Temporal Summary of Samuel Johnson Dictionary Word List
BKG Note: The numbers of citations listed in the table below are partly derived from electronic searches for author names, and the total citations are about 20% lower than some estimates. My rough estimate of 108,000 quotations is in the same range as Sternberg, Theodore 1944, "Quotations of Pope in Johnson's Dictionary," Studies in English 197-210: 113,660 (1st); 116,620 (4th). However, I am reasonably confident in the proportion of citations in the various time periods below. To 1481: 0.06 %; 1481 to 1568: 0.14 %; 1568 to 1626: 32.5 %; 1626-1674: 13. %; 1674-1700: 20.4 %; 1700-1745: 30.6 %; after 1745: 3.25 %. So, quotations from "the wells of English undefiled" (before 1660) amount to less than half the total.
With respect to quotations from living authors, 46 authorities were cited in the word list who were living at the time of publication of the Dict. 1st edition in 1755 (about 12% of the total authorities cited). For the 1773 4th Dict. edition, 11 authorities were cited who were living at the time of publication (about 25% of the additional authorities cited in the 4th edition). A list of cited authors by death date can be found on the Context - History Relevant to Authors page.
With respect to quotations from living authors, 46 authorities were cited in the word list who were living at the time of publication of the Dict. 1st edition in 1755 (about 12% of the total authorities cited). For the 1773 4th Dict. edition, 11 authorities were cited who were living at the time of publication (about 25% of the additional authorities cited in the 4th edition). A list of cited authors by death date can be found on the Context - History Relevant to Authors page.