George Henry Sacheverell Johnson FRS (1808 – 5 November 1881) was a British clergyman and academic who was

Dean of Wells The Dean of Wells is the head of the Chapter of Wells Cathedral in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The dean's residence is The Dean's Lodging, 25 The Liberty, Wells. List of deans High Medieval *1140–1164: Ivo *1164–1189: Rich ...

and a professor at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Life and career

Johnson studied at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...

, winning a college scholarship, the

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

scholarship and the university mathematics scholarship. He matriculated there in 1825, aged 17, graduating B.A. in 1829 with a first-class degree, and M.A. in 1833. He was a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the college from 1829 to 1855. Johnson was ordained into the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

in 1834 and elected as a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1838. He was appointed

Savilian Professor of Astronomy The position of Savilian Professor of Astronomy was established at the University of Oxford in 1619. It was founded (at the same time as the Savilian Professor of Geometry, Savilian Professorship of Geometry) by Henry Savile (Bible translator), S ...

in 1839, although his lack of astronomical knowledge led to the separation of the chair from the post of Radcliffe Observer. In 1842, he changed professorships to become

White's Professor of Moral Philosophy The White's Chair of Moral Philosophy was endowed in 1621 by Thomas White (c. 1550–1624), Canon of Christ Church as the oldest professorial post in philosophy at the University of Oxford. In 2021, the chair was renamed the Sekyra and White’s ...

, a post he held for three years. He advocated reform of Oxford and its colleges, an unpopular stance which he believed scuppered his chances of becoming Provost (head) of his college, although he was appointed as a commissioner under the

Oxford University Act 1854 The Oxford University Act 185417 & 18 Vict c 81, sometimes called the Oxford University Reform Act 1854 or the University Reform Act 1854,Sabine Chaouche. Student Consumer Culture in Nineteenth-Century Oxford. Palgrave Macmillan. 2020p 231 Assoc ...

. In 1854, Johnson was appointed

, where his time was marred by a dispute about his unpopular decision to hold a parish position in Wells in addition to the deanery to supplement his income. He published ''Optical Investigations'' (1835), a book of sermons in 1857 and ''Science and Natural Religion: a Sermon'' (which went to two editions).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, George Henry Sacheverell 1808 births 1881 deaths Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Fellows of The Queen's College, Oxford Savilian Professors of Astronomy 19th-century British mathematicians British philosophers 19th-century English Anglican priests Deans of Wells Fellows of the Royal Society White's Professors of Moral Philosophy