Johnson, John H

Johnson, John H(arold)

(born Jan. 19, 1918, Arkansas City, Ark., U.S.—died Aug. 8, 2005, Chicago, Ill.) U.S. magazine and book publisher. He moved to Chicago with his family and became a journalist. In 1942 he introduced Negro Digest, a periodical for blacks. Three years later he launched Ebony, a magazine he modeled on Life; by 2004 it had a circulation of some 1.7 million. Through Johnson Publishing Co., he also published black-oriented books and other magazines, and he later moved into radio broadcasting, insurance, and cosmetics manufacturing.