JOHNSON, CUTHBERT WILLIAM (1799–1878), agricultural writer, born at Bromley, Kent, on 21 Sept. 1799, was the eldest surviving son of William Johnson of Liverpool, and of Widmore House, Bromley, Kent. George William Johnson [q. v.] was his brother, and they were for some time employed together in their father's salt-works at Heybridge in Essex. With his brother he was admitted a member of Gray's Inn on 6 Jan. 1832, and called to the bar on 8 June 1836. He had chambers at 14 Gray's Inn Square, went the western circuit, and attended the Winchester and Hampshire sessions. Johnson was widely known as an authority on agricultural matters, and took part in the agitation which led to the passing of the Public Health Acts in 1848, and was for many years chairman of the Croydon local board of health. He was elected F.R.S. on 10 March 1842. He died at his house, Waldronhurst, Croydon, on 8 March 1878.
Apart from the works in which he co-operated with his brother [for which see under Johnson, George William], his most important books, all published in London, were:
- ‘The Use of Crushed Bones as Manure,’ 1836, 8vo; 3rd edit. the same year.
- ‘The Life of Sir Edward Coke,’ 2 vols. 1837, 8vo.
- ‘The Advantages of Railways to Agriculture,’ to which was added ‘Observations on the General Importance of Railways,’ by his brother, George William Johnson, 1837, 8vo; 2nd edit. the same year.
- ‘The Law of Bills of Exchange, Promissory Notes, Checks,’ &c., 2nd edit. 1839, 12mo.
- ‘On Fertilisers,’ 1839, 8vo; 3rd edit. 1851.
- ‘The Farmers' Encyclopædia and Dictionary of Rural Affairs,’ 1842, 8vo; Johnson's best work, highly commended by Donaldson, and edited for American use by Gouverneur Emerson.
- ‘Agricultural Chemistry for Young Farmers,’ 1843, 12mo.
- ‘The Farmer's Medical Dictionary for the Diseases of Animals,’ 1845, 12mo.
- ‘The Acts for Promoting the Public Health,’ 1848–51, 1852, 8vo.
With Edward Cresy he wrote ‘On the Cottages of Agricultural Labourers,’ 1847, 8vo. From 1840 he conducted with W. Shaw ‘The Farmer's Almanac and Calendar;’ from 1843 he was associated with other writers in bringing out ‘The Annual Register of Agricultural Instruction.’ He translated in 1844 Thaër's ‘Principles of Agriculture’ from the German.
[Royal Society's List; Field, 16 March 1878; Surrey Guardian, 16 March 1878; Foster's Reg. of Gray's Inn, p. 444; Donaldson's Agricultural Biog. pp. 127–8 (with list of works published before 1854); Men of the Time, 8th edit.]
JOHNSON, DANIEL (1767–1835), writer on Indian field-sports, was appointed assistant surgeon in the Bengal medical service on 22 Jan. 1789. He was promoted to surgeon on 11 March 1805, and retired from the service in 1809. He settled at Great Torrington, Devonshire, and in 1822 printed, with the aid of a daughter of the local bookseller, ‘not more than eight and a half years old,’ his ‘Sketches of Indian Field-Sports.’ The book was dedicated to the court of directors of the Hon. East India Company. In 1827 he issued a second edition, to which he added a chapter on ‘Hunting the Wild Boar.’ The book is worthless from a modern point of view. In 1823 he published, also at Great Torrington, ‘Observations on Colds, Fevers, and other Disorders,’ a sensible book, accompanied by prescriptions. Johnson died at Torrington on 12 Sept. 1835, aged 68.
[India Office Records; Gent. Mag. 1835, pt. ii. p. 556; Dodwell and Miles's Alphabetical List of Medical Officers of the Hon. East India Company's Service.]
JOHNSON, EDWARD (fl. 1601), musical composer, of Caius College, Cambridge, was admitted Mus.Bac. 1594. He composed the madrigal, ‘Come, blessed bird,’ in Morley's ‘Triumphs of Oriana,’ 1601, and some psalm-tunes in Este's ‘Whole Book of Psalms,’ 1592. A madrigal, ‘Ah! silly John,’ with its second part, ‘That I love her,’ is in a manuscript collection of madrigals in the Royal College of Music Library. In a manuscript book, British Museum Addit. MS. 30484, is a madrigal, ‘Eliza is ye fayrest quene,’ with a note appended: ‘Mr. E. Johnson, chaplain to Queen Ann Boleyn.’ Apparently Johnson was not a priest, and the memorandum probably refers to Robert Johnson (fl. 1550) [q. v.]
[Grove's Dict. of Music, i. 36; Cooper's Athenæ Cantabr. ii. 304; Sacred Harmonic Society's Cat. of Music, p. 221.]
JOHNSON, EDWARD (1599?–1672), historian of New England, born at Herne Hill, Kent, about 1599, was by trade a joiner. He went to America in 1630, probably in the fleet of Governor Winthrop, for on 19 Oct. of that year he was among the petitioners for admission as freemen of Massachusetts (Savage, Genealog. Dict. ii. 550–1). After living some time at Charlestown, or Salem, he returned home in 1636 or 1637 to bring over his family (Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. 3rd ser. viii. 276), and again settled at Charlestown. When in 1642 it was determined to erect a new town and church, now called Woburn, Johnson became one of the committee of organisation.
