# John Albert Johnson *Sixteenth governor of Minnesota (1905–1909), a Democrat* John Albert Johnson (July 28, 1861 – September 21, 1909) was a [[Minnesota]] politician. He sat in the Minnesota State Senate and then served as the 16th [[Governor of Minnesota]] from January 4, 1905, until he died in office on September 21, 1909. He held office as a member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)]].[^1] He was the first native of the state to become its governor. His election made him only the second governor in 45 years, and the third since statehood, who was not a Republican. He was the first governor to complete a full term in the present capitol building and the first to die while serving. In 1908 he sought his party's presidential nomination, which went to William Jennings Bryan.[^1] ## Biography Johnson was born on July 28, 1861, on a farm near St. Peter, Minnesota. He was the oldest child of Gustaf and Caroline Johnson. When Gustaf left the family, the 13-year-old John quit school to support his mother and siblings and took work in a drugstore in the town. He then spent seven years in the Minnesota National Guard and rose to captain.[^2] Democrats in St. Peter recruited him to their party and offered him the editorship of the *St. Peter Herald*, a strongly Democratic paper. Typhoid fever left him seriously ill before he could begin, but he recovered. His work as editor brought him attention across the state.[^2] On June 1, 1894, he wed Elinor M. Preston in St. Peter's Union Presbyterian Church.[^2] His first bids for state office were unsuccessful, made from a home county that voted heavily Republican. He won a state senate seat in 1898. The same Wikipedia article gives his Senate service as January 1897 to January 1901, a span that does not match the 1898 election date it also reports, and the record here carries no primary legislative source to settle the dates.[^1][^2] He turned down a run for governor in 1902 but took the nomination in 1904, and he later described it as "unsought and undesired."[^2] ## Governor Legislation of a progressive character was enacted during his tenure. In his 1904 inauguration speech he proposed lengthening the two-year term to four years and increasing funding for roads and for rural schools, among other measures.[^3] Wikipedia attributes several reform laws to his work with legislators of both parties. These laws reorganized the state insurance department in policyholders' favor, cut railroad passenger and freight rates, and lifted constitutional restrictions on the legislature's power to tax. Voters returned him to office in 1906 and 1908.[^3] Minnesota kept the death penalty throughout his administration; it was abolished under his successor, [[Adolph Olson Eberhart]]. Johnson personally opposed capital punishment, and every death sentence imposed while he was governor was commuted. He stated that he would resign rather than permit an execution during his administration.[^3] By the start of his third term he had undergone more than four operations for intestinal trouble. He entered the Mayo Clinic again on September 13, 1909. He died suddenly at 48 of complications after surgery, among them an infection.[^3] ## Legacy Johnson was the first of three Minnesota governors to die while in office. [[Winfield Scott Hammond]] died after a stroke in 1915, and [[Floyd B. Olson]], the most recent, died of cancer in 1936.[^4] Statues of Johnson stand on the steps of the [[Minnesota State Capitol]] and on the grounds of the Nicollet County Courthouse. Johnson Senior High School in St. Paul is named for him, as is the stretch of U.S. Route 169 between Saint Peter and the Twin Cities. The John A. Johnson School in Virginia, Minnesota, was built in 1907.[^4] ## In the Minnesota record ### When - July 28, 1861: born near St. Peter.[^2] - 1898: elected to the state senate.[^2] - January 4, 1905: took office as the 16th governor.[^1] - 1906 and 1908: reelected.[^3] - September 13, 1909: entered the Mayo Clinic; September 21, 1909: died in office.[^1][^3] ### Where - St. Peter, Minnesota: birthplace, newspaper editorship, and 1894 marriage.[^2] - Memorials: the Minnesota State Capitol steps, the Nicollet County Courthouse grounds, St. Paul, U.S. Route 169, and Virginia, Minnesota.[^4] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *John Albert Johnson* (revision 1365102556, retrieved 2026-10-25) — lead section: dates of birth and death, Senate and gubernatorial terms, party, firsts in office, and the 1908 nomination bid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Albert_Johnson [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *John Albert Johnson*, "Biography" section (revision 1365102556, retrieved 2026-10-25) — birth, family, early work, National Guard service, newspaper editorship, marriage, 1898 senate election, and the 1902/1904 nominations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Albert_Johnson [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *John Albert Johnson*, "Governor" section (revision 1365102556, retrieved 2026-10-25) — inaugural proposals, reform legislation, reelections, commutations, and final illness and death. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Albert_Johnson [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *John Albert Johnson*, "Legacy" section (revision 1365102556, retrieved 2026-10-25) — governors who died in office, statues, and namesakes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Albert_Johnson