Dr Johnson's Statue, Strand

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"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."

Outside the rear of St Clement Danes in the Strand, is a statue of Samuel Johnson (known widely as Dr Johnson), one of the parishoners at the church, and one of English Literature's greatest figures. His most well-known literary achievement was the first English dictionary, his Dictionary of the English Language. Started in 1746, Dr Johnson completed his dictionary in nine years - and was heartily pleased to learn that at a similar time, the French had forty scholars spending forty years on a French dictionary.

Dr Johnson was plagued with ill-health throughout his life, and two hundred years after his death, experts agreed on a posthumous diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome - a condition not recognised at the time. Many of his contemporaries, unnerved by his facial tics, head rocking, hand gestures and unusual sounds dismissed him as an idiot. Until he spoke. At which point Samuel Johnson's literary and general knowledge and brilliance shone through. Many were forced to revise their opinion of this man, having been fooled by what Johnson himself referred to as his 'bad habits'. According to JMS Pearce, writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Samuel Johnson's Tourettes may have been the driving force behind his achievements, noting that without the 'obsessional-compulsive traits' associated with the condition, Johnson may never have forged his great literary achievements.

Other virtual tours in this area include St Clement Danes, Fleet Street, the Royal Courts of Justice, Temple Bar, Carey Street, the Law Society and the Maughan Library. Please click the thumbnail panorama below to view the Dr Samuel Johnson Statue virtual tour.