In 1751 a board of trustees had been appointed by the New York colonial assembly to manage money raised in a lottery for a college in New York City. In 1752, Johnson was proposed as the logical choice for its president. They decided to name it King's College to help them secure an official royal charter from King George II. Johnson had recently met William Smith, a young Scot immigrant tutor, at the New York City salon of Mrs. De Lancey, wife of Lt. Governor James De Lancey. Johnson had suggested and mentored Smith's writing of a Utopian book of college education, titled "A General Idea of the College of Mirania "(1753)." "Johnson recommenced the young William Smith to Franklin.