Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr. (November 15, 1899 – December 13, 1978), was an American businessman and manufacturer. He was the grandson of company founder Samuel Curtis Johnson. He was the third generation of his family to lead S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc of Racine, Wisconsin.
Career in Cornell
Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr. graduated from Cornell University in 1922 and became deeply involved with the institution. From 1947 to 1972, he served as an active member of the board of trustees, followed by his role as an emeritus board member until 1978. He was also a Presidential Councillor and one of the university's most notable benefactors. As a member of the Chi Psi fraternity, he contributed significantly to the Cornell community.
The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art on the Cornell campus, designed by renowned architect I. M. Pei, is named in his honor.
SC Johnson & Son
SC Johnson & Son is an American multinational corporation, privately held manufacturer of household cleaning supplies and other consumer chemicals based in Racine, Wisconsin.[2]
Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr. took over leadership of SC Johnson & Son from his father Herbert Fisk Johnson Sr.. Under his presidency, the company expanded worldwide, establishing its first subsidiary in the United Kingdom in 1914.[3] Giving his employees credit for a successful year, Herbert gave them $35,000 in 1917.[4] He then passed it to his son, Samuel Curtis Johnson Jr.. Currently, the Chairman and CEO is Fisk Johnson, the fifth generation of the family.
Johnson Wax Headquarters
In 1936, he hired Frank Lloyd Wright to design the Johnson Wax Administration Building for his company in Racine, Wisconsin.[5][6]: 12 The Administration Building, designed in a variation of the streamlined Art Moderne style,[7] opened on April 23, 1939.[8][6]: 93 In the 1940s, the director of S. C. Johnson's research department suggested to Johnson that a research tower be built.[6]: 121 Subsequently, Johnson rehired Wright for the construction of a 15-story structure, the Research Tower.[9][6]: 122 The Research Tower was dedicated on November 17, 1950.[10][11]
Home
Soon after the commission for the Administration Building, Johnson commissioned Wright to build him a home on nearby farmland. The result, known as Wingspread, was built in Wind Point, Wisconsin, and completed in 1939.[12] It was donated by Johnson and his wife Irene Purcell to the Johnson Foundation in 1960 as an international educational conference facility.[13]
Brazil
In 1935, Johnson flew from Milwaukee to Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, in an amphibious twin-engine Sikorsky S-38. The trip was to learn more about the carnauba palm tree (Copernicia prunifera) of north eastern Brazil which produced carnauba wax, one of the main products of his company, and to determine whether groves of these trees could produce enough to meet future demand. This led to investments in Brazil, establishment of a subsidiary in 1960, and eventually to the foundation of the Serra das Almas Private Natural Heritage Reserve to protect an area of the caatinga biome including wild carnauba palms.[14] His 1935 two month, 7,500 mile journey to northeastern Brazil as well as his somewhat difficult relationship with his son, Samuel Curtis Johnson Jr., was documented in his son's 2001 film Carnuba: A Son's Memoir. The film includes footage from a repeat of that journey that the Johnson family undertook in 1998.
Personal life
Johnson was married three times, first to Gertrude Brauner, daughter of Cornell University professor Olaf Brauner, in 1923.[15] They were the parents of three children, Karen (b. May 16, 1924), Henrietta (b. April 16, 1927) and Samuel Curtis Jr.(b. March 2, 1928). Herbert and Gertrude were divorced about 1931; their middle daughter Henrietta also died in 1931 (March 30).
He next married (December 31, 1936) the former (Esther) Jane Tilton, the widow of William Clyde Roach of Indianapolis, Indiana. Jane died from an embolism on May 30, 1938 in Racine.[16]
In 1941, Johnson wed Irene Purcell, an actress. They remained married until her death in 1972.[17]
References
- ^ Explorer's Guide Wisconsin
- ^ "SC Johnson: Who We Are". www.scjohnson.com. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ "The Journal Times from Racine, Wisconsin". Newspapers.com. September 21, 1986. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ "Dec 22, 1917, page 3 - The Journal Times at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
- ^ Hertzberg, Mark (May 12, 2002). "Two men, two visions". Journal Times. pp. 1A, 9A. Archived from the original on December 25, 2024. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Lipman, Jonathan (1986). Frank Lloyd Wright and the Johnson Wax Buildings. Mineola, NY: Courier Corporation. ISBN 978-0-486-42748-5.
- ^ "Offices Being Built Without Windows; Frank Lloyd Wright Designs Unusual Structure in Racine, Wis". The New York Times. January 10, 1937. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 25, 2024. Retrieved December 26, 2024.
- ^ "Visitors From All Over World Swarm to Racine to See Johnson Wax Buildings". The Journal Times. September 5, 1954. p. 3. Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Evjue, William J. (March 17, 1962). "Businessmen Who Wanted Top Work Turned to Wright". The Capital Times. pp. 1, 8. Retrieved December 29, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Term New Tower Look at Tomorrow". The Journal Times. November 18, 1950. pp. 1, 3. Retrieved December 28, 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Unusual Laboratory Opens in Wisconsin". The New York Times. November 18, 1950. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 31, 2024. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
- ^ James, Howard (December 31, 1964). "Fine Architecture Helps Conferences: Wings Radiate Outward". The Christian Science Monitor. p. 11. ISSN 0882-7729. ProQuest 510737908.
- ^ "Wright-designed Structure Houses Wingspread Conference". The La Crosse Tribune. March 26, 1961. p. 8. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
- ^ Shirley Noely Hauff; Rodrigo Castro (2007), Reserva Natural Serra das Almas (PDF) (in Portuguese), Brasília: The Nature Conservancy, Associação Caatinga, p. 7, retrieved May 18, 2016
- ^ "The Cornell Daily Sun 8 January 1923 — The Cornell Daily Sun". cdsun.library.cornell.edu. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
- ^ Rhinelander Daily News
- ^ "Irene Purcell Dies; an Actress in '33's". The New York Times. July 10, 1972. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
External links
- Summary of Carnuba: A Son's Memoir Archived December 8, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- Membership of Chi Psi
- Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art
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