Allen Johnson (1870–1931) was an American historian, teacher, biographer, and editor of the ''

Dictionary of American Biography The ''Dictionary of American Biography'' (DAB) was a multi-volume dictionary published in New York City by Charles Scribner's Sons under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). History The dictionary was first propo ...

''.

Early life and education

Johnson was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, where his father, Moses Allen Johnson (whose ancestor came to Massachusetts in 1630) worked for the Lowell Felting Mills. His mother was Elmira Shattuck. Johnson was the

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

of his high school in 1888, and then attended

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...

, graduating in 1892."Allen Johnson," ''Dictionary of American Biography'' (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936), ''Biography in Context''. Accessed 2 Aug. 2015. After graduation, he taught history and English at the

Lawrenceville School The Lawrenceville School is a Private school, private, coeducational College-preparatory school, preparatory school for boarding and day students located in the Local government in New Jersey, unincorporated community of Lawrenceville, New Jers ...

in New Jersey from 1892 until 1894, and then held a graduate fellowship at Amherst University, reading philosophy and history. Johnson spent the years 1895 to 1897 studying history in Europe, with three semesters at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

(under

Karl Gotthard Lamprecht Karl Gotthard Lamprecht (25 February 1856 – 10 May 1915) was a German historian who specialized in German art and economic history. Biography Lamprecht was born in Jessen (Elster), Jessen in the Province of Saxony. As a student, he trained in ...

and

Erich Marcks Erich Marcks (6 June 1891 – 12 June 1944) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He authored the first draft of the operational plan, ''Operation Draft East'', for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union, adv ...

), and one semester in Paris at the

École Libre des Sciences Politiques Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

. Johnson then finished his Ph.D. at Columbia University under

James Harvey Robinson James Harvey Robinson (June 29, 1863 – February 16, 1936) was an American scholar of history who, with Charles Austin Beard, founded New History, a disciplinary approach that attempts to use history to understand contemporary problems, which ...

, with a dissertation entitled ''The Intendant as a Political Agent under Louis XIV'' (1899).

Academic career and death

Johnson began teaching history at Iowa College (now

Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...

) in 1898. He left in 1905 to teach history and political science at

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

. In 1910, Johnson joined the faculty at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, where he was appointed Larned Professor of American History. While on the Yale history faculty, Johnson published an article supporting the constitutionality of the fugitive slave act of 1850. An interpretation of the article is that it was part of the movement to reconcile North and South, while supporting the southern side in arguments about the Constitution. Johnson's work as editor of the fifty-volume ''

Chronicles of America ''Chronicles of America'' is a 50-volume series on American history published by Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons ...

'' series, which was acclaimed for its scholarship and high standards, led to his invitation from the

American Council of Learned Societies The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a private, nonprofit federation of 75 scholarly organizations in the humanities and related social sciences founded in 1919. It is best known for its fellowship competitions which provide a ra ...

to edit the proposed ''Dictionary of American Biography'', which led Johnson to leave his position at Yale in 1926 and move to Washington, DC, to oversee work on the ''DAB''. After a few years, Johnson invited his former student from Yale,

Dumas Malone Dumas Malone (; January 10, 1892 – December 27, 1986) was an American historian, minister, and biographer. A professor by occupation, Malone spent the majority of his career teaching at the University of Virginia (UVA), where he served as the T ...

, to become assistant editor of the project."Allen Johnson," ''Dictionary of American Biography'' (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936), ''Biography in Context''. Accessed 2 Aug. 2015
William G. Hyland, ''Long Journey with Mr. Jefferson: The Life of Dumas Malone''
(Dulles, VA: Potomac Books, 2013). Walking home on the evening of January 18, 1931, Johnson tried to cross a street against traffic and was struck by an automobile, whose driver brought him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead within an hour of the accident. Dumas Malone was named to succeed him as ''DAB'' editor. Aside from serving as editor of the ''Chronicles of America'' series and the ''Dictionary of American Biography'', Johnson was also the author of ''Stephen A. Douglas: A Study in American Politics'' (1908), ''Readings in American Constitutional History, 1776–1876'' (1912), ''Union and Democracy'' (1915), ''The Historian and Historical Evidence'' (1926), and ''Readings in Recent American Constitutional History, 1876–1926'' (1927). His ''Jefferson and His Colleagues'' (1921) was published in the ''Chronicles of America'' series.

Personal life

Johnson married Helen K. Ross on June 20, 1900, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She died in 1921. They had one son, Allen S. Johnson.

Footnotes

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Allen Yale University faculty 1870 births 1931 deaths American historians Pedestrian road incident deaths Road incident deaths in Washington, D.C. People from Lowell, Massachusetts Grinnell College faculty Bowdoin College faculty Amherst College alumni Columbia University alumni