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Dr. Samuel Johnson And Accounting, Peter G. Boys

Accounting Historians Notebook

Johnson's knowledge of, and interest in, accounting may well have stemmed from his high regard for arithmetic. In several letters to Hester Maria Thrale and Sophia Thrale (daughters of Henry Thrale, Brewer and M.P. for Southwark), Johnson emphasized the importance of this subject. Many of the letters were repetitive, but the following extracts from April and July 1783, when Hester and Sophia were 18 and 12 years old respectively, present the flavor of his views.