WRITER

James Boswell

1740 - 1795

Photo of James Boswell

Icon of person James Boswell

James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (N.S.) – 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. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of James Boswell has received more than 823,534 page views. His biography is available in 37 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 34 in 2019). James Boswell is the 2,125th most popular writer (up from 2,320th in 2019), the 1,600th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 1,784th in 2019) and the 172nd most popular British Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 820k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 55.77

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 37

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.85

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.25

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Boswell in Holland, 1763-1764
Correspondence, Biographers, Description and travel
1952
Boswell's London journal, 1762-1763
Social life and customs, Diaries, Homes and hounts
1950
The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D.
Description and travel, Early works to 1800, Travel
1785
The journal of a tour to the Hebrides
Description and travel
1785
Life of Samuel Johnson
Biography, Description and travel, English Authors
Poet, lexicographer, critic, moralist and Great Cham, Dr. Johnson had in his friend Boswell the ideal biographer. Notoriously and self-confessedly intemperate, Boswell shared with Johnson a huge appetite for life and threw equal energy into recording its every aspect in minute but telling detail. This irrepressible Scotsman was 'always studying human nature and making experiments', and the marvelously vivacious Journals he wrote daily furnished him with first-rate material when he came to write his biography. The result is a masterpiece that brims over with wit, anecdote and originality. Hailed by Macaulay as the best biography ever written and by Carlyle as a book 'beyond any other product of the eighteenth century', The Life of Samuel Johnson today continues to enjoy its status as a classic of the language.
1776
Everybody's Boswell
Biography, Critics, Description and travel
Boswell draws on his journals to create an affectionate portrait of the great lexicographer.
1798

Page views of James Boswells by language

Over the past year James Boswell has had the most page views in the with 90,336 views, followed by Spanish (5,005), and French (4,979). In terms of yearly growth of page views the top 3 wikpedia editions are Korean (10,650.00%), Catalan (1,069.49%), and Simple English (140.45%)

Among WRITERS

Among writers, James Boswell ranks 2,125 out of 7,302. Before him are Maurice Joly, Ed McBain, Asma bint Marwan, Yvan Goll, Stefania Wilczyńska, and Al-Sharif al-Radi. After him are Pavel Kohout, Savitri Devi, Guðbergur Bergsson, Daqiqi, Aphra Behn, and Luís Fróis.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1740, James Boswell ranks 15. Before him are Johann Jacob Schweppe, Carl Michael Bellman, Giambattista Bodoni, Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay, Louis-Sébastien Mercier, and Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein. After him are John Latham, Matthias Claudius, Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt-Dessau, Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine, Johan Tobias Sergel, and Juan Ignacio Molina. Among people deceased in 1795, James Boswell ranks 13. Before him are Georg Benda, Carl Michael Bellman, Ahilyabai Holkar, Josiah Wedgwood, Charles II August, Duke of Zweibrücken, and Archduke Alexander Leopold of Austria. After him are Jakob Friedrich Ehrhart, Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo, Samuel Wallis, Honoré III, Prince of Monaco, Pieter Boddaert, and Jean-Jacques Barthélemy.

Others Born in 1740

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Others Deceased in 1795

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, James Boswell ranks 1,600 out of 8,785. Before him are James Herbert Brennan (1940), Orderic Vitalis (1075), Eliza Poe (1787), Harry Kane (1993), David Moyes (1963), and George Stubbs (1724). After him are Thomas Arne (1710), Aphra Behn (1640), Kenneth Grahame (1859), William Caxton (1422), Sidney Paget (1860), and Havelock Ellis (1859).

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Among WRITERS In United Kingdom

Among writers born in United Kingdom, James Boswell ranks 172. Before him are Clive Barker (1952), George MacDonald (1824), James Hilton (1900), Patrick O'Brian (1914), James Herbert Brennan (1940), and Orderic Vitalis (1075). After him are Aphra Behn (1640), Kenneth Grahame (1859), William Caxton (1422), Matthew Arnold (1822), Rebecca West (1892), and David Ogilvy (1911).

British born Writers

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