Richard Cubitt Johnson (13 October 1829 – May 1851) was an English

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

who played in two matches for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

that are now considered to have been first-class. Cricketarchive maintains that he was baptised on 18 December 1829; the parish records at Lavenham in Suffolk make it clear he was baptised on 18 October 1829 and also record his birth date of 13 October. He was born at

Lavenham Lavenham is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Babergh district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is noted for its Guildhall, Little Hall, 15th-century church, half-timbered medieval cottages and circular walks. In the medie ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

and died at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. Johnson was the eldest son of the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Lavenham, also named Richard Johnson, and his wife, the former Mary Ann Cubitt. He was educated at

Bury St Edmunds Grammar School King Edward VI School is a co-educational Comprehensive school, comprehensive secondary school in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The school in its present form was created in 1972 by the merging of King Edward VI Grammar School, with the Silv ...

and at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

. He was followed to Cambridge and into the cricket team there by his younger brother, George Randall Johnson – whose son,

Peter Randall Johnson Peter Randall Johnson (5 August 1880 – 1 July 1959) was a cricketer who played for Cambridge University, Somerset and several amateur sides in a long first-class cricket career that stretched from 1900 to 1927. During his career, he appears to ...

, took the same path 50 years later and was then a famous

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

cricketer. Johnson played cricket for Cambridge University in two matches, one each at home and away, against the

Marylebone Cricket Club Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London. The club was formerly the governing body of cricket retaining considerable global influence ...

in 1850, batting as a middle-order batsman. It is not recorded whether he batted right-handed or left-handed and the scorecards for both matches are incomplete, and so it is not recorded that he bowled, but if he did, he took no wickets. His top score of 28 came in the match at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and ...

. Johnson died suddenly at Cambridge from typhoid fever while still an undergraduate; his close friend Edmund Keble White, who had been at school with him and was at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

– their fathers had been fellows at

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

– also died in the same typhoid outbreak.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Richard 1829 births 1851 deaths English cricketers Cambridge University cricketers People from Lavenham People educated at King Edward VI School, Bury St Edmunds Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Deaths from typhoid fever