first major poem London was published anonymously. Based on Juvenal's Satire III, it described Thales leaving Wales to escape crime and corruption in London. Alexander Pope predicted the author would soon be unearthed, but this did not happen until fifteen years later.
His most highly regarded poem, The Vanity of Human Wishes, was written with extraordinary speed. Boswell claimed Johnson might have been perpetually a poet if he had continued writing verse. The poem imitates Juvenal's Satire X and argues that non-vain spiritual wishes serve as an antidote to vain human desires.
Garrick produced Irene in 1749, though its title changed to Mahomet and Irene to make it fit for the stage. A friend of Boswell commented the play was as frigid as Nova Zembla, feeling only occasional heat like touching ice. The show ran for nine nights before closing.
On the 9th of July 1735, Johnson married Elizabeth Porter at St Werburgh's Church in Derby. She was forty-six while he was twenty-five, causing disgust among her son Jervis who severed all relations. Her daughter Lucy accepted him immediately, and Joseph later came
around to accept the match.
Tetty died on the 17th of March 1752 while Johnson worked on his Dictionary. He wrote a letter expressing grief in the strongest manner Taylor had ever read. John Hawkesworth organized the funeral since Taylor refused to read Johnson's sermon honoring her death.
Boswell described Johnson displaying tics including holding his head to one side and moving his body backwards and forwards. He rubbed his left knee with his palm and made sounds like half whistles or clucking like a hen. These involuntary movements accompanied thoughtful looks or frequent smiles during disputes.
A posthumous diagnosis of Tourette syndrome became widely accepted two hundred years after his death. Arthur K. Shapiro called Johnson the most notable example of successful adaptation despite liability of the condition. The disorder remained undefined and unmanageable during the eighteenth century.
In 1770, Johnson produced The False Alarm attacking John Wilkes. His Thoughts on the Late Transactions Respecting Falkland's Islands cautioned against war with Spain in 1771. He printed The Patriot in 1774 as a critique of false patriotism.
On the evening of the
7th of April 1775, he made the famous statement that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. This line targeted what he considered the false use of the term by Wilkes supporters rather than patriotism itself. He denounced British supporters of the Patriot cause as traitors to this country.
Taxation No Tyranny appeared in 1775 defending Coercive Acts against American Congress resolutions. Johnson argued colonists voluntarily resigned voting power when emigrating but retained virtual representation in Parliament. He criticized proslavery positions among American Patriots writing about drivers of negroes.
After signing the Treaty of Paris in 1783 marking colonial independence, Johnson stated he was deeply disturbed with the state of the kingdom. He believed English superiority and American obedience would ultimately settle matters without bloodshed.
Johnson experienced emotional trauma when Hester Thrale planned to sell their shared residence in October 1782. He attended church for the final time on the 6th of October 1782 to say goodbye to his former life. The walk strained him though he managed
the journey unaccompanied.
His health failed after returning from Brighton where he stayed from the 7th of October to the 20th of November 1782. On the 17th of June 1783, poor circulation resulted in a stroke leaving him unable to speak. Two doctors aided him and he regained speech two days later.
He fell into a coma on the 13th of December 1784 after meeting Miss Morris and Francesco Sastres. His final words were iam moriturus meaning now I am about to die. He died at 7:00 pm that evening.
Langton waited until 11:00 pm to tell others who described his death as the most awful sight. Boswell remarked feeling one large expanse of stupor while William Gerard Hamilton stated Johnson had made a chasm nothing could fill up. He was buried on the 20th of December 1784 at Westminster Abbey.
Steven Lynn called Samuel Johnson more than a well-known writer and scholar; he was a celebrity whose activities and state of health were constantly reported in journals. When there was nothing to report, something was invented according to contemporary accounts.
Boswell's Life of
Samuel Johnson became the most famous single work of biographical art in literature. Critics like Donald Greene argue about its status as true biography yet it succeeded through promotion by Boswell and friends. Fanny Burney kept diaries containing details missing from other biographies.
Matthew Arnold considered Johnson's Lives of Milton Dryden Pope Addison Swift and Gray points standing as natural centers for finding our way again. Literary critics such as G. Birkbeck Hill and T.S. Eliot came to regard him as serious critic over a century after his death.
Yvor Winters claimed great critics are rare geniuses perhaps only Johnson deserves that epithet in English. F.R. Leavis agreed stating reading him reveals powerful distinguished mind operating first hand upon literature. Half of his surviving correspondence resides at Houghton Library since 2003.
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Common questions
When was Samuel Johnson born and where did his birth take place?
Samuel Johnson was born on the 18th of September 1709 in Lichfield. His mother Sarah was forty years old during the delivery, and a man-midwife named George Hector assisted with the difficult birth.
What medical condition affected Samuel Johnson throughout his life?
Samuel Johnson contracted scrofula known as the King's Evil which left permanent scars across his face and body. A posthumous diagnosis of Tourette syndrome became widely accepted two hundred years after his death.
How long did it take Samuel Johnson to complete his dictionary project?
Samuel Johnson claimed he could finish the project in three years yet it took eight years of constant work. The final product appeared in April 1755 with 42,773 entries.
Who married Samuel Johnson and when did their wedding occur?
On the 9th of July 1735 Samuel Johnson married Elizabeth Porter at St Werburgh's Church in Derby. She was forty-six while he was twenty-five causing disgust among her son Jervis who severed all relations.
When did Samuel Johnson die and what were his final words?
He fell into a coma on the 13th of December 1784 after meeting Miss Morris and Francesco Sastres. His final words were iam moriturus meaning now I am about to die before he died at 7:00 pm that evening.