Name R. Johnson Role Journalist | Movies Shootdown | |
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Education University of Oxford, University of Natal People also search for Michael Pressman, Paul Eric Myers, Judy Merl Books How Long Will South Africa Sur, South Africa's brave ne, South Africa: the first man, The long march of the Frenc, Shootdown | ||
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.