Oscar Johnson (January 6, 1864 – July 28, 1916) was an American businessman. He was the co-founder and president of the International Shoe Company, the largest shoe-manufacturing company in the world by the time of his death.

Early life

Oscar Johnson was born circa 1863 in Senatobia, Mississippi. He was raised by an uncle in Holly Springs, Mississippi. He had a brother, Jackson Johnson (who went on to serve as the chairman of the International Shoe Company), and two sisters, Lillian Walter and Perle Dye of New Canaan, Connecticut.

Career

Roberts, Johnson and Rand-International Shoe Company Complex

Johnson first worked as a clerk in a country store. With his brother Jackson Johnson and his cousins

Edgar E. Rand Edgar E. Rand (c. 1905 – October 26, 1955) was an American heir, business executive and philanthropist. He served as the President of the International Shoe Company from 1950 to 1955. Early life Edgar E. Rand was born circa 1905 in St. Louis, Mi ...

and

Frank C. Rand Frank C. Rand (February 25, 1876 – December 2, 1949) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He served as the President of the International Shoe Company, the world's largest shoe manufacturer, from 1916 to 1930, and as its chairman fr ...

, Johnson co-founded Johnson, Carruthers & Rand Shoe Co. in Memphis, Tennessee in 1893. By 1908, they moved to St. Louis, where they co-founded the Roberts, Johnson & Rand Co. with John C. Roberts. In 1911, they acquired the Peters Shoe Co. It eventually became known as the International Shoe Company, and Johnson became its president, while his brother Jackson was its chairman. By the time of his death, the International Shoe Company had become the largest shoe manufacturing company in the world.

Personal life and death

Johnson married to Irene Walter, the daughter of Confederate veteran

Harvey Washington Walter Colonel Harvey Washington Walter (1819–1878) was an American lawyer and railroad business executive. He served as the President of the Mississippi Central Railroad. During the Civil War, he invited Union General Ulysses Grant and his wife, ...

, in 1889. They had two sons, Oscar Jr. and Lee, and a daughter, Fredonia. They resided at 28 Portland Place in St. Louis. They also owned a farm in

Franklin County, Missouri Franklin County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 census, the population was 104,682. Its county seat is Union. The county was organized in 1818 and is named after Founding Father Benjamin Franklin. Franklin County is part ...

. Additionally, they acquired Irene's family home, Walter Place in Holly Springs in 1889. He was a member of the

Methodist Episcopal Church, South The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement ...

, the Noonday Club and the Ridgedale Country Club in Ridgedale, Missouri. Johnson died on July 28, 1916, in St. Louis, and he was buried at the Bellefontaine Cemetery. Upon his death, he was worth an estimated $2,147,742. He was succeeded as president of the International Shoe Company by his cousin

in November 1936.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Oscar 1860s births 1916 deaths People from Senatobia, Mississippi People from Holly Springs, Mississippi Businesspeople from St. Louis People from Franklin County, Missouri 19th-century American businesspeople