Samuel Johnson and How the Dictionary Came to Be

About this event

THE MARK TWAIN CONNECTION: The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter–it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning. – Mark Twain in a letter to George Bainton, 15 Oct 1888 ABOUT THE TOPIC: Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1755, just 21 years before the Declaration of Independence. In this evening event, Celine Luppo McDaid, the Hyde Director of Dr. Johnson’s House in London, joins us to talk about how the Dictionary came to be and Johnson’s literary legacy in the English-speaking world. This will include responses to his work by fellow lexicographer, Noah Webster, and other literary greats in successive generations, including Webster’s fellow Nutmegger, Mark Twain. This event is presented in partnership with the Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society. ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Celine Luppo McDaid is The Hyde Director and Curator of Dr Johnson’s House, London- a writer’s house museum in London operating as “The House of Words” where Johnson completed his Dictionary of the English Language. In addition to being responsible for the management of the organization, she has staged over 20 exhibitions and is responsible for the development and delivery of the education program with a primary focus on the history of language and linguistics. With a background in Classics and the teaching of Latin and English, Luppo McDaid has published various articles relating to Johnson, language and linguistics, neo-classicism in the 18th century, Black British history, female Intellectualism in the 18th century, historic house preservation and the purpose of writer’s house museums- including in the Bookplate Journal, the Book Collector, the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies and the New Rambler. She regularly lectures on these subjects, and has featured in numerous documentaries and other media. Get your pay-what-you-wish ticket HERE.

Description from marktwainhouse.org