Samuel Johnson: Lexicographer
Adam Smith: Philosopher
Samuel Pepys: Diarist
Oliver Cromwell: Political leader
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Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) published A Dictionary of the English Language in 1755, after many years of work on the project. It was the most commonly used English dictionary until the Oxford English Dictionary was first published in 1928.
Adam Smith (1723-1790) is best known for his economic theories, published in An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). However, he also is well respected in the philosophical field of ethics, with his notable work in that area being The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759).
Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) was an administrator for the English navy and a member of Parliament. He is most famous, though, for a lengthy diary he kept for ten years of his life which provided thought and comments on events occurring at his time in history.
Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) was the leader of Parliament's movement against King Charles I, and the military leader against the king's forces in the English Civil War. He went on to run the Commonwealth of England after the king was deposed and executed. He later took up the title of Lord Protector of England.