Elizabeth Johnson (pamphleteer)
Elizabeth Johnson née Reynolds(1721-1800) was a pamphleteer who attempted to win the Longitude Prize, established in 1714. Johnson along with Jane Squire were the only two women known to have pursued this goal.
Early background
Born on July 8, 1721, her parents were the Rev.Samuel Reynolds and his wife Theophilia. Elizabeth was born in Plymouth, Devon. Among her siblings was the acclaimed artist Sir Joshua Reynolds who would later use her as a model for his famous mezzotints[1]. The two would later quarrel over the state of her brother's lack of piety and her husband's financial situation and eventual bankruptcy.[2]
Married life
On January 7,1753 Elizabeth Reynolds married William Johnson on January 7, 1753 at St.Michael and All Angels in Great Torrington, Devon. The marriage proved fruitful, producing seven children before her spouse abandoned the family leaving them penniless and financially dependent on Elizabeth's artistic devices.
Publications
Johnson's religious pamphlets, including The Explication of the Vision to Ezekiel were written anonymously to evade the prevailing criticism of women publishing. A critic commented on her earlier works: "As the intentions of this writer are pious, his facilities evidently disordered, and his lucubrations absolutely unintelligible, these three pamphlets must be exempted from criticism." [3] William Johnson Cory later revealed the true identity of the pamphlets in a hand written inscription on one of the Bodleian Library's copies of Ezekielpamphlet: "This strange book was written by my great-grandmother Mrs. Johnson, sister of Sir Joshua Reynolds. When extremely poor she posted up to Oxford to get it published, being a real enthusiast."
Longitude
The Astronomy and Geography of the Created World,[4] her fourth pamphlet published in 1785, included a short reference to longitude. Her pamphlet ended with "that if the palm for finding the longitude, is not given to the author of the Explanation of the Vision to Ezikiel it will never be given to another". This pamphlet was anonymously sent to the Board of Longitude in 1786[5] with the aim of being rewarded for her efforts. Her efforts were unsuccessful and the pamphlet and letter were eventually catalogued by the Astronomer George Airy in the "Irrational Astronomical Theories"[6] along with others in a volume of surviving Board of Longitude in 1858.
Elizabeth Johnson died in Great Torrington, Devon in 1858.
- ^ http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp51671/elizabeth-johnson.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Sir Joshua Reynolds:The Painter in Society.
- ^ Smollett, Tobias George, ed. (1783). The critical review, annals of literature LVI. p. 394.
- ^ http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-RGO-00014-00053/13.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-RGO-00014-00053/7.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-RGO-00014-00053/1.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)