author
Allen Johnson
1870–1931
A historian and editor with a gift for making the American past readable, he helped shape how early 20th-century readers encountered U.S. history. He is especially remembered for his work on the Dictionary of American Biography and the Chronicles of America series.
3 Audiobooks
Jefferson and His Colleagues: A Chronicle of the Virginia Dynasty
by Allen Johnson
Stephen A. Douglas: A Study in American Politics
by Allen Johnson
Union and Democracy
by Allen Johnson
About the author
Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1870, Allen Johnson became an American historian, teacher, biographer, and editor whose career moved through Grinnell College, Bowdoin College, and later Yale University. His work combined academic scholarship with a style meant to reach general readers as well as students.
He wrote and edited widely on American history, including books such as Stephen A. Douglas: A Study in American Politics and Jefferson and His Colleagues. He also played a major role in large reference and history projects, most notably as editor of the Dictionary of American Biography and of Yale University Press's Chronicles of America series.
Johnson died in 1931, but his books remain part of the public-domain historical tradition and are still read today through reprints and digital libraries. For listeners interested in older works of American history and biography, he offers a clear window into how an influential early 20th-century historian interpreted the nation's past.