Two Homes of Samuel Johnson

Open Monday through Friday 10:30 - 4:30. Closed on Sundays during November, December, and January. Closed on Christmas and New Year's holidays.

Admission charged.

The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum was opened to the public as a museum in 1901, nearly 200 years after his birth. Tourists are treated to a documentary video of Johnson's life and works then taken on a delightful tour of the eighteenth century home. Decorated with furnishing from the period, the home also contains manuscripts, pictures, and personal items belonging to Johnson. A bookstore stocked with books by and about Johnson as well as other literary works of interest is open during tour hours.

The International Johnson Society is headquartered in the museum.

Each year on the Saturday following September 18, the city of Lichfield observes Johnson's birthday with a celebration in Market Square.

Dr. Johnson's House
17 Gough Square
London
EC4A 3DE
Telephone: 0171 353 3745

Open daily May through September 11:00 - 5:30; October through April 11:00 - 5:00. Closed on Sundays

Admission charged.

Samuel Johnson lived in this house from 1748 until 1759. He wrote extensively while living here. His poetry, essays and critiques regularly appeared in Gentleman's Magazine during this period. It was also while living in this house that Johnson compiled the first comprehensive English dictionary.

The house can be scheduled for private occasions.

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

Born into the family of a bookseller, Johnson's life was continually surrounded and influenced by books an writing. He was born on September 18, 1709, in Lichfield, England. He attended Lichfield and Stourbridge Grammar Schools and spent a brief period at Pembroke College, Oxford. He married Elizabeth Porter in 1735.

Johnson sought a career as a schoolteacher, but quickly turned to writing, finding a voice in poetry and popular essays. He moved to London in the late 1730s. His most acclaimed poem, "The Vanity of Human Wishes," was published in 1749. He went on to write the play Idler (1749), Taxation No Tyranny (1775), and Lives of the Poets (1779-81).

The Dictionary of the English Language (1755) was Johnson's most memorable work. It has often been referred to as a great landmark in English lexicography. The dictionary set a standard for spelling. Prior to Johnson's influence, words were spelled according to each writer's notion, often leading to confusion and misinterpretation. The dictionary also provided a clue for the way words should be used. Johnson cited appropriate quotations from literary works as illustrations for correct word usage. The Dictionary of the English Language has served as a foundation for many subsequent dictionaries.

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