Johnson, Albert Bushnell

Albert Bushnell Johnson (1869-1941), professor of romance languages and literature, was born in Fairton, New Jersey, on January 20, 1869. He graduated from Brown in 1891 and received his master’s degree in 1892. From 1892 to 1898 he was instructor in French and Spanish. He was named assistant professor in 1899 and associate professor in 1903. He studied Spanish and Portuguese in South America in 1924, and had thought of offering courses in business Portuguese. He spent his entire teaching career at Brown, retiring in 1934. He died on February 21, 1941 in Sarasota, Florida. The memorial minute read at a meeting of the faculty described him:

“If it be true that students remember with the greatest respect the teachers who work them hardest, Professor Johnson’s memory will be green among Brown alumni for at least another generation. But his former students remember him with affection as well as respect, for his quick temper was paired with a quick wit and a kindly humor that took the sting from many a well directed and well deserved sarcasm. His innate friendliness toward his students they repaid with the nickname ‘Able Bodied,’ and this was not altogether beside the point, for between golf and gardening he was essentially an outdoor man in his avocations. One recalls his bronzed face and the laugh wrinkles at the corners of his smiling brown eyes; indeed, one remembers him as always smiling.”