Who compiled "A Dictionary of the English Language", published in 1755?

Samuel Johnson compiled A Dictionary of the English Language, published in 1755.

Often called Johnson’s Dictionary, the work was one of the most influential English dictionaries of its era. Johnson was commissioned by London booksellers and worked for roughly eight years, producing a large two-volume folio that defined words through explanations, etymologies, and quotations from respected writers.

The first edition appeared on 15 April 1755 and contained about 42,773 word entries. Its examples drew heavily on English literature, including writers such as Shakespeare, Milton, and Dryden. The dictionary did not create the English language, but it helped standardize usage and became a major reference point for spelling, meaning, and literary authority.

It is sometimes confused with later dictionary projects. Noah Webster became famous for American dictionaries, while James Murray was the leading editor of the Oxford English Dictionary. Peter Mark Roget compiled a thesaurus, not Johnson’s 1755 dictionary. Johnson’s work was revised in later editions, with particularly substantial changes appearing in the fourth edition of 1773.