1740-1795. Scottish biographer and diarist.
He was a member of Samuel Johnson's London
Literary Club, and in 1773 the two men
travelled to Scotland together, as recorded
in Boswell's Journal of the Tour to the
Hebrides 1785. His classic English biography,
Life of Samuel Johnson, was published 1791.
His long-lost personal papers were acquired
for publication by Yale University 1949, and
the Journals are of exceptional interest.
Born in Edinburgh, Boswell studied law but
centred his ambitions on literature and
politics. He first met Johnson in 1763,
before setting out on a European tour during
which he met the French thinkers Rousseau and
Voltaire, and the Corsican nationalist
general Paoli (1726-1807), whom he
commemorated in his popular Account of
Corsica 1768. In 1766 he became a lawyer, and
in 1772 renewed his acquaintance with Johnson
in London. Establishing a place in his
intimate circle, he became a member of the
Literary Club 1773, and in the same year
accompanied Johnson on the journey later
recorded in the Journal of the Tour to the
Hebrides 1785. On his
succession to his father's estate 1782, he
made further attempts to enter Parliament,
was called to the English bar 1786, and was
recorder of Carlisle 1788-90. In 1789 he
settled in London, and in 1791 produced the
classic English biography, the Life of Samuel
Johnson.