Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

York, where he held high honors, the
recipient of the Valentine Mott Gold
Medal awarded for the highest excellence
in anatomy and dissections. He subse-
quently went abroad and engaged in ex-
tensive medical study under the precep-
torship of such celebrated surgeons as
Thomas Keith, of Edinburgh ;
Sir Joseph
Lister, of London, and Billroth, of
Vienna. He also received instruction in
the science of gynecology from Martin
in Berlin, and operative surgery from Von
Legenbeck of the same city.
Returning to America, Dr. Johnson
took up his permanent residence in Hartford,
Connecticut, in 1879, and was on
the Hartford Hospital staff for one year.
In 1880 he opened an office on Pearl
street, where the Dime Savings Bank is
now located. He engaged in the prac-
tice of his profession, specializing in sur-
gical operations. In this special line of
work he possessed perfect mastery and
his quality of coolness combined with his
extreme care were important factors in
his success as one of the foremost sur-
geons of his day. He was the instigator
and founder of the first Free Dispensary
in the city of Hartford. This was started
some time about 1884, and at the beginning
Dr. Johnson furnished free treatment
and supplied the medicine at his
own expense to the poor of the city who
came to his dispensary. He sought the
aid and cooperation of the worthy of the
city, but those who seem to always take
an active part in other welfare movements
seemed very reluctant about help-
ing the good cause of Dr. Johnson. He,
therefore, had a hard struggle to firmly
establish his dispensary, and for some
time it was necessary to bear the total
expense of its upkeep personally. At
length it was established in the basement
of the North Baptist Church. A
short time after his return to Hartford
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
265
an epidemic of diphtheria spread through-
out the city, many persons dying of the
dread disease. Dr. Johnson was the pion-
eer in the city in the use of bichloride
of mercury to combat the plague and
attained a remarkable success in its use.
This was indicative of his quick percep-
tion and firmness in the face of profes-
sional opposition. Dr. Johnson was also
the pioneer in the study and practice of
Ex-Ray in the city, and owned the first
ex-ray machine. He invented a machine
for electrical massage and was one of the
first to use such a method.
The training received by Dr. Johnson
under the supervision of Sir Joseph Lis-
ter was such that he fully realized the
inability of conducting operations from
house to house with the best results for
the general good of the patient. About
1890 he established the first private sanitorium
in the city of Hartford for surgi-
cal work located on Asylum avenue.
Later he removed to Wethersfield and
occupied the residence of F. S. Brown,
the same being "Waternook Sanitorium."
He remained there until 1898, and in the
latter year erected on Woodland street,
Hartford, one of the most splendid insti-
tutions in every way to be found in the
East, known as the "Woodland Sanitorium."
The dominant note throughout
was the extreme cleanliness, and the operating
room contained every facility and
necessary article needed in the perform-
ing of a successful operation. This prop-
erty was subsequently sold to the St.
Francis Hospital Corporation in 1910, and
fitted up as a maternity hospital.
Among a few of the more important
and unusual operations performed by Dr.
Johnson was a case of a nineteen-day-old
infant which was performed for strangulated
inguina hernia, a condition which had
existed for about thirty-five hours previous
to the operation. An excellent recovery