Samuel Johnson Tercentenary 2009

Picture courtesy of Michael Reed of thecemeteryproject.com

Samuel Johnson

Tercentenary 2009

Events

The Tercentenary celebrations in the UK will commence on 2 March 2009, the 272nd anniversary of the departure of Johnson and Garrick from Lichfield for London. A modern-day Johnson and Garrick will re-enact their journey (complete with shared horse). They will be visiting a number of schools en route to talk about their walk and the lives of Johnson and Garrick. On arrival in London on Thursday 12th March, a reception will take place at the Guildhall.

The Tercentenary itself is on Friday, 18 September 2009. It will be marked by a weekend of events in his birthplace, Lichfield, including a dinner in Lichfield Guildhall on 19 September.

The year’s events will end with a commemoration at Westminster Abbey on 12 December 2009, the 225th anniversary of Johnson’s death.

Programme of events

Date	Event	Place
2 March 2009	Johnson and Garrick (Professor Peter Martin and Dr Nicholas Cambridge) depart for London	Lichfield
12 March 2009	Reception for Johnson and Garrick	Guildhall, London
14 March 2009	Johnson Society of London Lecture Professor Peter Martin	Wesley's Chapel, London
4 April 2009	Johnson Society of London Lecture ‘The present hour alone is man’s’: Johnson’s poetry and the redemption of time’ Dr Ken Smith	Wesley's Chapel, London
6 April 2009	'Dr Samuel Johnson - A Tercentenary Celebrated' Dr David Allan, Honorary RSA Historian	Borough of Twickenham Local History Society St Mary Church Hall, Church Street, Twickenham
18 April 2009	‘An Audience with Mrs Piozzi’ - Part 1 Lesley Smith	Lichfield Heritage Centre
25 April 2009	‘An Audience with Mrs Piozzi’ - Part 2 Lesley Smith	Lichfield Heritage Centre
14 May 2009	Samuel Johnson Tercentenary Banquet (speakers: Lord Kenneth Baker and Professor Christopher Ricks)	House of Lords
16 May 2009	Boswell Society lunch	TBA, London
23 May-20 September 2009	Exhibition, "Samuel Johnson, Literary Giant of the Eighteenth Century, 1709-1784"	Huntington Library, San Marino, CA
1 August 2009	Lecture: ‘The kingdom of Rasselas, then and now’ Jean and John Broadbent	Lichfield Guildhall
27-29 August 2009	Symposium and exhibition of Hyde Collection	Houghton Library, Harvard
13-18 September 2009	'Johnson at 300' Samuel Johnson Tercentenary Conference (convenors: Professor Lynda Mugglestone, Dr Freya Johnston)	Pembroke College, Oxford
18 September 2009	Tercentenary of the birth of Samuel Johnson
18-20 September 2009	Birthday celebrations	Lichfield
10 October 2009	Johnson Society of London Lecture ‘Johnson and the Art of Human Happiness: The Case of Rasselas’ Dr Thomas Woodman	Wesley's Chapel, London
21 October 2009	Symposium, "Samuel Johnson - from cradle to grave and beyond: his illnesses, physicians, autopsy and religious faith"	Royal Society of Medicine
14 November 2009	Johnson Society of London Lecture	Wesley's Chapel, London
21-22 November 2009	Samuel Johnson Tercentenary 2009 celebration (Samuel Johnson Society of Southern California)	Huntington Library, San Marino, CA
12 December 2009	Commemoration: wreath-laying and lunch Speaker: Professor Christopher Ricks	Westminster Abbey and St Ermin’s Hotel, London

Print the calendar of events (PDF, 61K).

More will be added as details become available. If you know of any event not in the calendar, please let us know at info@johnson2009.org