Elizabeth Johnson (pamphleteer)

Elizabeth Johnson
Elizabeth Johnson by Samuel William Reynolds
Born
Elizabeth Reynolds

(1721-07-08)8 July 1721
Plympton, Devon, England
Died14 May 1800(1800-05-14) (aged 78)
Great Torrington, Devon, England
OccupationPamphlet writer
SpouseWilliam Johnson
Children7
Parents
  • Rev. Samuel Reynolds (father)
  • Theophilia Reynolds (mother)

Elizabeth Johnson, née Reynolds (8 July 1721 – 14 May 1800), was an English pamphleteer who attempted to win one of the rewards offered by the 1714 Longitude Act passed, which offered monetary rewards for anyone who could find a simple and practical method for the precise determination of a ship's longitude. Johnson and Jane Squire are the only two women known to have made such an attempt[citation needed] as it was not considered an appropriate subject for early modern women especially given its financial, maritime, and government dimensions.