Samuel Johnson's Dictionary Author:Ed. Jack Lynch Samuel Johnson's massive two-volume, 2,300 page dictionary was first published on 15 April 1755, nine years after he began writing it. It marked a milestone in the English language: it was the first English dictionary to focus on everyday words, rather than the obscure ones that lexicographers had concocted, and was the first dictionary to enlis... more »t the works of SHakespeare and other great writers to illustrate a word's usage. It would be England's definitive dictionary for over 150 years. (This is a shorter edition, with selections by Jack Lynch)« less