Richard Malcolm Johnston (March 8, 1822 – September 23, 1898) was an American author.

Biography

Johnson was born in Powelton, Hancock County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. His father was a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

minister, and his early education was received at a country school and finished at

Mercer University Mercer University is a Private university, private Research university, research university in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the s ...

. After graduating there he spent a year teaching and then took up the study of law and was admitted to the bar in 1843. In 1857, he accepted an appointment to the chair of belles-lettres and oratory at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

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, retaining it until the opening of the

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, when he began a school for boys on his farm near

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. This he kept going during the war, serving also for a time on the staff of Confederate general Joseph E. Brown, and helping to organize the state militia. At the close of the war he moved to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, where he opened the Pen Lucy School for boys in Baltimore. One of his teaching staff was Georgia-born poet

Sidney Lanier Sidney Clopton Lanier (February 3, 1842 – September 7, 1881) was an American musician, poet and author. He served in the Confederate States Army as a private, worked on a blockade-running ship for which he was imprisoned (resulting in his catch ...

, who persuaded him to begin to write for publication, although he was then more than 50 years old. His first stories were sent to '' Southern Magazine''; others to '' The Century'' followed, and became immediately popular. His stories presented a nostalgic view of Southern plantation-based slavery that became the foundation of Lost Cause ideology. He died in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

on September 23, 1898.

Works

Johnston's published works include: * ''Dukesborough Tales'' (1871–81), recounting his early school days in Georgia * ''Old Mark Langston'' (1884) * ''Two Gray Tourists'' (1885) * ''Mr. Absolom Billingslea and Other Georgia Folks'' (1888) * ''The Primes'' (1891) * ''Widow Guthrie'' (1890) * ''Ogeechee Cross Firings'' (1889) * ''Old Times in New Georgia'' (1897) * ''Life of Alexander H. Stephens'' (1878), a biography of his partner in a law practice * ''Lectures on Literature'' (1897), on English, French and Spanish. Published for the Catholic Summer and Winter School Library. D.H.McBride & CO., Akron, Ohio His autobiography was posthumously published in 1900.

References

External links

* * *
Autobiography of Col. Richard Malcolm Johnston.
Washington: The Neale Company, 1900.
Rockby
historical marker {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Richard Malcolm 1822 births 1898 deaths American short story writers American non-fiction writers Writers from Georgia (U.S. state) Converts to Roman Catholicism from Baptist denominations University of Georgia faculty People from Hancock County, Georgia Writers from Baltimore Catholics from Georgia (U.S. state)