Henry Charles Johnson Biography


	This biography appears on pages 963-964 in "History of Dakota 
	Territory" by George W. Kingsbury, Vol. IV (1915) and was 
	scanned, OCRed and edited by Maurice Krueger, mkrueger@iw.net.

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				PROFESSOR HENRY CHARLES JOHNSON. 

	Professor Henry Charles Johnson, since 1909 city superintendent 
of schools at Aberdeen, has devoted his life largely to educational 
work and, ever laboring for the attainment of high ideals, he has made 
his service a potent and helpful influence in promoting intellectual 
advancement in the various localities in which he has made his home. In 
his present position his record has been one of well directed service 
and important accomplishment and stands as a credit to his belief in 
education, his sincerity of purpose and his public spirit. Professor 
Johnson was born at Mount Sterling, Wisconsin, October 11, 1876, and is 
a son of Erick and Mattie Johnson, who removed to South Dakota in 1909. 
The father is now engaged in farming near Greene, Iowa. 

	Professor Johnson acquired his high-school education in Mount 
Sterling, Wisconsin, and afterward attended a normal school in Charles 
City, Iowa. He received the degree of B. A. from the Iowa State 
University in 1902 and the degree of M. A. from the same institution in 
1907. Following the completion of his studies he turned his attention 
to teaching and engaged in that occupation in the country schools of 
Iowa and Wisconsin, later becoming connected with the Keswick (Iowa) 
high school. He rose rapidly in his chosen profession, being appointed 
principal of the high school at Decorah, Iowa, and serving in that 
capacity for two years and for a similar period of time as 
superintendent of schools of that city. 

	Professor Johnson came to Aberdeen in 1909 and in the same year 
was appointed city superintendent of schools here, an office which he 
has filled with honor and credit since that time. He has become a 
recognized leader in the field of education and personally superintends 
every detail of the work entrusted to him. He planned the high school 
building which was erected in 1911 and ordered the equipment, which is 
modern, up-to-date and sanitary in every particular, making this one of 
the best and most modern school buildings in the state. The high school 
has four hundred and fifty pupils and the entire enrollment of the city 
schools is eighteen hundred, under charge of seventy-four teachers. 
Professor Johnson is one of the most progressive educators in the state 
and has inaugurated important departments in the school system of 
Aberdeen, providing for the medical examination of every pupil and for 
the promotion of physical efficiency and health by courses in physical 
culture. This department is in the hands of a physical director 
employed by the year and there is a trained nurse in constant 
attendance. In the new high school there is a fine gymnasium and the 
playground is equipped with two thousand dollars, worth of apparatus, a 
visible evidence of the superintendent's belief in outdoor exercise as 
an aid to health. Professor Johnson has introduced into the schools of 
Aberdeen courses in manual training, printing and domestic science and 
these have already become popular departments. His entire life since 
attaining his majority has been given over to educational work and he 
is a recognized leader in this field. He is zealous and discriminating 
and studies each child from the standpoint of the individual, providing 
for his or her development along the most practical lines. 

	In 1905 Professor Johnson married Miss Marie Whitwell, of 
Decorah, Iowa, and they have become the parents of four children, one 
of whom has passed away. The Professor is a member of the 
Congregational church and gives his political allegiance to the 
republican party. He is connected fraternally with the Knights of 
Pythias and the Masonic lodge. Educational interests of Aberdeen owe to 
him a great and lasting debt, and his influence has been a tangible 
force for good in other fields.