Samuel Johnson was the son of Michale Johnson, a bookseller, and his wife, Sarah. Ever since he was a little kid he had many medical problems including a form of TB called “scrofula.” His family tried many diffrent things to cure his problems, but these only made him disfigured and gave him other problems. He came to have scars on his face, be blind in one eye, and get a large twich. He didn’t learn to speak until he was quite older than normal, so most people who met him thought he was an idiot. Despite these problems, he later became very strong and athletic and is reported to have been able to pick up a man and the chair he was sitting in and hurl them a few feet.
Ever since he was small, Samuel was recognized for his pride and remarkable intelligence. He started school in 1717 in a town called Lichfield. The school master used the paddle so much that even the sight of one the school master’s relatives made Sam tremble. 1728 was the year he entered Pembroke College; leaving 13 months later because he couldn’t afford to continue. Even though he left because of pride and poorness, he loved the things that he learned there.
Johnson’s first publishing was in 1731, the year his father died. It was a translation of Pope’s Messiah into Latin, appearing in “A Miscellany of Poems”. Johnson tried being a teacher for a while but bad experiences soon made him change his career. In 1735 he married Elizabeth Porter, a widow who was 20 years older than him. She had plenty of money and that allowed Johnson to start his own school where he wouldn’t have to have a boss. This is when Johnson wrote “Irene.” The school failed soon and he moved on to the next thing.
In 1738 he got a position at The Gentalman’s Magazine, which is supposedly the first “modern” magazine. Many of the his early esays and biographies were published here, many of them anti-government; as Johnson didn’t like the way things were run. Even with his career going, he still didn’t make much money.
Between 1741 and 1744, Johnson contributed many speeches that were supposedly from the English House of Commons. This was daring because this was declared illegal in 1738. In actuality he had almost no idea what was going on; or even what the speakers though on various issues. Johnson didn’t let this bother him though. Many people though that these speeches were fact disguised as fiction when in reality, it was the other way around.
It was in 1755, six years late, that Johnson’s most famous work was published: the first English Dictionary. It was published in 2 volumes. The truth is that it wasn’t the 1st dictionary, but all of the others were trash by comparison. The thing that made Johnson’s dictionary so great, besides the sheer scale of it, was the definitions he wrote. They were very clear and the quotations were taken out of famous works of the Elizabethan time period. Johnson wrote this dictionary in 9 years, under 1/4th the time it took the French Academy. He got the words for his dictionary from books he read, which explains why some words weren’t there.
Johnson’s ego got a big boost when the Earl of Chesterfield praised it in two essays; despite hating Johnson. The dictionary’s definitions remind are like those of The Devil’s Dictionary by _ in that they showed some autobiography and prejudices. For example a “lexicographer” is a “writer of dictionaries; a harmless drudge.” This I can believe as it took him a decade to write the thing. In the end after paying off his debts Johnson didn’t make much money, but he gave the English language one of it’s most important tools.
Source: http://www.britanica.com
