Philip Gustav Johnson (November 5, 1894 – September 14, 1944) was a pioneer in the manufacturing of

airplanes An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectr ...

and in the creation and operation of commercial

airlines An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in whic ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. With backgrounds as an engineer and businessman, Johnson served as president of

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

and

Kenworth Kenworth Truck Company is an American truck manufacturer. Founded in 1923 as the successor to Gersix Motor Company, Kenworth specializes in production of heavy-duty ( Class 8) and medium-duty (Class 5–7) commercial vehicles. Headquartered in ...

Biography

Philip Gustav Johnson was born the son of Swedish immigrants Charles and Hannah Johnson in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. He graduated from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

in 1917 with a degree in

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

. In Johnson's senior year,

William Boeing William Edward Boeing (; October 1, 1881 – September 28, 1956) was an American aviation pioneer who founded the Pacific Airplane Company in 1916, which a year later was renamed to The Boeing Company, now the largest exporter in the United S ...

recruited him for a position at the fledgling Boeing Company, which came into being in July 1916. Johnson started working for Boeing as draftsman in the engineering department. He was named president in 1926. In 1929, Boeing combined with Pratt & Whitney and other companies to form a large conglomerate known as the

United Aircraft and Transport Corporation The United Aircraft and Transport Corporation was formed in 1929, when William Boeing of Boeing Airplane & Transport Corporation teamed up with Frederick Rentschler of Pratt & Whitney to form a large, vertically-integrated, amalgamated firm, ...

. Johnson headed this holding company, which was broken up by legislative action in the aftermath of the

Air Mail scandal The Air Mail scandal, also known as the Air Mail fiasco, is the name that the American press gave to the political scandal resulting from a 1934 congressional investigation of the awarding of contracts to certain airlines to carry airmail and ...

of 1934. Johnson became president of

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

, which emerged from this restructuring, but was officially barred from the airline industry for several years, along with many other air executives who had attended the so-called "Spoils Conference" of 1930, when commercial air mail contracts were first awarded. Subsequent evaluation vindicated Johnson and his fellow airline industry captains, who were unfairly tarred in the press because no collusive behavior counter to the public good in fact occurred at that meeting. Unable at that time to participate in the U.S. airline industry, Johnson in 1937 departed the United States for Canada, where he helped form

Trans-Canada Airlines Trans-Canada Air Lines (also known as TCA in English, and Trans-Canada in French) was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGrego ...

as its Vice President of Operations. A superb businessman, he also served as president of truck manufacturer Kenworth Truck Company from 1937 until his death. In 1939, the federal legislation that had driven Johnson out of Boeing was rescinded. He returned to Boeing as president, focusing on the war production required by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Johnson also served on the Board of Directors for the Pacific National Bank,

Puget Sound Power and Light Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is an energy utility company based in the U.S. state of Washington that provides electrical power and natural gas to the Puget Sound region. The utility serves electricity to more than 1.1 million customers in Island, Ki ...

, and

Puget Sound Navigation Company The Puget Sound Navigation Company (PSNC) was founded by Charles E. Peabody in 1898. Today the company operates an international passenger and vehicle ferry service between Port Angeles, WA and Victoria, BC on the Coho. History In the past, t ...

. For his numerous accomplishments, he was also named the “First Citizen” of Seattle in 1943. While overseeing operations at the Boeing plant in Wichita, Kansas, he died the following year at the age of 49 from a cerebral hemorrhage. In 1990, Philip G. Johnson was honored when

The Boeing Company The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

endowed an engineering chair at the

in his name.''Boeing Co. Endows UW Engineering Chair'' (The Seattle Times, June 2, 1990)

References

Other sources

Boeing History: Philip G. JohnsonKenworth History – 1936 to 1944HistoryLink.org: Johnson, Philip G. (1894–1944)P.G. Johnson Estate Woodway

External links

Guide to the Philip G. Johnson Scrapbooks and Other Material at the Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Philip G. 1894 births 1944 deaths Aviation history of Canada Boeing people Air Canada people 20th-century Canadian businesspeople American people of Swedish descent University of Washington College of Engineering alumni Businesspeople from Seattle American airline chief executives 20th-century American businesspeople

Biography

References

Other sources

Further reading

External links