Early Life
Johnson was born in Manchester, the third son of Charles Johnson, a wire manufacturer, and his wife Rosa, daughter of the Reverend Alfred Hewlett. He graduated from Owens College, Manchester in 1894 with the geological prize but later attended Wadham College, Oxford and was ordained in 1904. An avowed Christian Marxist, Johnson was brought under surveillance by MI5 as early as 1917, when he spoke in Manchester in support of the October Revolution. His political views were unpopular but his hard work and pastoral skills led to him being appointed Dean of Manchester by Ramsay MacDonald in 1924. He was appointed Dean of Canterbury in 1931.
Read more about this topic: Hewlett Johnson
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