Writer and Diplomat. He graduated from Earlham College in 1871 and joined the staff of "Scribner's Magazine", later called "The Century", becoming Editor in 1909. Johnson used his media platform in partnership with naturalist John Muir to promote the creation of Yosemite National Park and the start of the conservation movement. He was also a famed poet who was often called on to recite at public gatherings, with 1891's "The Winter Hour and Other Poems" and 1902's "Poems", being his most notable collections. The author of nine other books, he was also active in the National Institute of Arts and Letters and the Academy of Arts and Letters, and was the main proponent of creating Rome's Keats and Shelley Memorial. In 1917 Johnson organized "American Poets' Ambulance in Italy", which donated 112 ambulances for the Italian Army's use during World War I, and in 1918 he spearheaded the New York Committee of the Italian War Relief Fund. He served as US Ambassador to Italy from 1920 to 1921, and helped coordinate Italy's post-war recovery. After returning to the US he published his autobiography, "Remembered Yesterdays", became a board member for the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, and continued to lecture and write until the summer of 1937, when ill health forced him to retire. Robert Underwood Johnson was the brother of Congressman Henry U. Johnson and the father of writer Owen Johnson.
Writer and Diplomat. He graduated from Earlham College in 1871 and joined the staff of "Scribner's Magazine", later called "The Century", becoming Editor in 1909. Johnson used his media platform in partnership with naturalist John Muir to promote the creation of Yosemite National Park and the start of the conservation movement. He was also a famed poet who was often called on to recite at public gatherings, with 1891's "The Winter Hour and Other Poems" and 1902's "Poems", being his most notable collections. The author of nine other books, he was also active in the National Institute of Arts and Letters and the Academy of Arts and Letters, and was the main proponent of creating Rome's Keats and Shelley Memorial. In 1917 Johnson organized "American Poets' Ambulance in Italy", which donated 112 ambulances for the Italian Army's use during World War I, and in 1918 he spearheaded the New York Committee of the Italian War Relief Fund. He served as US Ambassador to Italy from 1920 to 1921, and helped coordinate Italy's post-war recovery. After returning to the US he published his autobiography, "Remembered Yesterdays", became a board member for the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, and continued to lecture and write until the summer of 1937, when ill health forced him to retire. Robert Underwood Johnson was the brother of Congressman Henry U. Johnson and the father of writer Owen Johnson.
Bio by: Bill McKern
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