Isaac Charles Johnson (28 January 1811 – 29 November 1911) was a British cement manufacturer, and a pioneer of the

Portland cement Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world as a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco, and non-specialty grout. It was developed from other types of hydraulic lime in England in the early 19t ...

industry. Born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, his father was a charge-hand at Francis & White's "

Roman Cement Roman cement is a substance developed by James Parker in the 1780s, being patented in 1796. The name is misleading, as it is nothing like any material used by the Romans, but was a "natural cement" made by burning septaria – nodules that a ...

" plant in

Nine Elms Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies on the River Thames, with Battersea to the west, South Lambeth to the south and Vauxhall to the east. The area was formerly mainly industrial ...

. He himself worked there as a labourer from age 16 while studying chemistry. In 1833 he became manager of John Bazeley White's cement plant at

Swanscombe Swanscombe /ˈswɒnzkəm/ is a village in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England, and the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. It is 4.4 miles west of Gravesend and 4.8 miles east of Dartford. History Prehistory Bone fragment ...

on the

Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...

which at that time was producing "Artificial Cement" and "Roman Cement". Joseph Aspdin's product was successful but very expensive, and was later improved independently by his son William. Johnson set to work trying to discover its composition but because Aspdin's product was protected by explicit patents and extreme secrecy it was impossible to market a copy. After nearly two years' work, he succeeded and started marketing his own considerably improved version. Johnson, a highly moral man, Mayor of

Gateshead Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Millennium Bridge, The Sage, and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary ...

and a JP, was able to claim that he was the inventor of "true" Portland cement and is generally recognised as such. Aspdin, however, was driven out of business by financial problems caused by the success of Johnson's superior and cheaper product and this led to Johnson taking over Aspdins Cement works at

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

. Unfortunately this resulted in an embittered Aspdin making wild and vitriolic charges of how his product had been copied. Johnson left J.B. White's shortly afterwards, and, setting up his own company, established a succession of cement plants at

Frindsbury Frindsbury is part of the Medway Towns conurbation in Kent, southern England. It lies on the opposite side of the River Medway to Rochester, and at various times in its history has been considered fully or partially part of the City of Rochest ...

, Cliffe and Greenhithe in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and acquired William Aspdin's plant at Gateshead. He pioneered several innovations, including the production of low-water rawmix slurries, and new designs for kilns and industrial chimneys. His company remained a relatively large and successful player in the British cement industry for the next 60 years. The Greenhithe plant was uprated with

rotary kiln A rotary kiln is a pyroprocessing device used to raise materials to a high temperature (calcination) in a continuous process. Materials produced using rotary kilns include: * Cement * Lime * Refractories * Metakaolin * Titanium dioxide * ...

s in 1901. In 1911 I C Johnson & Co became a part of the Blue Circle Group, and his Greenhithe plant remained in operation until 1971. In 1910 on his 100th birthday Johnson was presented with a silver tea service by representatives of the cement industry in Britain and several European Countries. In the course of his long life, Johnson also served as a borough magistrate for Gateshead, a county magistrate for Kent, and councillor for the Borough of Gravesend, in addition to serving on a number of commissions, services not untypical for a businessman of the period. He was also president of the Gravesend Liberal Association and the Gravesend Total Abstinence Society. Johnson was a founding member of Zoar Strict and Particular Baptist Church, Gravesend, where he served as a deacon for many years. He was also an occasional preacher among the Strict Baptists.Johnson, Isaac Charles, 'Autobiography of Isaac Charles Johnson Esq, JP' (Farncombe & Sons, 1912), p.81. Johnson wrote the ''Autobiography of Isaac Charles Johnson Esq, JP'' (published by Farncombe & Sons, London, 1912), which was published after his death.

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External links

Photograph of Johnson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Isaac Charles 1811 births 1911 deaths Businesspeople in cement English justices of the peace Businesspeople from London English centenarians Men centenarians Concrete pioneers 19th-century English businesspeople