In his lifetime, the Scottish polymath John Arbuthnot (1667–1735) was famous as a physician, public servant, student of probability, and author of scholarly works on the ancient world. Most of his works rely on his wide attainments in the sciences and his comprehensive library. However, he is best remembered today for his satiric publications, above all The History of John Bull, which for some generations rivalled in popularity the work of his friends in the Scriblerus Club, Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and John Gay. A few of his humorous squibs were printed by Pope in the group’s Miscellanies from 1727, but many have been lost because of Arbuthnot’s fierce efforts to keep them anonymous.
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Citation: Rogers, Pat. "The History of John Bull". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 September 2020 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=39344, accessed 24 November 2024.]
