Edwin C. Johnson

For other people named Edwin Johnson, see Edwin Johnson (disambiguation).

Edwin Carl Johnson
26th and 34th Governor of Colorado
In office January 11, 1955 – January 8, 1957
Lieutenant	Stephen L.R. McNichols
Preceded by	Daniel I.J. Thornton
Succeeded by	Stephen L.R. McNichols
In office January 10, 1933 – January 1, 1937
Lieutenant	Ray Herbert Talbot
Preceded by	William Herbert Adams
Succeeded by	Ray Herbert Talbot
United States Senator from Colorado
In office 1937–1955
Preceded by	Edward P. Costigan
Succeeded by	Gordon L. Allott
Personal details
Born	January 1, 1884 Scandia, Kansas
Died	May 30, 1970(1970-05-30) (aged 86) Denver, Colorado
Political party	Democratic
Religion	Lutheran
Signature

Edwin Carl Johnson (January 1, 1884  – May 30, 1970) was a Democratic Party politician who served as Governor of the state of Colorado.

Background

Edwin Carl Johnson was born in Scandia, Kansas. He moved with his family to Lincoln, Nebraska as a child. Johnson had the privilege to attend Lincoln High under the tutelage of William Jennings Bryan, who was serving as a substitute teacher. After graduation in 1903 Johnson pursued his dream of becoming a railroad man, and after numerous positions became a train dispatcher/telegrapher at Fairmont, Nebraska. In 1909 Johnson contracted tuberculosis and was advised to go to Colorado where the climate was believed to be the cure.

Career

Beginning in 1923, Johnson served in the Colorado House of Representatives for four consecutive terms. He was lieutenant governor of Colorado from 1931 to 1933. He represented his state for three terms in the United States Senate from 1937 until 1955, and served as the 26th and 34th Governor of Colorado from January 10, 1933 until January 1, 1937 and from January 12, 1955 until January 8, 1957.

He was perhaps best known for making a speech on the Senate floor criticizing the extramarital affair of actress Ingrid Bergman, who at the time was married to Petter Lindström. Bergman's affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini became a cause celebre as a result of Johnson's speech, forcing her to escape to Europe for several years until her return in the 1956 blockbuster film Anastasia.

Johnson was also the President of the Western League, a Class A baseball league, from 1947 to 1955. He was instrumental in the construction of Bears Stadium / Mile High Stadium, and was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1968. He died in Denver, Colorado and was interred in the Fairmount Mausoleum at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver. The eastbound bore of the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel is named for Johnson.

External links

• Governor Edwin Carl Johnson Collection at the Colorado State Archives
• "Colorado Governor Edwin Carl Johnson," National Association of Governors biography
• Edwin C. Johnson at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Edwin C. Johnson at Find a Grave

Other sources

• McCarthy, William T. Horse Sense: The Divided Politics of Edwin C. Johnson, 1923 - 1954 (Greeley, Co.: University of Northern Colorado, Unpublished Masters Thesis, 1996)
• McCarty, Patrick Fargo Big Ed Johnson: A Political Portrait (Boulder, Co.: University of Colorado, Unpublished Master’s Thesis, 1958)

Political offices
Preceded by George Milton Corlett	Lieutenant Governor of Colorado 1931–1933	Succeeded by Ray Herbert Talbot
Preceded by William Herbert Adams	Governor of Colorado 1933–1937	Succeeded by Ray Herbert Talbot
Preceded by Dan Thornton	Governor of Colorado 1955–1957	Succeeded by Stephen L.R. McNichols
United States Senate
Preceded by Edward P. Costigan	United States Senator (Class 2) from Colorado 1937–1955 Served alongside: Alva B. Adams, Eugene D. Millikin	Succeeded by Gordon L. Allott