Johnson, William Eugene

Johnson, William Eugene (1862–1945) social reformer; born in Coventry, N.Y. He was a journalist and then a special officer in the U.S. Indian Service (1908–11). He received his nickname, "Pussyfoot," from his sneaky method of raiding gambling saloons in the Indian territory in Oklahoma. During the prohibition movement, he was a prominent speaker in the U.S.A. and around the world, lecturing in favor of temperance. In 1919, he lost an eye when he was struck and dragged by medical students from a lecture platform in London.