James Boswell

Table of Contents

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Boswell, detail of an oil painting from the studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1786; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

For Students

Boswell, detail of an oil painting from the studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1786; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

James Boswell summary

Read Next

Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society

12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

Discover

Shadow of a man holding large knife in his hand inside of some dark, spooky buiding

7 of History's Most Notorious Serial Killers

Santa Claus flying in his sleigh, christmas, reindeer

Was Santa Claus a Real Person?

An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.

11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

Thanksgiving Celebration Traditional Dinner Setting Food Concept

Why Is Thanksgiving in the U.S. Celebrated on a Thursday?

A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England

Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.

10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci

The Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. (Alice in Wonderland)

11 Banned Books Through Time

James Boswell: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Born	October 29, 1740 • Edinburgh • Scotland
Died	May 19, 1795 (aged 54) • London • England
Notable Works	“An Account of Corsica, The Journal of a Tour to That Island; and Memoirs of Pascal Paoli” • “The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides” • “The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.”

Photos

Boswell, detail of an oil painting from the studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1786; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

See All Images →

Elizabeth Mavor

British author

Allan Cunningham, detail of a portrait by Henry Room; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

Allan Cunningham

Scottish poet

Evelyn Waugh, photograph by Mark Gerson, 1964.

Evelyn Waugh

English author

Sir Harold Nicolson

British diplomat and author

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir

British statesman and author

Evelyn, oil painting by Robert Walker, 1648

John Evelyn

English author

Sidney Colvin

English scholar

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill

prime minister of United Kingdom

Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf

British writer

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, photograph by Lewis Carroll, 1863

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

English artist

William Hazlitt

William Hazlitt

British writer

Southey, detail of a pencil and watercolour portrait by R. Hancock, 1796; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

Robert Southey

English author

Portrait of novelist Frances Burney

Frances Burney

British author

Bennett, Arnold

Arnold Bennett

British author

Penelope Fitzgerald

British author

Andrew Motion

British poet and author

Novelist Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

English writer

Sir Isaiah Berlin

British historian

A.L. Rowse

British historian and writer

Novelist Muriel Spark

Muriel Spark

British writer