Founder Profile
James Wood Johnson
Last reviewed: November 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is James Wood Johnson?
James Wood Johnson is a founder of Johnson & Johnson, which was founded in 1886 with Robert Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson.
- Company founded
- Johnson & Johnson
- Founded
- 1886
- Co-founders
- Robert Wood Johnson and Edward Mead Johnson
Background
Apprenticed at a New York apothecary before joining his brother's medical plaster business.
Founding Story
James Wood Johnson (1856-1932) co-founded J&J with his brothers in 1886. An engineer by trade, he designed the early manufacturing machinery that allowed the company to mass-produce sterile surgical dressings. After his brother Robert's death in 1910, James took over as president, guiding the company through its expansion during World War I until 1932.
Johnson was born on March 17, 1856. He died in September 1932 aboard RMS Majestic in the mid-Atlantic while returning to the United States from a holiday in Britain. James Wood Johnson was born in 1856.