Howard D. Johnson photograph collection
Collection
Identifier: P0499
Scope and Contents
The Howard D. Johnson photograph collection consists of 26 color and black and white prints. Folder 1 contains family portraits of Johnson, his wife, and his five children. Folder 2 contains photographs taken during at atomic bomb test in 1952, and photographs of early radio equipment are found in Folder 3. A small manuscript collection containing newsletters, clippings, radio publications, and miscellaneous biographical materials is listed as ACCN 1035.
Dates
- 1924-1984
Conditions Governing Access
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
Conditions Governing Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Biographical Sketch
Howard D. Johnson was a pioneer in Utah radio broadcasting and engineering. He was born in Richfield, Utah, on September 4, 1910, and attended schools "all over Utah" before graduating from Utah State University in 1936. His fascination with radio grew before then, however; he built his first receiver in 1921, and obtained his first-class radio license in 1933, the day after his marriage to Lucile Miner on August 23, 1933. His first employment was with the U.S. Weather Bureau as a meteorologist, a position he held until the end of World War II. In 1945, his first radio station, KNAK, began broadcasting from a transmitter in his mother's basement in Salt Lake City. Because it was wartime and he had no priorities for supplies or personnel, he was forced to build most of the equipment by hand, and could hire only disabled veterans. He also had to erect his own transmitting tower, again by hand. From then until the end of his life, he was involved in radio. His next venture was KJAM, later changed to KVEL, in Vernal, Utah, which went on the air in 1947. After that he had a hand in starting and running more than thirty radio stations in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and Nevada, including KSUB in Cedar City, Utah, where he also served as chairman of the Southern Utah Broadcasting Co.; KRAL in Laramie, Wyoming; KRAI in Craig, Colorado; and many others. In 1952, he became an electronics engineer for the University of Utah, and worked with various departments at the University until 1970. His tenure there included administration of U.S. Army contracts and radiological and ecological research, during which he monitored atomic bomb tests to see what effects the explosions would have on radio transmission. Johnson was elected to the Utah Broadcasters Hall of Fame in January 1982, was a member of the Broadcast Pioneers, and was Vice-Chairman of the Emergency Broadcasting Service for the state of Utah. He also was a senior engineer for the Society of Broadcast Engineers, based in Washington, D.C. Howard D. Johnson died at his home in Salt Lake City on August 5, 1989, at the age of seventy-eight.
Extent
26 Photographic Prints
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Howard D. Johnson photograph collection contains images taken during an atomic bomb test in 1952, and photographs of early radio equipment. Also included in the collection are family photographs. Johnson was a pioneer in Utah radio broadcasting and engineering.
Arrangement
Collection is arranged topically.
Processing Information
Processed by Roy Webb in 2003.
- Title
- Guide to the Howard D. Johnson photograph collection
- Author
- Finding aid created by Roy Webb.
- Date
- 2003 (last modified: 2018)
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- 2022: Finding aid revised and re-encoded by Sara Davis
Repository Details
Part of the J. Willard Marriott Library Special Collections Repository
Contact:
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City Utah 84112 United States
801-581-8863
special@library.utah.edu