Career
He was the first to bicycle 1-mile in less than two minutes, or 1:56.6. This happened in 1892 at a racing track in Independence, Iowa. Later in his career, Johnson rode for racing teams sponsored by the bicycle manufacturers East.C. Stearns Bicycle Agency of Syracuse, New York, and Schwinn Bicycle Company of Chicago.
He was living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was of Swedish ancestry.
He retired from competitive cycling in 1900. He died in 1934.