Author: Johnson, Thomas
Biography:
JOHNSON, Thomas (c. 1760-c. 1830: Milward)
He was known as "the Drunken Poet of Danville" but also as "Kentucky's First Poet." Thomas Johnson, born in Virginia of unknown parentage (if he was "Jun." in 1789, probably the son of another Thomas Johnson), arrived in Danville KY in 1785 or 1786 and had four editions of his Miscellany printed at the local newspaper office between 1789 and 1821, after which he disappeared without a trace--according to Knight, about 1825. Knight describes him as "a man of erratic genius and dissolute habits." Public records have not as yet turned up any more information, and both the date and place of his death are unknown. (Burton Milward, Jr., "Kentucky's First Poet," Kentucky Review 9:1 [1989] 25-41; Knight) HJ
Other Names:
- Thomas Johnson, Jun.