David Johnson, M. D., a prominent medical specialist whose home and laboratories are at Salina, returned to Kansas a few years ago after many years spent in practice in the New England states, most of the time at Boston. He returned to Kansas because many years ago, on first coming to America, he had located in this then new state, and it was those early impressions and experiences with Kansas life and people that caused him to locate here for a permanent home in his decliaing years.
Doctor Johnson was born in Sweden on May 4, 1848. He was liberally educated, graduating from the noted Upsala University at Upsala in the medical course. He was twenty-one years of age when he arrived in America in May, 1869, and his first location was at Paola, Kansas, where he took out his papers to become a naturalized American. After practicing for three years at Paola, Doctor Johnson practiced one year at Kansas City, Missouri, and then removed to Worcester, Massachusetts, where he was in the active work of his profession for nine years. After that he practiced at Boston until 1909, and during all these years had been a close student and had carried on some investigations with zemarkable results as to the cause of various incurable or so-called incurable diseases. During his long residence in Boston and after much experimentation in his private laboratory he discovered a cure for leprosy, disbetes and Bright’s disease. He had also produced specifics for various other ailments to which the human flesh is heir, and all these are now registered in the patent office at Washington.
As a specialist Doctor Johnson had successfully treated paralysis, lockjaw, spinal meningitis, rheumatism, a number of chronic stomach complaints and various diseases of the internal organs and of the skin. He is the inventor of a number of remedies to be specifically applied in the treatment of these ills, and testimonials might be adduced by the score to show the efficiency of his medicines.
From Boston Doctor Johnson removed to Chicago, where he practiced two years, and was then located again in Kansas City, Missouri, until 1913. In that year he came back to Kansas, his first love, and established a laboratory for the manufacture of his remedies at Salina. His medicines are now being introduced to the world from Kansas as the distributing point. From his laboratory on South Santa Fe Avenue in Salina shipments of medicines have been made to the West Indies and to many foreign countries, and the business which he had founded under the name Salina Medical Company bids fair to become one of the important institutions of that city.
On March 20, 1879, at Worcester, Massachusetts, Doctor Johnson married Adelaide Butterick, a native of Massachnsetts. Mrs. Johnson died childless August 4, 1884. The only relative of Doctor Johnson now living in America is James Land, a nephew, whose home is at Chambers, Massachusetts.