Samuel Johnson Jr.

Who was Samuel Johnson Jr.?

Samuel Johnson Jr. was the author of the first English dictionary compiled by an American, "A school dictionary: being a compendium of the latest and most improved dictionaries". It was printed in New Haven, in 1798, by Edward O'Brien. Martha Jane Gibson, from Yale University, sees Johnson Jr. as America's first lexicographer. He was a schoolteacher, born in the town of Guilford, Connecticut.

Although he was a contemporary of British lexicographer Dr. Samuel Johnson, they were not related in any way. The coincidence of names leads many people to believe that this last one was the author of the dictionary. Rather, Johnson Jr. was from an old Guildford family; his father was a clothier, and his great uncle was the Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson, noted theologian, and first President of King's College.

Also according to the New York Times, "the British Museum has a copy presumably perfect; Yale College Library has the Brinley copy, which lacks pages 157-168 out of 198, the total number. No other copies seem to be known".