George E. Johnson, Sr.

Infobox Person
name = George E. Johnson, Sr.


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birth_date = June 12, 1927
birth_place = Richton, Mississippi USA
death_date =
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occupation = businessman
spouse = Joan B. Henderson
parents = Priscilla
children = Eric Johnson, Joan M. Johnson

George Ellis Johnson, Sr. (born June 12, 1927) is an American entrepreneur and the founder of Johnson Products, an international cosmetics empire headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Early life

Johnson was born in Richton, Mississippi in a three-room sharecropper's shack. When he was two, he moved to Chicago with his mother, Priscilla, after his parents had separated. At the age of eight, while attending Doolittle Elementary School, Johnson also started work as a shoe shine boy. He later attended Wendell Phillips High School but dropped out to work full-time jobs. [cite web|url=http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=702|title=George Johnson Biography. Interview December 18, 2003
publisher=The History Makers|accessdate=2008-08-09] During the day he was a bus boy and in the evenings he set pins at a local bowling alley.cite web|url=http://www.aaregistry.com/detail.php?id=929|title=June 16|publisher=The African American Registry|accessdate=2008-06-19] In 1944, he took a job working for Samuel B. Fuller, who owned a cosmetics firm, as a production chemist.

Entrepreneurship

In 1954, at the encouragement of co-worker, Johnson left the Fuller company and founded Johnson Products with his wife Joan, cite web|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1365/is_n10_v22/ai_12130157|title=Johnson Products Co. regroups after a family row|last=McCoy|first=Frank|date=1992-05-01|publisher=Black Enterprise|accessdate=2008-06-19] focusing on the African American male hair care market. Johnson borrowed $250 from a bank and another $250 from a friend to finance the venture.cite web|url=http://www.johnsonproducts.com/heritage.html|title=The Father of Hair Care|publisher=Johnson Products|accessdate=2008-06-19] The company’s first product was Ultra Wave, a hair relaxer for men. In 1957, Ultra Sheen, a revolutionary hair straightener that could easily be used in the home, was introduced for women. During the next quarter century, more product lines were introduced like Afro Sheen. Afro-Sheen, one of Johnson's best-known products, was released in the late 1960s, at a time when the "Afro" became a popular hairstyle for African Americans. cite web|url=http://historywired.si.edu/object.cfm?ID=42|title=Afro-Sheen Blowout Creme Relaxer |publisher=Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History|accessdate=2008-06-19] Over the next few decades, Johnson Products continued to grow, focusing its efforts on not only its products line but on training cosmetologists on the proper usage as well. In 1964, Johnson founded Independence Bank, and during the 1960s he became the exclusive sponsor behind the nationally syndicated dance show Soul Train. In 1971, Johnson Products became the first African American-owned company to be listed on the American Stock Exchange. [cite web|url=http://www.africanamericans.com/FamousContributors.htm|title=Secretary of State Condoleeza (sic) Rice Speaks on National African American History February 18, 2005 |publisher=African Americans.com|accessdate=2008-08-09] That same year, Johnson became the first African American to serve on the board of directors of Commonwealth Edison.

Awards and honorary degree

George E. Johnson, Sr. received the Horatio Alger Award in 1981 [http://www.horatioalger.com/member_info.cfm?memberid=joh81] and the Babson Medal in 1983 [http://www3.babson.edu/Archives/awards/Alumni_General_Awards.cfm]

He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Babson College in 1976 [http://www3.babson.edu/Archives/awards/honorary_degrees.cfm]

References