Francis Barber was born into slavery in about 1742 in Jamaica and came to England when he was 8. He moved in with Johnson at age 10 after Johnson experienced deep depression following the death of his wife. Johnson paid Barber and often took his side in arguments with other members of the House. Barber eventually studied as an apothecary, joined the navy of his own volition, and became the first recorded black schoolmaster in England. Controversially for the time, Johnson named Barber as his heir. Johnson was  against slavery before Barber joined his household, and it is believed that Barber's presence in Johnson’s life confirmed his beliefs and influenced his later anti-slavery writings.

Elizabeth Carter was one of the most celebrated 18th-century classicists. She could speak nine languages and chose not to marry but to dedicate herself to writing. Carter’s greatest achievement was the first complete English translation of the writings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus, published in 1758 under her own name. This earned her international fame as well as financial independence. She was one of many female intellectuals whom Johnson championed and was a leading Bluestocking. The Bluestockings represented a new kind of modern, intellectual woman, who was accomplished and well-versed in many fields – artistic, literary and political.

Sir Joshua Reynolds was a renowned artist who specialised in portraits. He is often regarded as one of the major European painters of the 18th century and was the founder and first president of the Royal Academy of Arts. With Johnson, Reynolds founded an exclusive Club (later known as the Literary Club) in 1764, to discuss important philosophical and political issues.

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Johnson said of Reynolds that 'so equable was his temper that he was the most invulnerable man he knew' because it was impossible to find anything with which to reproach him. According to Boswell, upon first meeting him, Johnson remarked  that Reynolds had the habit of thinking for himself.

Oliver Goldsmith was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright and poet, best known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield (1766), and his plays The Good-Natur’d Man (1768) and She Stoops to Conquer (1773). He was also a hack writer on Grub Street with a gambling addiction which prevented any real financial security. But his talent as a writer earned him a place in the Club and the friendship of Johnson.

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The image above is a detail of the painting Dr Johnson Reading The Vicar of Wakefield, attributed to Edward Matthew Ward, 1860. In it, Johnson is seen reviewing the manuscript on behalf of a publisher. The Vicar of Wakefield  hasn't been out of print since.

David Garrick was one of Johnson’s pupils at his ill-fated school, Edial Hall. The two travelled to London together in 1737 where Garrick worked as a wine merchant before finding fame as an actor and theatre manager. He is commonly credited for the revival of Shakespeare in the 18th century and is particularly famous for his portrayal of Richard III. 

Audiences were delighted with his emotional and more naturalistic acting style and he was responsible for reforming how the theatre worked, taking measures to increase the theatre's respectability. His early success was a point of contention between himself and Johnson, although Johnson would not tolerate a bad word being said about him.

James Boswell is best known for his Life of Samuel Johnson LL.D, which is often regarded as the greatest biography written in the English language, incorporating conversations he had  noted down at the time, as well as personal details and anecdotes. He was greatly assisted in this by Edmond Malone, the Irish Shakespearean scholar. 

Apart from his friendship with Johnson, Boswell was also a lawyer and a diarist. A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (1775) is Johnson's account of an extended tour through Scotland he took with Boswell in the summer of 1773, as is Boswell's memoir of the trip, published in 1785 as The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides. 

Frances Burney, later Madam d'Arbalay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright whose most successful novel was her debut, Evelina (1778), which she published anonymously. Johnson was a great admirer of her writing and her work influenced later female novelists such as Jane Austen. Between 1786 and 1790 she was Keeper of the Robes to Queen Charlotte, George III’s consort.

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Burney was a great correspondent and many of her letters and journals were published posthumously, providing an insight into life at that time from a woman's perspective. One such letter in 1811 described in graphic detail the mastectomy she underwent without anaesthetic. 

The Club, later known as the Literary Club, was co-founded by Johnson and Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1764. It was said that Reynolds suggested starting the Club to ease Johnson's depression and isolation. Originally formed of nine men, it later grew to 35 by the time of Johnson's death. Members included Garrick, Oliver Goldsmith, and Edmund Burke and, according to Charles Burney, the Club 'was composed of the heads of every liberal and literary profession.' 

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The members gathered at the Turk's Head Inn in Soho, and later at St James's Street, once a week to debate matters of the day and the progress of their work. The Club is still in existence today.

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Anna Williams and her father were befriended by Johnson and his wife, Tetty, in the late 1740s. She was an impoverished Welsh poet and translator who had been afflicted with cataracts at the early age of 30.  In 1751, Johnson arranged cataract surgery for her at no cost. Unfortunately, the operation was unsuccessful and she moved into 17 Gough Square for her convalescence.

Williams continued to live with Johnson and took charge of the domestic running of his household whenever  he had large enough lodgings. He valued her friendship and would often end the day by talking with her about the day's events. 

Edmond Malone was born in Dublin and is generally considered the greatest Shakespeare scholar of the 18th century. Malone first met Samuel Johnson in 1764 and became a member of The Club. In 1785 he became the de facto editor of Boswell’s Journal of a
Tour to the Hebrides and later worked intensively with Boswell on the 1791 Life of Johnson.  After Boswell's death, he edited subsequent editions.

Malone's influential edition of Shakespeare in ten volumes appeared in 1790. His other major work was a three volume edition of the works and life of John Dryden (1800). He has often been termed ‘the scholar’s scholar.’