- Samuel Johnson, one of the most famous figures of the 18th century, was born in the city on the 18th September 1709. His house in Breadmarket Street facing the market square, is now a museum to his life, work and personality. It was built by his bookselling father, Michael, as a family home and bookshop a few months before Samuel s birth. It is a large solid house, as free from pretensions, it ...www.lichfield.gov.uk/sjmuseum