President of Fuller & Johnson Co., manufacturers of farm machinery (1882-1901)
In 1889 established the Gisholt Machine Co. named for one of his boyhood homes in Norway. He was president of this firm
from 1889 until his death.
Johnson introduced profit-sharing programs early in his business career.
Noted for his philanthropic interests, he provided employee reading rooms at his plants,
established a scholarship fund for Scandinavian students at the Univ. of Wisconsin (1875),
and established
Gisholt Home for the Aged in Dane County.
