Age of Johnson

Sambrook, James. "Whitehead, Paul (1710-1774)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford University Press, 2004.

Francis Grose (ca. 1731-1791), born in Middlesex, served for more than twenty years in the army, particularly the Hampshire and then the Surrey militia, until he emerged as one of the period's greatest antiquarians.

• Schlenther, Boyd Stanley. "Whitefield, George (1714–1770)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004.

• Zimmerman, Sarah M. "Smith , Charlotte (1749–1806)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. Online ed. Ed. Lawrence Goldman. Oct. 2007.

• Jeffares, A. Norman. "Sheridan, Richard Brinsley (1751–1816)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. Online ed. Ed. Lawrence Goldman. Jan. 2008.

• Palmer, Roy. "Percy, Thomas (1729–1811)." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004.

Born in London on July 24, 1725, John Newton joined the merchant marine as a youth and had many adventures, including harsh service to a slave-trader. Rescued from this, and while returning home, Newton underwent a sudden religious conversion in March 1748 as he steered the ship through a storm.