Samuel Johnson (1846–1901): Historian of the Yoruba Nation

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By Victor Olubiye 


Samuel Johnson was a Nigerian historian, Anglican priest, and cultural nationalist best known for authoring The History of the Yorubas, one of the earliest and most detailed written records of Yoruba history.

Born in 1846 in Hastings, Sierra Leone, to Yoruba parents who were liberated from slavery, Johnson later moved to Ibadan, Nigeria. He was educated under the Church Missionary Society and eventually became an Anglican priest.


Deeply concerned about the erosion of Yoruba history under colonial rule, Johnson dedicated years to documenting Yoruba origins, politics, wars, and traditional institutions. 

His monumental manuscript, completed in 1897, was initially lost by the British publishers, but his brother, Dr. Obadiah Johnson, later reconstructed and published it in 1921.


The History of the Yorubas remains a foundational text for understanding precolonial Yoruba civilization. Johnson’s work preserved the dignity and complexity of Yoruba heritage and made him one of Africa’s first indigenous historians.

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