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Publication of Dr Johnson's dictionary: April 15th, 1755.(Months Past)(Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson, 1755)

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From: History Today
Date: 20050401
Author:Cavendish, Richard

THE MOMENT in June 1746 when Samuel Johnson signed the contract with a group of booksellers for A Dictionary of the English Language was a turning point in his life. At forty-six he was a penniless, almost unknown, hack writer in imminent danger of the debtors' prison, but now the substantial fee of 1,500 guineas (probably well upwards of 150,000 [pounds sterling] today) enabled him to rent a comfortable house for himself and his wife in Gough Square, off Fleet Street near the Cheshire Cheese, and hire a staff of assistants. Johnson's wife Tetty died in 1752, which was a ...

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