Quick Facts
Biography
R. W. Johnson (born 1943) is a British journalist, political scientist, and historian who lives in South Africa. Born in England, he was educated at Natal University and Oxford University, as a Rhodes Scholar. He was a fellow in politics at Magdalen College, Oxford, for twenty-six years; he remains an emeritus fellow. His 2015 book Look Back in Laughter: Oxford's Postwar Golden Age is a memoir of his years at Magdalen, including his work with college president Keith Griffin to rescue the College's finances and buildings. In reviewing his memoirs, The Economist described Johnson as a "romantic contrarian liberal".
On his return to South Africa in 1995, he became director of the Helen Suzman Foundation in Johannesburg until 2001.
He is currently a South Africa correspondent for the London Sunday Times and also writes for the London Review of Books His articles for the LRB generally cover South African and, to a lesser extent, Zimbabwean affairs.
In early March 2009, Johnson injured his left foot while swimming, it became infected with necrotizing fasciitis and his leg was amputated above the knee.
