John H. Johnson

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John Harold Johnson (January 19, 1918 – August 8, 2005) was the founder of the Johnson Publishing Company, an international media and cosmetics empire that includes Ebony, and Jet magazines, Fashion Fair Cosmetics and EBONY Fashion Fair. Johnson was the first black person to appear on the Forbes 400 Rich List, and had a fortune estimated at close to $600 million.

Johnson was born in Arkansas City, Arkansas and later moved to Chicago, Illinois with his family in the 1930s, where he attended Wendell Phillips High with classmates Nat King Cole, and Redd Foxx.

He briefly attended both University of Chicago and Northwestern University before beginning a magazine called The Negro Digest in 1942. The Negro Digest was the prototype for Ebony, which is still published and widely read today.

Founded in 1942, Johnson's firm is the largest African American owned publishing company in the world. Johnson Publishing Company also publishes Black Star, Black World and Ebony Jr. magazines.

Johnson served on the Board of Directors of Dillard's Inc., and he has served on the boards of First Commercial Bank, Little Rock; Dial Corporation; Zenith Radio Corporation; and Chrysler Corporation.

Howard University renamed their School of Communications after Johnson and awarded him an honorary doctor of humane letters degree.

Johnson was a prominent member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans.

Johnson died of cancer on August 8, 2005 at the age of 87 in Chicago at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. [1]

External links

• John H. Johnson - Biographical Summary
• John H. Johnson biography
• Tribute to John H. Johson, United States House of Representatives

References

Johnson, John H. (1993) Succeeding Against The Odds, Amistad. ISBN 1567430023