Thomas Herbert Johnson
About
Thomas Herbert Johnson (1902–1985) was an American scholar, teacher, editor, and bibliographer in the field of American literature. His major achievements in letters were three fold: His discovery of the important Puritan poet Edward Taylor (~1664–1729) whose Poetical Works he issued in 1939; his co-editorship of the definitive Literary History of the United States of which he compiled the entire third volume, the Bibliography; and especially his monumental editions of the writings of Emily Dickinson (1830–1886) which comprise the Poems and the Letters. In 1955 he also published Emily Dickinson: An Interpretative Biography. Prior to Dr. Johnson’s work, no accurate or complete editions of the writing of this major American poet were in existence. In addition, he was the author of The Oxford Companion to American History, 1966.
