Johnson, Russell F.

Russell F. Johnson's father, Frank Johnson, was born in Paris, Michigan in 1871 and attended local public schools and Michigan State College (now Michigan State University). After earning a degree in mechanical engineering in 1895, Frank Johnson worked as a tool designer and engineer with the Leland and Faulconer Company. Leland and Faulconer Company was a noted machine and tool shop started by Henry M. Leland in 1890 that supplied engines, transmissions, and steering gear to Henry Ford Company and later the Cadillac Motor Company. Leland and his son Wilfred C. Leland assumed control of Cadillac in 1902 and merged the companies. Johnson was instrumental in key phases of early engine design at Cadillac. He left Cadillac in 1917 when the Lelands started Lincoln Motor Company, returned to Cadillac in 1921, and finally returned to Lincoln in 1925 after Henry Ford purchased the assets of the company at a receivership auction. As chief engineer at Lincoln, Johnson was instrumental in developing the 1927 Lincoln V-8 engine, the first V-12 production engine for the Lincoln, and the redesinged V-12 engine for the landmark 1937 Lincoln-Zephyr.