Walter Johnson (academic)
Walter Johnson was a political historian of the United States who believed that given political developments in post-Second World War America, there should be no strict separation between academics and politics. He was a political progressive who believed his generation had a special responsibility to democracy.
Education
Johnson began his education at Dartmouth College where he took a B.A. in 1937. He then undertook graduate work at the University of Chicago where he earned an M.A. in 1938 and his Ph.D. in history in 1941.Academic career
Johnson's first academic post was that of instructor of history at the University of Chicago between 1940 and 1943. He then assumed the post of assistant professor at the same university then associate professor and professor of history. From 1963 to 1966, Johnson held an endowned chair: the Preston and Sterling Morton Professor of History. From 1950 to 1961, he also served as the chair of the university's history department. As chair of the history department, Johnson assisted in bringing important figures to the university. These included Hannah Gray who served as president of the university, and prominent historian John Hope Franklin. One of Johnson's graduate students, who went on to become a prominent historian of the United States, was Athan Theoharis.Johnson was the Harold Vyvyan Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford University during the 1957–58 academic year. During 1966–1982, he was a professor of history at the University of Hawaii, Honolulu. During 1982–1985, he was a visiting professor of history at Grand Valley State College in Allendale, Michigan.