Howard Hille Johnson | |
|---|---|
 Photographic portrait, published 1905 | |
| Born | February 19, 1846 |
| Died | February 8, 1913 (aged 66) Romney, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Indian Mound Cemetery, Romney, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Education | Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind New Market Polytechnic Institute |
| Occupations |
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| Employer | West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind |
| Known for | Founding the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind |
| Spouses |
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| Children | Leila B. Johnson William T. Johnson H. Guy Johnson George N. Johnson Lucy N. Johnson |
| Parent | Jacob F. Johnson (father) |
| Relatives | James Johnson (grandfather) James Johnson (brother) |
Howard Hille Johnson (February 19, 1846 – February 8, 1913) was a blind American educator and writer in the states of Virginia and West Virginia. Johnson was instrumental in the establishment of the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind in 1870, after which he taught blind students at the institution's School for the Blind for 43 years.
Johnson was born in 1846 near Franklin in Pendleton County, Virginia (now West Virginia) to the affluent and prominent Johnson family. His father, Colonel Jacob F. Johnson, represented Pendleton County in the West Virginia Legislature and his grandfather, James Johnson, represented the county in the Virginia General Assembly. Like his elder brother James, Johnson was born with severe visual impairment which became total blindness a few years after his birth. He and his brother received their early education at home from a governess. Johnson furthered his education at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, a common school in Franklin during the American Civil War, and at a classical school in New Market. During his studies at New Market, Johnson made considerable progress in mathematics, literature, science and foreign languages.
In 1865 he returned to Franklin, where he and his brother conducted a private classical school. Johnson undertook advanced studies at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind for his profession as a teacher from 1866 to 1867. He returned to Franklin, establishing a public school under the free education system, and in 1868 accepted a teaching position at a Moorefield public school.
In early 1869, Johnson identified the need for a school for the blind in the new state of West Virginia; with statehood, deaf and blind West Virginia children attended schools for the deaf and blind in neighboring states (with West Virginia paying their tuition). Johnson began corresponding with West Virginia Governor William E. Stevenson, canvassing across the state to arouse public sentiment in support of a school for the blind. Despite rebukes from prominent West Virginian politicians, Johnson became the leading advocate for a state institution for the blind. He and other educated blind people staged an exhibition in the legislative chamber of the West Virginia House of Delegates, which was praised by the legislators.
The bill establishing the school was presented to the West Virginia House of Delegates for a vote, and before it became state law the words "deaf and dumb" were inserted before "blind" throughout its text. The final version of the bill establishing the West Virginia Institution for the Deaf, Dumb and Blind became state law on March 3, 1870. At the time of the institution's establishment Johnson was only 24 years old, and is credited by West Virginia historians as the founder of the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and Blind. Serving on the school's inaugural Board of Regents, he was later selected as its principal teacher. The school began its first academic session on September 29, 1870. Johnson taught in its blind department continuously for 43 years, until his death in 1913. In addition to his educational work, Johnson wrote prose and poetry and was a member of the Romney Literary Society.