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Johnson was born in  Lichfield, Staffordshire, and attended  Pembroke College, Oxford  for just over a year, before his lack of funds forced him to leave. After working as a teacher he moved to London, where he began to write miscellaneous pieces for '' The Gentleman's Magazine ''. His early works include the biography ''The Life of Richard Savage'', the poems "London " and "The Vanity of Human Wishes", and the play ''Irene''.

Johnson was born in  Lichfield, Staffordshire, and attended  Pembroke College, Oxford  for just over a year, before his lack of funds forced him to leave. After working as a teacher he moved to London, where he began to write miscellaneous pieces for '' The Gentleman's Magazine ''. His early works include the biography ''The Life of Richard Savage'', the poems "London " and "The Vanity of Human Wishes", and the play ''Irene''.

After nine years of work, Johnson's ''Dictionary of the English Language '' was published in 1755; it had a far-reaching effect on  Modern English  and has been described as "one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship."<ref name="Bate240">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=240}}</ref> The ''Dictionary'' brought Johnson popularity and success. Until the completion of the '' Oxford English Dictionary '' 150 years later, Johnson's was viewed as the pre-eminent British dictionary.<ref name="Lynch p. 1">{{Harvnb|Lynch|2003|p= 1}}</ref> His later works included essays, an influential annotated edition of  William Shakespeare's plays, and the widely read tale ''Rasselas''. In 1763, he befriended James Boswell, with whom he later travelled to Scotland; Johnson described their travels in '' A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland ''. Towards the end of his life, he produced the massive and influential '' Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets '', a collection of biographies and evaluations of 17th- and 18th-century poets.

After nine years of work, Johnson's ''Dictionary of the English Language '' was published in 1755; it had a far-reaching effect on  Modern English  and has been described as "one of the greatest single achievements of scholarship."<ref name="Bate240">{{Harvnb|Bate|1977|p=240}}</ref> The ''Dictionary'' brought Johnson popularity and success. Until the completion of the '' Oxford English Dictionary '' 150 years later, Johnson's was viewed as the pre-eminent British dictionary.<ref name="Lynch p. 1">{{Harvnb|Lynch|2003|p= 1}}</ref> His later works included essays, an influential annotated edition of  William Shakespeare's plays, and the widely read tale ''Rasselas''. In 1763, he befriended James Boswell, with whom he later travelled to Scotland; Johnson described their travels in '' A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland ''. Towards the end of his life, he produced the massive and influential '' Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets '', a collection of biographies and evaluations of 17th- and 18th century poets.

Johnson had a tall and robust figure, but his odd gestures and  tic s were confusing to some on their first encounter with him. Boswell's ''Life'', along with other biographies, documented Johnson's behaviour and mannerisms in such detail that they have informed the posthumous diagnosis of  Tourette syndrome  (TS),<ref name="ContTSDiagnosis">{{Harvnb|Murray|1979}} and {{Harvnb|Stern|2005}}</ref> a condition not defined or diagnosed in the 18th century. After a series of illnesses he died on the evening of 13 December 1784, and was buried in  Westminster Abbey . In the years following his death, Johnson began to be recognised as having had a lasting effect on literary criticism, and even as the only great critic of English literature.<ref name="Winters p. 240">{{Harvnb|Winters|1943|p=240}}</ref>

Johnson had a tall and robust figure, but his odd gestures and  tic s were confusing to some on their first encounter with him. Boswell's ''Life'', along with other biographies, documented Johnson's behaviour and mannerisms in such detail that they have informed the posthumous diagnosis of  Tourette syndrome  (TS),<ref name="ContTSDiagnosis">{{Harvnb|Murray|1979}} and {{Harvnb|Stern|2005}}</ref> a condition not defined or diagnosed in the 18th century. After a series of illnesses he died on the evening of 13 December 1784, and was buried in  Westminster Abbey . In the years following his death, Johnson began to be recognised as having had a lasting effect on literary criticism, and even as the only great critic of English literature.<ref name="Winters p. 240">{{Harvnb|Winters|1943|p=240}}</ref>