Page:American Medical Biographies - Kelly, Burrage.djvu/650

NAME JOHNSON 628 JOHNSON he held his A. B. in 1849 and later A. M. and LL. D., graduating M. D. from Rush Medical College in 1852, and remaining there as pro- fessor of materia inedica until 1859 when, with others, he founded the Northwestern Medical School and was professor, trustee and a member of the faculty until his death from pneumonia, February 26, 1891. He married Margaret Ann Seward and had two children, one of whom, Frank Seward, be- came professor of pathology in the Chicago Medical College. Dr. Johnson was not a voluminous contrib- utor to medical literature though for some years he edited The Northwestern Medical Journal. The Astronomical Society and the Historical Society, both of which he helped to found, the Academy of Natural Sciences and the Northwestern University Medical School owe much to his initiative and labors. Phys. & Surgs. of Chicago, F. M. Sperry, Chic, 1904. Emin. Amer. Phys. & Surgs., R. F. Stone, 1894. Phys. & Surgs. of the U. S., W. B. Atkinson, 1878. Johnson, Joseph (1776-1862) Joseph Johnson, physician and historian, the fourth son of William and Sarah Nightingale Johnson, was born in Mt. Pleasant, near Charleston, South Carolina, June 15, 1776. His father, William Johnson, was one of the leaders of the Revolutionary movement in South Carolina and was imprisoned in St. Augustine, Florida, during a part of the Revo- lution. Dr. Johnson went as a boy to the local schools and to the College of Charleston, tak- ing at the latter two medals for Greek and Latin, which are still in possession of some of his descendants. From the College of Charles- ton he went to the University of Pennsylvania from which he received the degree of doctor of medicine in 1797. His graduating essay was "An Experimental Inquiry into the Properties of Carbonic Acid Gas or Fixed Air ; Its Mode of Operation, Use in Disease, Most Effectual Method of Relieving Animals Affected by it." He returned to Charleston where he practised for about fifty years. He was president of the Medical Society of South Carolina in 1808 and ■ 1809. On the fifth of October, 1802, he married Catherine Bonneau, the fourth daughter of Francis and Hannah Elfe Bonneau, and had fifteen children. Their third child, Francis, became a doctor. Joseph Johnson died at the house of his twelfth child, the Rev. R. P. Johnson, in Pine- ville. South Carolina, October 6, 1862, aged eighty-si.x j'ears. Among Dr. Johnson's important writings are : "Oration" delivered before the Medical Society of South Carolina at the anniversary meeting, December 24, 1807, and published at their request ; "Some Account of the Origin and Prevention of Yellow Fever in Charles- ton, South Carolina" (Charleston Medical Journal, 1849, vol. iv.) ; "The Traditions and Reminiscences of the Revolution," published in- 1851. This, the most important of his works, is a book of great historical value ; also "The Alleged Connection Between the Phases of the Moon and Quantity of Rain." (Charles- ton Medical Journal, July, 1854, vol. ix.) Frank B. Johnston. A short biography may be found in "Eminent and Representative Men of Carolina." Sev- eral portraits are in possession of his descend- ants and one is in the South Carolina Hall at Charleston, South Carolina. Johnson, Laurence (1845-1893) Laurence Johnson was born in South But- ler, Wayne County, New York, June 7, 1843, and died of pneumonia in New York City, March 18, 1893. His father, the Hon. Thom- as Johnson, was a native of Saratoga and of Scotch descent, while his mother's ancestors were from the North of Ireland. His education until his sixteenth year was gained in the "district school," after which he became a student in Falley Seminary, at Ful- ton, Oswego County, at that time one of the best academies in the state. Those who knew young Johnson then declared that he was an excellent student, his delight being the study of the natural sciences, especially chemistry and microscopy. In the winter of 1862 he taught a district school. When President Lin- coln issued a new call for men, Laurence aban- doned his school and enlisted in Company A, Ninth New York Heavy Artillery. His first service was in the defense of Washington. The war being closed, he tendered his resig- nation. May 9, 1865. His interest in military affairs remained unabated, and in his library was one of the most complete lists of histories of the Civil War to be found in any private or public collection. He became a student in the Bellevue Hos- pital Medical College, from which he received the degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1868, and at once began to practise in that city. The artistic tendencies of his mind led him to ap- ply to the American Academy of Design for instruction. He was told that if he would make an acceptable drawing of the human foot he would be admitted as a student for a year,