I’m reading a book by the always-fascinating Steven Johnson, called How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World. His premise is that certain key innovations, such as the discovery of glass and refrigeration, set in motion… Read More
Shortly after Samuel Johnson’s wife died, in 1752, a former slave from Jamaica named Francis Barber came to work as a servant in his house. He remained there for thirty years, along with his wife and children, and became Johnson’s heir.