Johnson, Martin Elmer, 1884-1937

Martin E. Johnson was an explorer, expert photographer and filmmaker. Johnson went on his first expedition to the South Pacific, then returned with his wife for a second expedition. On joining the Explorers Club in 1921, Johnson met Carl Akeley and the two began forming the Martin Johnson Expedition Corporation. The idea was to use Johnson's popular films as a way to raise money for the Akeley African Hall at the American Museum of Natural History. The Johnsons went on five expeditions to Africa; during the second expedition (1924-1928), they made their most famous film, Simba, king of beasts, released in 1928. Along with the AMNH Martin Johnson Expediton Corp., the film was financed by Talking Picture Epics and other corporations.