Born near Preston, Missouri, on September 8, 1893, Elmer Harrison Johnson went on to earn a B.S. from Southwest Missouri State College in 1917. After working in military intelligence during World War I, he studied with noted mineral resources expert C.K. Leith at the University of Wisconsin, where Johnson earned a Ph.M. in 1921. He continued his education at a variety of institutions, including the University of Chicago, Clark University, the University of Missouri, and Harvard University. In 1925 Johnson moved to College Station, Texas, to become a geography instructor at Texas A&M University, but in 1927 he moved to the University of Texas at Austin to become an industrial geographer and economist with the Bureau of Business Research. He devoted his life to the study of Texas natural resources and was a staunch supporter of industrial development in the state. He died on June 15, 1947, and is buried in Austin.
From the guide to the A Guide to the Elmer Harrison Johnson Papers, 1906-1950., (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)
From the description of Johnson, Elmer Harrison, papers, 1906-1950. (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 70813100
