Warren S. Johnson

Warren Seymour Johnson - Portrait courtesy of Johnson Controls corporate archives

Warren Seymour Johnson (November 6, 1847 – December 5, 1911) was an American college professor who was frustrated by his inability to regulate individual classroom temperatures. His multi-zone pneumatic control system solved the problem. Johnson’s system for temperature regulation was adopted worldwide for office buildings, schools, hospitals, and hotels – essentially any large building with multiple rooms that required temperature regulation. To manufacture and market his system, Johnson established the Johnson Electric Service Company which eventually became Johnson Controls.