Scottish travel writer: Who is James Boswell?
His unpublished writings were purchased by Yale University in 1950 and were published piecemeal by a panel of experts.
(1740-1795) Scottish biographer, and travel writer. He became famous for his book on the life of Samuel Johnson. Born 28 October 1740 in Edinburgh, Scotland, died 19 May 1795 in London. His father was a noble judge. After being tutored at home by private tutors, he studied law at Edinburgh and Glasgow universities. However, in London, where he went to join the army, he chose to live adrift in the colorful and vibrant environment of the capital. He met people like David Hume and Samuel Johnson. In 1763, he went to Europe and toured Germany, France, Sweden, Corsica, and Italy. He met Voltaire and Rousseau. When he returned to Scotland, after working as a lawyer for a while, he focused on writing. Although he wanted to enter politics, his attempts were not successful. In 1791, his famous biography The Life of Samuel Johnson was published.
James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (29 October 1740 – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary, the English writer Samuel Johnson, which is commonly said to be the greatest biography written in the English language.
James Boswell started journaling when he was a college student. Boswell, who wrote down all his travels in the following years, took a stance trying to support the independence struggle of Pasquale Paoli and his followers in his book An Account on Corsica, which he wrote after his Corsica trip. In his biography, The Life of Samuel Johnson, he not only wrote down the details with extraordinary clarity with the aid of his strong memory but also brought out with great detail the personality and psychological state of the famous essayist. His unpublished writings were purchased by Yale University in 1950 and were published piecemeal by a panel of experts.