Baretti, Giuseppe, 1719-1789

Giuseppe Marco Antonio Baretti (1719-1789) was a native of Turin, Italy. After beginning his literary career in Italy, he removed to London in 1751. There he served as an Italian language tutor, and soon became a member of Samuel Johnson's literary circle. After publishing A Dictionary of the English and Italian Languages (1760), he returned to Italy for five years, where he courted controversy with his literary periodical La Frusta Letteraria. He settled in London permanently in 1765. In 1769, he stabbed a man to death in a street brawl, but was acquitted on the grounds of self-defense with the help of character testimony from Johnson and other members of the Literary Club. From 1773 to 1776, he served as a live-in Italian tutor in the home of Henry and Hester Thrale.

From the guide to the Letters, 1762-1788., (Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)

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