Who wrote the first English dictionary?

Yes, it was that crusty 18th century curmudgeon, Samuel Johnson. It took him nine years, although he claimed it was only three.  He wrote the first English dictionary that influenced the English language for hundreds of years. He wrote it without a typewriter. Without a computer. Yes, he did it all by hand–with a  quill pen and ink. Would you have had the grit to do that?