Johnson, John Albert (1861–1909)

Creator: Minnesota Historical Society

Source: Governors of Minnesota

Official Governor’s Portrait of John A. Johnson, 1907. Painted by artists Nicholas Richard Brewer.

John Albert Johnson was Minnesota's first governor born in the state, its first governor to serve a full term in the third state capitol, and its first governor to die in office, making him one of the state's most notable leaders. He also was the first Minnesota governor to bask, albeit fleetingly, in the national spotlight when he sought the 1908 Democratic presidential nomination but lost to William Jennings Bryan.

John Albert Johnson was born on July 28, 1861, in St. Peter. He was the eldest child of an impoverished Swedish family abandoned by an alcoholic father, and he left school at age thirteen to support his mother and siblings by clerking in a store. In 1887, local Democrats, impressed with the enterprising young clerk, asked him to join their party and edit the strongly Democratic St. Peter Herald. Johnson's success as a journalist attracted statewide attention and fostered his political aspirations.

Johnson married local schoolteacher Elinore (Nora) Preston on June 1, 1894. Around the same time, he began running for state office from his heavily Republican home county. After early losses, he finally was elected to the state senate in 1898, thanks to his growing bipartisan appeal.

Known as a courageous and charismatic leader, Johnson was elected the sixteenth governor of Minnesota in 1904. He was reelected in 1906 and 1908, serving as governor from January 4, 1905, to September 21, 1909.

Johnson's ability to work with legislators from both parties resulted in reform legislation such as reorganization of the state's insurance department to the benefit of policyholders, reduction of railroad passenger and freight rates, and removal of constitutional restraints on the legislature's power to tax.

Johnson began his third term as governor with reservations. His health was precarious, and he wanted to pursue a promising sideline career as a public speaker. When he died suddenly on September 21, 1909, at age forty-eight in Rochester following surgery, the state's citizens were grief-stricken. His lieutenant governor and successor, A.O. Eberhart, formed a John A. Johnson Memorial Commission in October 1909. The group commissioned and erected memorial statues of Johnson at the State Capitol and in his hometown of St. Peter.

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Minnesota Historical Society. "Johnson, John Albert (1861–1909)." MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society. https://www3.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/person/johnson-john-albert-1861-1909

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First Published: June 06, 2011

Last Modified: June 04, 2025

Related Resources

Primary

P686
John Albert Johnson Papers, 1907–1909
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: One folder of papers relating to Johnson's last term as governor, including a memorial.

Records of Governor John A. Johnson, 1905–1909
Minnesota State Archives, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/gov030.xml
Description: Correspondence and certificates from Johnson's time as governor of Minnesota.

Governor John Albert Johnson Memorial Commission Papers, 1909–1912
State Archives Notebooks, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Clippings, correspondence, contributors' lists, and organizational files relating to the work of this commission.

Chamberlain, Winthrop B. "A great democratic governor: John A. Johnson of Minnesota, a quiet reformer who has 'made good' in office." World's Work 15, no. 6 (April 1908): 10132–10142.

Cheney, Charles Baldwin. "Johnson of Minnesota." The Outlook (January 25, 1908): 167–173.

Hard, William. "John Johnson of Minnesota." American Magazine 64, no. 6 (October 1907): 562–576.

Johnson, John Albert. Commercial and political integrity: speech delivered by Hon. John A. Johnson, governor of Minnesota, before the Merchants Club of Chicago, Feb 18, 1905. [Minneapolis: Press of Murphy-Travis Co., 1905?].

———. Inaugural message of Gov. John A. Johnson to the Legislature of Minnesota, 1905. Minneapolis: Great Western Printing Co., [1905].

———. Inaugural message of Gov. John A. Johnson to the Legislature of Minnesota, 1907. Minneapolis: Harrison and Smith Co., 1907.

———. Inaugural message of Gov. John A. Johnson to the Legislature of Minnesota, 1909. Minneapolis: Syndicate Printing Co., 1909.

———. John A. Johnson, Democratic nominee for Governor of Minnesota: opening address of 1904 campaign, Minneapolis, Sept. 24. Minneapolis: Press of Murphy-Trav. and Co., [1904?].

———. Message of Governor Johnson accompanying his veto of the Tonnage Tax Bill and other facts. [Duluth, MN]: Commercial Club of Duluth, [1909].

Secondary

Buck, Solon J. "John Albert Johnson." In Dictionary of American Biography, edited by Dumas Malone, vol. 5, 104–105. 8th ed. New York: Charles Scribner and Sons, 1961.

Day, Frank A., and Theodore M. Knappen. Life of John Albert Johnson: Three Times Governor of Minnesota. Chicago: Forbes and Co., 1910.

Governor John Albert Johnson Memorial Commission. Final Report of the Governor John Albert Johnson Memorial Commission. St. Paul: [Randall Company, Printers], 1913.

Helmes, Winifred G. John A. Johnson, The People's Governor: A Political Biography. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1949.

Mansfield, Phyllis V. "John Albert Johnson, a Bibliography." Unpublished manuscript, 1943. Carbon copy of typescript.

Oppegard, Roy W. "Governor John Albert Johnson and the Reformers in Minnesota State Government." M.P. thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1937.

Pollock's Clipping Bureau, Minneapolis, comp. In memory of John Albert Johnson, Governor of Minnesota 1905–1909, 1861–1909. Compiled by Pollock's Clipping Bureau. Minneapolis: Pollock's Clipping Bureau, [n.d.].

Web

The Minnesota Historical Society. Governors of Minnesota: John Albert Johnson.
http://collections.mnhs.org/governors/index.php/10004110

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John A. Johnson presidential campaign button, 1908.

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Johnson, John Albert (1861–1909)

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Pince-nez eyeglasses worn by Minnesota Governor John A. Johnson.

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Turning Point

In 1904, John Albert Johnson is elected to his first term as governor of Minnesota and starts on a path to national political recognition.

Chronology

1861

John Albert Johnson is born on July 28 in St. Peter, Minnesota.

1887

In February, local Democrats ask Johnson to edit the strongly Democratic St. Peter Herald.

1894

Johnson marries local schoolteacher Elinore (Nora) Preston on June 1.

1898

He is elected to the state senate, thanks to his growing bipartisan appeal.

1904

Johnson is elected to his first of three terms as governor of Minnesota.

1909

Johnson dies suddenly on September 21 at age forty-eight in Rochester following surgery.