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.