None of these people took the reading. The record of each shows the shape.
Samuel Johnson (1709 to 1784)
Samuel Johnson published his Dictionary of the English Language in 1755 after nine years of work, and from 1764 until his death in 1784 he was the member most closely tied to The Club, a London dining society that at first met one evening a week. A name made once and then kept for twenty years in the same club shows the shape from outside.
Sources: library.harvard.edu, en.wikipedia.org
Nestor (fiction)
In Homer's Iliad, Nestor of Pylos has outlived two generations and rules among the third, and when he tells Agamemnon and Achilles to end their quarrel, Agamemnon answers that the old man has spoken rightly and then goes on with the quarrel. A place at council that is honored even when the advice is not taken shows the shape from outside.
Source: cts.perseids.org