James Johnson (author and priest)

Rev. James Johnson (1674–1740) was an English author and cleric.

Published 1723

Born at Bowden Park, Wiltshire, Johnson was the son of George Johnson MP, judge and counsellor of Charles II. He took his B.A. at Hertford College, Oxford before taking his Master of Arts at Oriel College, Oxford in 1698. In 1701, he was presented by Sir John Cordell Bt MP as rector of Long Melford, Suffolk, where he remained until his death.

He married Anne Cuthbert, daughter of Thomas Cuthbert, of Wickford, Essex, and St. Andrew's, Holborn.

Johnson wrote The Great Duty, a meditation on 'the golden rule' in 1723. His son, James Johnson, became Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester.

The Rev. James Johnson died at Long Melford in 1740.