Samuel Johnson's early life was marked by great intelligence and an eagerness for learning. Born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, the sickly infant who grew up to become "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history", soon began to exhibit the tics that would colour how others viewed him in his later years. His early life was dominated by his family's financial strain and his abortive efforts to establish himself as a school teacher. Johnson spent a year studying at Pembroke College, Oxford, but was unable to continue his education there because of his lack of financial support. He tried to find employment as a teacher, but found it impossible to secure a long-term position. In 1735 he married Elizabeth "Tetty" Porter, a widow 20 years his senior. The responsibilities of marriage made Johnson determined to succeed as an educator, and encouraged him to establish his own school. The venture was unsuccessful however, and so he decided to leave his wife behind in Lichfield and move to London, where he spent the rest of his life, and where his literary career began. Working initially as a minor Grub Street hack writer, he started to write essays for The Gentleman's Magazine, and authored the Life of Mr Richard Savage—his first successful literary biography—the powerful poem London, an 18th-century version of Juvenal's Third Satire, and the unsuccessful tragic drama Irene, not produced until 1749.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

96:

Following the assassination of Roman Emperor Domitian, the Roman Senate appointed Nerva , the first of the Five Good Emperors, to succeed him. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerva

324:

Constantine the Great decisively defeated Licinius in the Battle of Chrysopolis, establishing Constantine's sole control over the Roman Empire, and ultimately leading to the conversion of the whole empire to Christianity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chrysopolis

1809:

The second theatre of the Royal Opera House in London opened after a fire destroyed the original theatre one year earlier. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Opera_House

1931:

The Mukden Incident: A section of the Japanese-built South Manchuria Railway was destroyed, providing an excuse for the Japanese to blame the act on Chinese dissidents, and thus giving a pretext for the Japanese occupation of Manchuria. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukden_Incident

1998:

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a non-profit organization that manages the assignment of domain names and IP addresses in the Internet, was established. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICANN

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

proselytize (v): 1. To encourage or induce people to join a religious movement, political party or other cause or organization. 2. To convert (someone) to one’s own faith or beliefs http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/proselytize

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

A fly, Sir, may sting a stately horse and make him wince; but one is but an insect, and the other is a horse still. --Samuel Johnson http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Samuel_Johnson