Robert Wood Johnson III (September 9, 1920 – December 22, 1970) was an American businessman. He was a grandson of

Robert Wood Johnson I Robert Wood Johnson I (February 20, 1845 – February 7, 1910) was an American industrialist. He was one of the three brothers who founded Johnson & Johnson. Early life and education Johnson was born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, on February 2 ...

(co-founder of

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

Early life

Johnson was born in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Robert Wood Johnson II Robert Wood "General" Johnson II (April 4, 1893 – January 30, 1968) was an American businessman. He was one of the sons of Robert Wood Johnson I, the co-founder of Johnson & Johnson. He turned the family business into one of the world's ...

, president and chair of Johnson & Johnson, and his mother was Elizabeth Dixon Ross Johnson. An only child, his parents divorced in 1928 and his father married two more times, first in 1930 and again in 1944. From his father's second marriage, he had a younger half-sister, Sheila Johnson. His paternal grandfather was

, one of the three brothers who founded Johnson & Johnson. His aunt Evangeline married composer

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British-born American conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra. H ...

(after they divorced in 1937, he married

Gloria Vanderbilt Gloria Laura Vanderbilt (February 20, 1924 – June 17, 2019) was an American artist, author, actress, fashion designer, heiress, and socialite. During the 1930s, she was the subject of a high-profile child custody trial in which her mother, ...

) and his uncle

John Seward Johnson I John Seward Johnson I (July 14, 1895 – May 23, 1983) was one of the sons of Robert Wood Johnson I (co-founder of Johnson & Johnson). He was also known as J. Seward Johnson Sr. and Seward Johnson. He was a longtime executive and director of J ...

founded the

Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI, FAU Harbor Branch) is a non-profit oceanographic institution operated by Florida Atlantic University in Fort Pierce, Florida, United States. Founded in 1971 as non-profit research organization, the i ...

. His maternal grandfather was Millard Fillmore Ross. He graduated from the

Millbrook School Millbrook School is a private, coeducational preparatory boarding school located in Stanford, New York, United States. History Millbrook School was founded in 1931 by Edward Pulling. Pulling was a graduate of both Princeton University ...

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later o ...

, and attended

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

Clinton, New York Clinton, New York may refer to: *Clinton County, New York *Clinton, Clinton County, New York *Clinton, Dutchess County, New York *Clinton, Oneida County, New York * Clinton, Manhattan, or Hell's Kitchen, a neighborhood in New York City *East Greenb ...

and the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

Career

Johnson formally began working for

in 1941, but was interrupted by four years of Army service in England, France and Germany with the First and 14th Armored Divisions. In 1954, he was appointed to the executive committee of the board of directors and, in 1955, he became executive vice president for marketing. In 1960, he became executive vice president and general manager. He became president in 1961 and took on the duties of vice chairman of the executive committee in 1963. His tenure as president ended in 1965 when his father fired him. He was succeeded as president by Philip B. Hofmann, the first non-Johnson family member to head the company since 1887. After his tenure as president ended, he established a cosmetics concern, Johnson Industries, in

Menlo Park Menlo Park may refer to: Places *Menlo Park, New Jersey, a section of Edison, New Jersey, location of Thomas Edison's laboratories **Menlo Park Mall, a shopping mall in Edison **Menlo Park Terrace, New Jersey, a section of nearby Woodbridge Townsh ...

, but was unable to develop the business because of illness. Johnson also served for ten years on the board of directors of the

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is an American philanthropic organization. It is the largest one focused solely on health. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, the foundation focuses on access to health care, public health, health equity, ...

as president and vice president.

Personal life

In 1943, Johnson was married to Betty Wold, a daughter of Dr. Karl C. Wold of

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

. Together, they had five children, including: * Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson IV (born 1947), who bought the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

in 2000 for $635 million and served as the

United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom The United States ambassador to the United Kingdom, formally the ambassador of the United States of America to the Court of St James's is the official representative of the president of the United States and the Federal government of the United ...

under

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. * Keith Wold Johnson (1948–1975), who died of a cocaine overdose in

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

. * Elizabeth "Libet" Ross Johnson (–2017), who died of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. * Billy Johnson (–1975), who died in a motorcycle accident in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

a few weeks after the death of his brother. *

Christopher Wold Johnson Christopher Wold Johnson (born August 7, 1959) is an American businessman and sports executive who is the owner and vice chairman of the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He is a great-grandson of Robert Wood Johnson I (co-fou ...

(born 1959), who became CEO of the New York Jets after Woody became ambassador to the United Kingdom. Johnson died of cancer on December 22, 1970, at the age of 50, at Holy Cross Hospital in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. In 2008, his widow donated $11 million to

New Jersey Performing Arts Center The New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), in Downtown Newark in Newark, New Jersey, is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Home to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), more than nine million visitors (incl ...

in what was then the largest individual donation in the arts center's history. Her 2008 gift was in addition to the more than $2 million she donated after the center opened in 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Robert Wood III 1920 births 1970 deaths American philanthropists Robert Wood III People from New Brunswick, New Jersey 20th-century American businesspeople American pharmaceutical industry businesspeople Businesspeople from Middlesex County, New Jersey Johnson & Johnson people American chief executives