born Jan. 19, 1918, Arkansas City, Ark., U.S.
U.S. magazine and book publisher.
He moved to Chicago with his family and became a journalist. He introduced Negro Digest , a periodical for blacks, in 1942. Three years later he launched Ebony , a magazine he modeled on Life ; by 2002 the magazine had a circulation of more than 1.8 million. Through Johnson Publishing Co., he also published black-oriented books and other magazines, and he later moved into radio broadcasting, insurance, and cosmetics manufacturing.