Samuel Johnson & James Boswell
- Samuel Johnson Born:
- 18 September 1709, Lichfield, Staffordshire, England
- Samuel Johnson Died:
- 13 December 1784, London, England
- James Boswell Born:
- 29 October 1740, Edinburgh, Scotland
- James Boswell Died:
- 19 June 1795, London, England
- Nationality:
- British
- Profession(s):
- Samuel Johnson: Writer, lexicographer, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor, poet.
- James Boswell: Biographer, diarist, lawyer.
Early Life and Education
- Samuel Johnson attended Lichfield Grammar School and briefly Pembroke College, Oxford, but left without a degree due to financial constraints.
- James Boswell studied law at the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, and later at Utrecht.
Career and Major Achievements
- Samuel Johnson is renowned for compiling A Dictionary of the English Language (1755), a landmark achievement in lexicography.
- Johnson also produced significant literary criticism and edited Shakespeare's plays.
- James Boswell became famous for his detailed biography, The Life of Samuel Johnson (1791).
- Their friendship, and Boswell's meticulous documentation of Johnson's life and conversations, established a new standard for biographical writing. The complex and fascinating relationship between dr samuel johnson and james boswell produced one of the most important biographies in the English language.
Notable Works
| Author | Title | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Samuel Johnson | A Dictionary of the English Language | 1755 |
| Samuel Johnson | The Lives of the Poets | 1779-1781 |
| Samuel Johnson | Rasselas | 1759 |
| James Boswell | The Life of Samuel Johnson | 1791 |
| James Boswell | Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides | 1785 |
Legacy and Impact
Samuel Johnson's dictionary standardized the English language and established him as a leading literary figure. James Boswell revolutionized biography, creating a vivid and intimate portrait of his subject. Their combined contributions continue to influence literature, biography, and our understanding of 18th-century intellectual life.