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Samuel Johnson was born on 18 September 1709 as | Samuel Johnson was born on 18 September 1709 as son of a bookseller (Michael Johnson). He is considered as one of the chief British intellectuals of the 18th century. | ||
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Revision as of 12:14, 22 October 2009
Samuel Johnson was born on 18 September 1709 as son of a bookseller (Michael Johnson). He is considered as one of the chief British intellectuals of the 18th century.
Biography
Samuel Johnson was born in Lichfield, England, and from his early life on he suffered from several diseases (loss of hearing and blind in one eye). Since his father was a bookseller he early came into contact with books and developed a good knowledge even in his childhood.
Johnson later spent a year at “Pembroke College, Oxford,” but due to financial problems he had to leave. As a consequence – it is worth remembering that he has always been an intellectual – “[…] he went to a severe depression” . His depression lasted for two years. It was in that time that Johnson met the Porters, a merchant family. Henry Porter was a big help for Johnson to get back his self-confidence. Porter’s wife Elizabeth was from the first day she met Johnson fascinated by him. After her husband’s death, she got married (1735) to Samuel Johnson, who was 21 years younger than her (she was 46).
His first profession was that of a schoolmaster but he had to give it up because he did not have a proper degree and he was not respected by his students since his appearance was not very pleasant.
His career as a writer started in 1737 when Johnson went to London where he wrote for several periodicals. Later on, “he was assigned the task of writing thinly disguised reports of the debates in Parliament” . Although he was quiet successful in the 1730s and 40s, his real success started in the 1750s. Worth mentioning in this context is his “Dictionary of the English Language” which was published in 1755. ”Oxford University rewarded him with a Master of Arts degree, which came in time for him to include it on the title page of the Dictionary.” Moreover, Samuel Johnson is also known for his complete edition on Shakespeare’s works.
On 13 December 1784 Samuel Johnson died.
Sources