Samuel Johnson: His Life, Dictionary, Quotes, and Biography

Samuel Johnson’s name still appears in conversations about the English language more than two centuries after his death, yet the man who single-handedly compiled one of the most influential dictionaries in history remains a figure of both towering achievement and deep uncertainty. This article separates the well-documented facts from the lingering uncertainties about his life, his health, and his most famous words.

Born: 18 September 1709, Lichfield, England ·
Died: 13 December 1784, London, England ·
Known for: A Dictionary of the English Language (1755) ·
Key work: The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell ·
Famous quote: “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life”

Seven key facts about Johnson, drawn from the most trusted sources, tell the story at a glance.

What was Samuel Johnson best known for?

Lexicographer and the Dictionary

• Johnson published A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755 after roughly nine years of work (Britannica, the authoritative encyclopedia).
• The dictionary defined approximately 42,773 entries (The Week, a current-affairs magazine).
• Johnson worked with six assistants over nearly a decade (The Week).
• It remained the most influential English dictionary until the Oxford English Dictionary appeared in 1928 (Quick and Dirty Tips, a language and education site).

Literary critic and essayist

• Johnson wrote Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (1779–1781) (Britannica).
• He founded and wrote for The Rambler, a periodical of moral essays (Britannica).
• His literary circle included figures like Joshua Reynolds and Edmund Burke (Britannica).

Biographical subject of Boswell

• James Boswell published The Life of Samuel Johnson in 1791 (Britannica).
• It is widely regarded as the greatest English biography ever written (Britannica).
• Boswell’s work is the primary source for most of Johnson’s recorded conversations and quotes (Britannica).

What was Samuel Johnson’s famous quote?

“When a man is tired of London”

• Johnson’s most quoted line — “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life” — was recorded by Boswell (Britannica).
• The remark reflects Johnson’s deep attachment to the city he made his home (Britannica).

“Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel”

• This aphorism first appeared in Boswell’s Life and is attributed to Johnson (Britannica).
• The line is often used to critique hollow nationalism (Britannica).

“The true measure of a man”

• Johnson’s sayings on human nature are numerous; Boswell recorded many in his biography (Britannica).
• These quotes remain widely circulated on social media and in quotation collections (The Week).

The implication: Johnson’s wit is so sharp that his lines have become proverbial, but their original context — often a specific conversation or argument — is frequently lost.

What were Samuel Johnson’s last words?

• Reportedly, Johnson’s last words were either “I am ready” or “Iste est amicus meus” (Latin for “This is my friend”) (Britannica).
• Accounts vary, and the primary source is Boswell’s biography (Britannica).
• Johnson died on 13 December 1784 in London (Britannica).

The catch: Last words are notoriously difficult to verify, and Johnson’s case is no exception. The uncertainty reminds us that even the most documented life has an unrecorded final moment.

Did Samuel Johnson have Tourette’s syndrome?

Historical evidence of tics and compulsive behaviors

• Contemporaries noted Johnson’s involuntary tics, gesticulations, and vocalizations (Johnson’s Dictionary Online, a scholarly resource).
• He displayed compulsive rituals and fears, such as touching every post when walking (Johnson’s Dictionary Online).

Modern medical interpretation

• Some modern neurologists have proposed a diagnosis of Tourette’s syndrome based on written accounts (Johnson’s Dictionary Online).
• However, evidence is limited to observational descriptions, not medical records (Johnson’s Dictionary Online).

Why this matters: The debate over Johnson’s neurological condition has made him a case study in retroactive diagnosis. For medical historians, it illustrates the limits of applying modern categories to historical figures.

What illness did Samuel Johnson have?

Scrofula as a child

• Johnson contracted scrofula (tuberculous lymphadenitis) as an infant, and was treated by Queen Anne’s touch, a royal ritual (Britannica).
• The illness left him with poor vision and hearing, and visible scarring (Study.com, an educational platform).

Possible Tourette’s and obsessive-compulsive traits

• As noted above, Johnson’s tics and rituals have been interpreted as signs of Tourette’s syndrome or OCD (Johnson’s Dictionary Online).
• He also suffered from clinical depression (melancholy) throughout his life (Johnson’s Dictionary Online).

Later health decline

• In his later years Johnson had asthma, gout, and congestive heart failure (Johnson’s Dictionary Online).
• He suffered a stroke in 1783 that temporarily left him unable to speak (Johnson’s Dictionary Online).
• He died from complications of emphysema and heart failure (Britannica).

The trade-off: Johnson’s chronic health problems may have fueled his discipline and his empathy for human suffering, but they also made his daily life a struggle. His output remains extraordinary given his physical limitations.

Timeline of Samuel Johnson’s Life

• 1709: Samuel Johnson born in Lichfield, Staffordshire (Britannica)
• 1728: Entered Pembroke College, Oxford; left without a degree due to poverty (Britannica)
• 1737: Moved to London to work as a writer (Britannica)
• 1746–1755: Composed A Dictionary of the English Language (Britannica)
• 1750–1752: Wrote and published The Rambler (Britannica)
• 1762: Awarded a government pension of £300 per year (Britannica)
• 1763: Met James Boswell, his future biographer (Britannica)
• 1779–1781: Published Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets (Britannica)
• 1784: Died in London, buried in Westminster Abbey (Britannica)
• 1791: Boswell published The Life of Samuel Johnson (Britannica)

This timeline shows how Johnson’s life was a series of deferred achievements. The dictionary took a decade; the biography appeared seven years after his death. His legacy was built slowly.

What’s Clear and What’s Not

Confirmed facts

• Johnson published A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755 (Britannica)
• He was a central figure in 18th-century English letters (Britannica)
• His biography by James Boswell is a landmark in the genre (Britannica)
• He is the subject of extensive scholarly study (Britannica)

What’s unclear

• Exact medical diagnosis for his tics and vocalizations (Tourette’s vs. other movement disorder) (Johnson’s Dictionary Online)
• Accuracy of some quotes and last words, as recorded by others (Britannica)
• Whether his relationship with Boswell was genuine friendship or partly exploitative (Britannica)
• How much of his dictionary’s content was genuinely original (The Week)

The pattern: The more we know about Johnson, the more questions arise. The confirmed facts are solid, but the uncertainties remind us that history is always incomplete.

Memorable Words from and about Johnson

“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.”

— Samuel Johnson, as recorded by James Boswell (Britannica)

“Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”

— Samuel Johnson, in Boswell’s Life (Britannica)

“I have found you an argument; but I am not obliged to find you an understanding.”

— Samuel Johnson, recorded by Boswell (Britannica)

“He was a man of the most vigorous and active mind, capable of the greatest exertions.”

— James Boswell, on his first meeting with Johnson in 1763 (Britannica)

These quotations, drawn from Boswell’s biography, capture Johnson’s wit—and his impatience with intellectual laziness.

For anyone tracing the history of the English language, the choice is clear: Johnson’s dictionary remains the foundational reference, and his life story continues to challenge our understanding of genius and illness. Students of literature and lexicography alike must reckon with a man who achieved monumental work while battling chronic pain, depression, and uncertainty about his own legacy.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Samuel Johnson biography dictionary quotes health — Further research on the same topic.