Johnson's Dictionary Published
April 15, 1755
After nine years of solitary labor, Samuel Johnson delivered the two-folio Dictionary of the English Language - 42,773 entries defined with wit, prejudice, and startling precision. He defined 'lexicographer' as 'a harmless drudge.' The English language, for the first time, had an authority. It happened to have a personality too.
In context
Also in 1755 (4 other events on record)
- Lisbon Earthquake · Europe · Disaster
- Qing Forces Destroy the Dzungar Khanate · Central Asia · War
- Braddock's Defeat on the Monongahela · North America · War
- Expulsion of the Acadians · North America · Politics
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Culture
Era
Enlightenment (1651–1800), one of 696 events from that era on Saeculum.
Sources