John Anders Johnson was born in Telemark, Norway, on April 15, 1832, and emigrated with his family to the United States in 1844, later settling near Koshkonong, Wisconsin. After the deaths of his first wife, Karen Thompson, and their daughter in 1860, he remarried Kaia Nicoline Kildahl in 1861 and had six children. Johnson became a prominent Norwegian-American businessman, founding companies such as Fuller & Johnson Manufacturing Company, Gisholt Machine Company, and Hekla Fire Insurance Company, and serving as president of the National Association of Implement and Vehicle Manufacturers in 1896. He was also active in politics and public life, serving in the Wisconsin legislature and as county clerk, writing on major social and political issues, helping found the Chicago newspaper Amerika, and supporting institutions like the University of Wisconsin.
