“Some desire is necessary to keep life in motion, and he whose real wants are supplied must admit those of fancy.”

English writer and polymath

Samuel Johnson, often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer and polymath. He is best known for his Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1755, a work of 42,733 entries that shaped the study and use of English. Beyond the dictionary, Johnson wrote as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermon writer, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. His reputation rests on the breadth of that work and on his lasting influence on the English language.