J. Leonard Johnson

Who was J. Leonard Johnson?

James Leonard Vincent "Len" Johnson was an American scientist.

"Len" Johnson was an American engineer, designer, and scientist in the mid-twentieth century in the field of metallurgy and nuclear technology. He was one of the first Irish Catholics to break into the exclusive field of design engineering for the Department of Defense.

Len Johnson was born in Freeland, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania in 1905. Though from an Irish family, Len was actually the 4th generation in the US. His great grandfather had immigrated from Moneyneana, County Londonderry, Ulster, Ireland in 1839, prior to the great Irish Famine. However, his roots in Pennsylvania and in America went back to the early 1700s.

The first member of his family to come to America was, Sir William Johnson who originally came to the colony of New York in 1720. He managed his uncles properties and eventually created his own estate called Johnstown, New York. William rose to prominence in the French and Indian War as the Commissioner of the Iroquois tribe. He created and led an army of Indian and settler soldiers at various battles rising to the rank of Major General in the British army in America. The Battle of Lake George in 1755 earned him a baronet title and his capture of Fort Niagara with his Indian troops defeating the French army made him, "Johnson of New York". It is still an active baronetcy within the family. His grandmother was Ada "Mary" Wilson. Her family had been originally come to the US in the 1750s as Quakers outside Philadelphia. Len had an early grandfather, Captain Joseph Greene, who commanded the Northumberland County Ranger company at the close of the American Revolution in 1782, and had served in the York County militia from as early as 1777. Through his grandmother he was also a close cousin to President Woodrow Wilson.