John Floyer, a former physician to Charles II, recommended that the young Samuel Johnson should receive the "royal touch", which he received from Queen Anne on March 30th, 1712 at St James's Palace. Scrofula (scrophula or struma) is any of a variety of skin diseases; in particular, a form of tuberculosis, affecting the lymph nodes of the neck. It is informally or historically known as the King's Evil, referring to the belief that sufferers would be cured by the touch of the Monarch, a practice which continued in England until the early 18th century. In adults it is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and in children by nontuberculous mycobacteria. The word comes from the Latin scrofula, meaning brood sow. Samuel Johnson (September 18, 1709 - December 13, 1784), often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. Johnson was a devout Anglican and committed Tory.