Person

Samuel Johnson

1709–1784 · 18th century · Also known as Dr Johnson

Samuel Johnson was an English writer, critic and lexicographer. His Dictionary of the English Language of 1755, compiled largely alone over nine years, was the most influential English dictionary until the Oxford English Dictionary. He also wrote poetry, essays, the novella Rasselas and the Lives of the Poets, and his friend James Boswell's Life of Johnson made him one of the best-known figures of his age.

Samuel Johnson
Image: Joshua Reynolds · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

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Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Samuel Johnson. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/samuel-johnson
MLA
“Samuel Johnson.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/samuel-johnson. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Samuel Johnson.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/samuel-johnson.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Samuel Johnson’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/samuel-johnson (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻