John H. Johnson Quotes (Images)

John Harold Johnson was born in Arkansas City, Arkansas, USA. He was an American businessman and publisher. He was the founder of the Johnson Publishing Company. His firm, Johnson Publishing Company, later diversified into book publishing, radio broadcasting, insurance, and cosmetics manufacturing. Johnson's Ebony and Jet magazines were among the most influential African-American businesses in media in the second half of the twentieth century. While studying at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University, he worked for a life insurance company that marketed to African American customers. There he conceived the idea of a magazine for blacks; in 1942 he began publication of Negro Digest. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996. He married Eunice Walker Johnson in 1941. They had one daughter, Linda Johnson Rice.