Background
Martin Elmer Johnson was born on October 9, 1884, in Rockford, Illinois.
Martin Elmer Johnson was born on October 9, 1884, in Rockford, Illinois.
Martin Johnson went to school in Lincoln. School for youngsters in Lincoln was a dreary affair of repetitious drills and recitations augmented by strong discipline. However effective such pedagogy may have been for herd teaching, it quickly smothered all enthusiasm for learning in a child like Martin. It was inevitable that his individuality would collide with routine and discipline both at school and at home. Martin dealt with these conflicts by becoming a chronic truant from school and runaway from home.
Having left home at the age of fourteen, he worked his way to Europe on a cattle boat, but returned as a stowaway. He then joined the crew of Jack London 's round-the-world cruise on the Snark, and was the only member of the party to complete the trip. His interest in photographing wildlife and native tribes seen on this voyage led him to make several trips for this purpose to the South Sea Islands and Borneo before undertaking (1921) the African expeditions for which he is best known. His wife, Osa Helen (Leighty) Johnson, accompanied him on all his expeditions and was coauthor of Cannibal Land (1917), Camera Trails in Africa (1924), Safari (1928), and Lion (1929). Martin Johnson's films also include Simba, Congorilla, and Baboona, as well as the film of vanishing wildlife in Africa that was made (1924–1929) for the American Museum of Natural History. Martin Elmer Johnson died in the crash of a Western Air Express flight near Newhall, California, on January 12, 1937.
Martin Johnson was a member of the Adventurers' Club of New York.
Martin Elmer Johnson dated with Osa Helen Leighty for three weeks and got married on a whim on May 15, 1910. They did not have children.
