Joseph Johnson (1738–1809) was an influential 18th-century London bookseller. His publications covered a wide variety of genres and a broad spectrum of opinions on important issues. Johnson is best known for publishing the works of radical thinkers such as Mary Wollstonecraft, William Godwin, and Joel Barlow as well as religious Dissenters such as Joseph Priestley, Anna Laetitia Barbauld, and Gilbert Wakefield. Johnson's friend John Aikin eulogized him as "the father of the booktrade" and he has been called "the most important publisher in England from 1770 until 1810" for his appreciation and promotion of young writers, his emphasis on publishing cheap works directed at a growing middle-class readership, and his cultivation and advocacy of women writers at a time when they were viewed with scepticism.
Read the rest of this article: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Johnson_%28publisher%29> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1245: Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, was granted resignation by Pope Innocent IV after having confessed to torture and forgery. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_%28Bishop_of_Finland%29> 1543: Battle of Wayna Daga: Led by the Emperor Galawdewos, the combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeated a Muslim army led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wayna_Daga> 1919: Bavarian socialist Kurt Eisner , who had organized the Socialist Revolution that overthrew the Wittelsbach monarchy and established Bavaria as a republic, was assassinated. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Eisner> 1971: The Convention on Psychotropic Substances, a United Nations treaty designed to control psychoactive drugs, was signed at a conference of plenipotentiaries in Vienna. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Psychotropic_Substances> 1995: American aviator Steve Fossett landed in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada, after taking off from South Korea, becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Fossett> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: summarily (adv): 1. In a summary manner. 2. Over a short period of time, briefly <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/summarily> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: All I have is a voice To undo the folded lie, The romantic lie in the brain Of the sensual man-in-the-street And the lie of Authority Whose buildings grope the sky: There is no such thing as the State And no one exists alone; Hunger allows no choice To the citizen or the police; We must love one another or die. --W. H. Auden <http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._H._Auden> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
