Samuel Johnson (Nigerian historian)
Reverend Samuel Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 24, 1846 Freetown, Sierra Leone |
| Died | April 29, 1901 (aged 54) Lagos, British Nigeria |
| Occupation | Priest, historian |
| Language | Yoruba, English |
| Relatives | Oba Abiodun, great-grandfather Henry Johnson (priest), brother Obadiah Johnson, brother Samuel Ajayi Crowther, first cousin once removed Herbert Macaulay, second cousin once removed |
The Rev. Samuel Johnson (24 June 1846 – 29 April 1901) was an Anglican priest, diplomat, and historian of the Yoruba people, as well as the great-grandson of alaafin Abiodun, a powerful Yoruba king of the Oyo nation. He is most notable for his magnum opus The History of the Yorubas, published posthumously in 1921, in which Johnson endeavored to record the oral traditions and history of the Yoruba, which he feared were fast fading into obscurity. Lost, rewritten, and then narrowly escaping destruction during WWI, his history has since become "the most frequently cited and most influential volume about the Yoruba-speaking people". Besides his historical contributions, Johnson led an active life, variously serving as a minister, teacher, and school superintendent in Ibadan, capital city of the Oyo state in Nigeria. During the Yoruba Wars, he was an emissary involved in negotiations between the British, Ibadan chiefs, and the king of Oyo.