The Life of Samuel Johnson

Johnson is born in the English town of Lichfield, Staffordshire, on September 18, 1709, to Michael and Sarah Johnson. He has one brother, Nathaniel, who will die at the age of 25. Johnson’s father is a bookseller who passes his “melancholy” and “gloomy” nature on to his son. Johnson is often sick as a child and has scrofula which affects the sight in one of his eyes and affects his appearance somewhat. Johnson’s mother goes so far as to bring him to London to be touched by Queen Anne—it was believed the “king’s evil” could be cured with a royal touch—but to no avail. This disease prevents Johnson from enjoying sports along with other boys and contributes to his “dismal inertness of disposition” (36).

On the other hand, Johnson is brilliant in school, with an excellent memory and an early talent for literature and Latin. His headmasters in the school he attends are harsh and often administer corporal punishment; Johnson will come to value “the rod” as a means of motivating children to excel and work hard. Johnson himself is so industrious in school that his classmates respect him highly and treat him with “submission and deference” (35). Boswell sees the adult Johnson in the child he chronicles, concluding that “the boy is the man in miniature” (35) and that many traits of Johnson’s adult character were formed early.