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Harold Lester Johnson (April 17, 1921 – April 2, 1980) was an American
astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either obse ...
. Harold Johnson was born in Denver, Colorado, on April 17, 1921. He received his early education in Denver public schools and went to the
University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...
, graduating with a degree in mathematics in 1942. Johnson was recruited by the
MIT Radiation Laboratory The Radiation Laboratory, commonly called the Rad Lab, was a microwave and radar research laboratory located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was first created in October 1940 and operated until 31 ...
to work on World War II related radar research. After the war Johnson began graduate studies in astronomy at University of California, Berkeley where he completed his thesis under Harold Weaver in 1948. In the following years working at
Lowell Observatory Lowell Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, United States. Lowell Observatory was established in 1894, placing it among the oldest observatories in the United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark ...
,
University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
, Yerkes Observatory (where he met
William Wilson Morgan William Wilson Morgan (January 3, 1906 – June 21, 1994) was an American astronomer and astrophysicist. The principal theme in Morgan's work was stellar and galaxy classification. He is also known for helping prove the existence of spiral arms i ...
),
McDonald Observatory McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The facility is located on Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, with additional fac ...
, University of Texas–Austin, the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico he applied his instrumental and electronic talents to developing and calibrating astronomical photoelectric detectors. He died of a heart attack in Mexico City in 1980. He and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Jones, had two children. Johnson was awarded the Helen B. Warner Prize by the
American Astronomical Society The American Astronomical Society (AAS, sometimes spoken as "double-A-S") is an American society of professional astronomers and other interested individuals, headquartered in Washington, DC. The primary objective of the AAS is to promote the adv ...
in 1956. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1969. He is remembered for introducing the
UBV photometric system The UBV photometric system (from ''Ultraviolet, Blue, Visual''), also called the Johnson system (or Johnson-Morgan system), is a photometric system usually employed for classifying stars according to their colors. It was the first standardized p ...
(also called the Johnson or Johnson-Morgan system), along with
William Wilson Morgan William Wilson Morgan (January 3, 1906 – June 21, 1994) was an American astronomer and astrophysicist. The principal theme in Morgan's work was stellar and galaxy classification. He is also known for helping prove the existence of spiral arms i ...
in 1953.


External links


National Academy of Sciences Biography
by Gérard Henri de Vaucouleurs * 1921 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American astronomers Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Scientists from Denver University of Denver alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology staff University of California, Berkeley alumni {{US-astronomer-stub