Amandus Johnson (October 27, 1877 – June 30, 1974) was a Swedish- American historian, author and museum director. He is most associated with his epic two volume history The Swedish Settlements on the Delaware 1638-1664, which was also published in Swedish as Den första svenska kolonien i Amerika (1923). [1] [2]
Amandus Johnson was born at Långasjö in Emmaboda Municipality, Kalmar, Sweden. His family emigrated to America and settled in Rice Lake, Minnesota in 1880. Johnson studied at Gustavus Adolphus College and in 1904 took a bachelor's degree. He earned a master's degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He received his doctorate in 1908 from the University of Pennsylvania where he wrote his doctoral dissertation Swedish Settlements on the Delaware, 1638-1664 on the Swedish colony of New Sweden. In 1908, Johnson was one of the cofounders of the Swedish Colonial Society. Amandus Johnson was a senior lecturer in Scandinavian languages at the University of Pennsylvania from 1910 to 1921.
Johnson was the founding curator of the American Swedish Historical Museum and museum director and curator 1921–1943. In 1943, he was named emeritus Curator. Dr. Amandus Johnson served as a governor of the Swedish Colonial Society 1958-1960 . [3] [4] [5][6]
Originally deposited at the Balch Institute, the Amandus Johnson Papers, including correspondence, manuscripts, organizational records and research materials, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. [7]
