Boris tribute to that other Johnson famed for his wig and pen

BORIS Johnson helped to celebrate the Museum of London’s annual dinner last night with a lecture about his namesake diarist Samuel Johnson. Museum staff held up a coachman’s wig which bears an uncanny resemblance to Boris’s own well-known coiffure

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BORIS Johnson helped to celebrate the Museum of London's annual dinner last night with a lecture about his namesake diarist Samuel Johnson.

Museum staff held up an item from their London collection in the shape of a coachman's wig on display (pictured), which bears an uncanny resemblance to Boris's own well-known coiffure.

The mayor quipped: "Samuel Johnson's London conjures an image of England's first great 'age of liberty, enlightenment and all-round fun' when men judged each other by the swiftness and smartness of their conversation.

Her added: "Long before Have I Got News For You and Never Mind the Buzzcocks, the British were interested in wit and repartee. Samuel Johnson was the champ."

The 18th century lexicographer, poet, biographer and all-round genius who published the first English dictionary was "the supreme admiral of the all-conquering fleet of English words that has sailed into every port and inlet in the world.