Johnson, Frank E. Papers

Deputy Administrator of the Defense Minerals Administration and the Defense Minerals Exploration Administration, 1950-1958

The Frank E. Johnson Papers document his service as a government mining engineer and as Deputy Administrator of the Defense Minerals Administration and its successor agency the Defense Minerals Exploration Administration. The papers consist of one series, a Subject File, arranged alphabetically. Included in the collection are memoranda, reports, printed material, handwritten notes, and other items relating to domestic mineral production. These documents were collected by Johnson during his government career.

[Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List]

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: Less than one-half of one linear foot (approximately 800 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: Copyright in the unpublished writings of Frank E. Johnson in these papers, and in other collections of papers at the Truman Library, has been donated to the United States of America. In addition, documents prepared by U. S. government employees in the course of their official duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in documents that do not fall into these two categories presumably remains with the authors of the documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Erwin J. Mueller (1974).
Updated by: Hayley Trapp (2003) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program.
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and Amy Williams.

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1899 (March 12)		Born, Denver, Colorado
1922		E.M., Colorado School of Mines
1922-1934		Assayer, Chemist, Engineer and Superintendent with various mines in Colorado, Nevada, and Arizona
1935-1936		Investigation and Engineering work, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Colorado
1936-1950		Supervising Engineer, Engineer Examiner, Mining Engineer, Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Washington D.C
1950-1951		Deputy Administrator, Defense Minerals Administration
1951-1958		Deputy Administrator, Defense Minerals Exploration Administration
1958-1961		Acting Director, Office of Minerals Exploration
1961-1965		Deputy Director, Office of Minerals Exploration
1989 (December)		Died, Denver, Colorado

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The Frank E. Johnson Papers were created during Johnson's years as a government mining engineer and as Deputy Administrator of the Defense Minerals Administration and its successor agency, the Defense Minerals Exploration Administration. They cover the period from 1931 to 1960, but mostly date from 1939 to 1957. The collection contains some biographical information about Johnson, but mostly documents the purchase and production of strategic minerals and the efforts of the federal government to encourage further exploration and production of these minerals in the United States. The papers are organized into a single series, a Subject File.

The Subject File contains various documents, including memoranda, charts, personnel lists, reports, regulations, buying schedules, press releases, and handwritten notes. The collection also contains many printed materials relating to such topics as mining, strategic minerals, and the radiological effects of nuclear weapons.

As a deputy administrator from 1950 to 1958, Johnson helped prepare and execute many domestic mineral plans, such as the 1951 Domestic Tungsten Program.

The collection's mineral reports reflect the importance of such programs. One report, dated December 31, 1945, highlights the importance of United States involvement in tin production. At the time, the United States had no tin mines of importance, though it was the consumer of half the world's tin. The country was therefore dependent on imports. One way to lessen this dependence and assure supplies of desired tin was to become involved the tin refining process.

The Johnson Papers contain a detailed collection of tables on mineral pricing, purchasing and standard specifications. Examples include a chart of uranium ore base prices, development allowances, premiums and initial costs. These charts and tables are dispersed throughout the collection and reflect the trends in mineral pricing.

Related materials at the Truman Library are in Official File No. 6FF, White House Central Files, Harry S. Truman Papers; in the James Boyd Papers; and in the Records of the President's Materials Policy Commission (Record Group 220).

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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