Pedagogues seeking students
Shortly after his marriage to Elizabeth Jervis, Johnson settled in the town of Edial, just outside of Lichfield, his birthplace. Having unsuccessfully tried to work as a teacher in other schools, and not yet receiving any substantial income from his literary efforts, Johnson established his own school, for which he attempted to solicit students by placing an advertisement in the June, 1736 issue of Gentleman’s magazine. (It’s at the top of the right column on the left page)
“At Edial, near Litchfield in Staffordshire, Young Gentlemen are Boarded, and Taught the Latin and Greek Languages, by Samuel Johnson.”
The advertisement failed to provide the hoped-for boost to enrollment, and Johnson was forced to close the school just eight months later, but Johnson’s time as a schoolmaster did have one lasting impact on his life. One of his students, David Garrick, went on to become the dominant figure in the world of theater in the 18th century, and Johnson’s lifelong friend.
