Robert Wood Johnson II
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| Robert Wood Johnson II | |
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| Born | April 4, 1893 New Brunswick, New Jersey |
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| Died | January 30, 1968 |
| Burial place | Elmwood Cemetery |
| Education | Rutgers Prep |
| Occupation | Johnson & Johnson |
| Known for | Robert Wood Johnson Foundation |
| Spouse | E.D. Ross |
| Children | Robert Wood Johnson III |
| Parents | Robert Wood Johnson I Evangeline Armstrong |
Robert Wood Johnson II (April 4, 1893 – January 30, 1968) was a United States businessman. He was the president of Johnson & Johnson between 1932 and 1938, and chairman of the board from 1938 until 1963. He was the son of the founder of J&J, Robert Wood Johnson I. He managed the company during the period of growth where J&J became an international corporation.
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[edit] Early career
Robert Wood Johnson II was born on April 4, 1893 in New Brunswick, New Jersey to the upper-class family of Robert and Evangeline Johnson. When he was sixteen, his father, Robert Wood Johnson I, died leaving him an estate of $2,000,000.
At the time Johnson's father died, he was attending Rutgers Prep. During that time young Johnson became known as the town “Playboy” however after a while he attended the military division at Rutgers Prep and learned to be more disciplined.
Johnson wanted to go and work at the family company, however his mother wanted him to attend college,so,Uncle Jim, who was then running J&J, proposed that Johnson should go to college and work part-time at the company.
However, because of his age, he was unable to run the company. Because his uncles despised his father, he would end up having to rise through the ranks as a non-family employee. When he gained control of the company at the end of the Depression, he would expand it into a global company.
Johnson dropped-out of Rutgers Prep after only a few months and starting working full-time at the plant. This gave him an insight into the workings of the company for the rest of his life.
He married E.D. Ross in 1916. [1]
During the First World War the company would go though a time of growth and it would not stop until the Great Depression.
[edit] World War II
Johnson held a reserve commission in the Quartermaster Corps during the 1930s. In World War II, Johnson became a brigadier general and served as chairman of the Small War Plants Corporation (SWPC). During his tenure the SWPC was said to have saved "Small Industry" in American. Johnson personally over saw war contracts given to more than 6,000 companies. However, while in Washington Johnson made many adversaries and was forced to resign, in 1943. Johnson told newspapers that he was too ill to continue.
His involvement in identifying products needed by the war effort resulted in the Permacell division of Johnson & Johnson inventing duct tape for sealing ammunition boxes. They simply took their existing cloth medical adhesive tape, added a waterproof plastic layer with a more aggressive adhesive and produced it in olive green to match the ammunition cans.
Also during the war Johnson & Johnson would be a major supplier for combat first aid kits and other military supplies. In 1941 Johnson started the Ethicon subsidiary.
[edit] End of era
His son, Robert Wood Johnson III, was the president of Johnson & Johnson from 1963 to 1965. In 1964 there was a falling out, and Robert Wood Johnson II, as chairman, fired his son. Robert Wood Johnson II died on January 30, 1968, and left the bulk of his $400,000,000 estate to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. [2] His children already had been provided for in a series of trusts.
Johnson is buried at Elmwood Cemetery in New Brunswick.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ "Miss E.D. Ross a Bride. Weds Robert Wood Johnson at Her Home.", New York Times, October 19, 1916, Thursday. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
- ^ "Robert Wood Johnson, 74, Dies; Chairman of Johnson & Johnson; Founder's Son Led Company Until 1963. No. 2 Man on War Production Board.", New York Times, January 31, 1968. Retrieved on 2007-07-21.
- ^ Johnson, Robert Wood, Jr., The Political Graveyard. Accessed August 16, 2007, Wednesday.
[edit] Further reading
- Lawrence G. Foster; Robert Wood Johnson: The Gentleman Rebel
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| before=James Wood Johnson | title=President of Johnson & Johnson | years=1910-1961 | after=[[Robert Wood Johnson III
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