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Reference Point: Samuel Johnson and the Encyclopedias The David Fleeman Memorial Lecture, 2007

University of Otago

Samuel Johnson was interested in encyclopedias, and in his own lifetime, encyclopedias were interested in him. This essay examines five eighteenth-century encyclopedias: Rees's revision of Chambers' Cyclopaedia (1778-86), Kippis's revised Biographia Britannica (1777-93), and the first three editions of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (1768-71, 1777-84, 1788-97). In these five works, I have located 121 articles in which Johnson is mentioned or quoted as an authority; by giving a sense of the character of his presence, the essay traces the evolution of his reputation. The essay also draws attention to a number of curious details, including early critiques of Johnson's work, and mentions of Johnsonian publications or attributions that have been sometimes overlooked. The whole is intended to be a contribution to the understanding of Johnson's near-contemporary reception and reputation.

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