John Boag

Who was John Boag?

John Boag was an evangelist, pastor, and lexicographer. He compiled the 'Imperial Lexicon'.

Boag was born at Highgate in the parish of Beith, Ayrshire, on 7 January 1775. He matriculated at the University of Glasgow in 1797, and completed his academical course with a view to taking orders in the Church of Scotland, but joined the body of independents or congregationalists, who in 1812 formed themselves into the Congregational Union of Scotland. He acted for many years as an evangelist, and not infrequently in the open air or by the wayside. He had small charges in the Isle of Man and Helensburgh. Ultimately he accepted the appointment of pastor over a very small independent congregation in the village of Blackburn, Linlithgowshire, from which, it is believed, he never received more than 25 to 30 pounds a year. He also kept a day-school on his own account. It was in this humble position that Boag compiled his magnum opus. His aim was to combine etymology, pronunciation, and explanation of scientific terms and others used in art and literature. He wished also to incorporate new words since Johnson, and modifications and other changes of meanings.