Samuel Johnson: Technical writer

Although Samuel Johnson is best known for his poetry, prose fiction, essays, criticism, and dictionary (the first one in English to deserve the title), he also produced a small body of technical writing. These writings include prefaces to the technical works of others and two technical pieces of his own: one on determining longitude at sea and the other on stresses in bridge designs. These works are of interest to contemporary technical writers for the clarity and conciseness of Johnson´s explanations of difficult and complex matters. Of more general interest is the range of Johnson´s knowledge and his ability, evidenced in these works, to grasp immediately the essentials of a subject.