How important was Samuel Johnson

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Q.� Biography

A.� He was born in Lichfield, near Birmingham, son of Michael Johnson, a bookseller, on 18 September 1709. He died in London in December, 1784. In 1728 he went to Pembroke College, Oxford, but left 13 months later when his money ran out. He then attempted, unsuccessfully, to run a school with his friend David Garrick, the actor.

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Q.� Then what

A.� He thought he could make a better career out of writing, so in 1737 he went to London with Garrick, hoping to sell Irene, a tragedy he had written. That didn't happen, so he took a variety of writing jobs, including contributions to The Gentleman's Magazine. He wrote biographies, political satires and reported Parliamentary debates. His first success came in 1738 - a poem called London, which imitated a satire by the Latin poet Juvenal.

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Q.� What about his dictionary It was he first one

A.� No - lexicons had been published before, but this was to be the most important. It appeared in 1755 and became the standard work until the Oxford English Dictionary appeared 150 years later. Johnson had been commissioned by a syndicate of printers to write a Dictionary of the English Language. He rented 17 Gough Square, London, and with the help of his six amanuenses, compiled the dictionary in the garret.

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Q.� Any other work

A.� He lived at Gough Square for more than 10 years, publishing a series of periodical essays called The Rambler, which appeared twice a week from 1750 to 1752. He later wrote or contributed to two other series of essays, The Idler and The Adventurer. In 1759 came Rasselas, an oriental tale he wrote to pay for his mother's funeral.

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Q.� So where does Boswell come in

A.� James Boswell came to London in 1762 and met Johnson the next May. Determined to collect material to write a biography of his hero, the two spent some time together, including a trip through the Hebrides in 1773. Boswell's Life of Johnson appeared in 1791.

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Q.� What else

A.� An annotated edition of Shakespeare's works appeared in eight volumes in 1765.

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Q.� And what about these famous quotations

A.� Probably the most famous is

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When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life;

for there is in London all that life can afford.

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But my favourite are the remarks he aimed at Lord Chesterfield.

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Q.� What prompted them

A.� Johnson originally approached Chesterfield as a potential patron, but Chesterfield gave Johnson only a token �10. However, just before the dictionary appeared, Chesterfield published several glowing reviews, an obvious ploy to receive the dedication normally paid to a patron. Johnson wrote to Chesterfield:

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Is not a Patron, my Lord, one who looks with unconcern on a Man struggling for Life in the water and when he has reached ground encumbers him with help

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By Steve Cunningham