# A history of the dictionary: Dr Johnson, I presume?

- Institution: Gresham College
- Speaker: Henry Hitchings FRSL
- Year: 2009
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Literature and writing, Art, architecture and design
- Source: [Gresham College](https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/history-dictionary-dr-johnson-i-presume)
- Licence: [Educational use (Gresham College's terms)](https://www.gresham.ac.uk/terms-and-conditions)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

Johnson's early life was beset by ill health; his eyesight and hearing were poor throughout his life. Poverty obliged him to leave Oxford without a degree. Johnson travelled to London with his friend, the actor David Garrick, and supported himself through journalism. He was commissioned to write his renowned Dictionary of the English Language and rented 17 Gough Square (now Dr Johnson's House, off Fleet Street, a museum dedicated to the life and work of Samuel Johnson).

## Lectures

1. [A history of the dictionary: Dr Johnson, I presume?](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/gresham/history-dictionary-dr-johnson-i-presume/c833412edd4a) (YouTube)