James Hervey Johnson

From Philosopedia

Johnson, James Hervey (20th Century)

Johnson, an editor of The Truth Seeker following Charles Lee Smith, moved the magazine to San Diego, California, where it continued with Ian Hutton as editor. D. M. Bennett founded the magazine in 1873.

Among Johnson’s books were Superior Men (1949) and There Is No God (1952).

The James H. Johnson Charitable Trust (then at Box 16160, San Diego, California 92176) contributed large funds to Council for Secular Humanism’s Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York, as well as for the Center for Inquiry—West in Los Angeles, California.

Allegedly a tightwad and misanthrope, according to journalist Mimi Swartz, Johnson had a fortune estimated at from $15 to $20 million.

Madalyn Murray O’Hair was unsuccessful in getting him to join her, and in 1983 she angrily wrote him, “You are a dying, defunct, discredited old man who will grow moldy in an unmarked grave.” She then sent spies to infiltrate Johnson’s organizations, staging a coup at a 1987 Truth Seeker shareholders’ meeting and naming herself as chairman of the board. In 1988, he countersued but died the same year.

(See a site about Johnson.)

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