Virginia E. Johnson
Virginia E. Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mary Virginia Eshelman February 11, 1925 Springfield, Missouri, United States |
| Died | July 24, 2013 (aged 88) St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
| Other names | Virginia Gibson |
| Education | Drury College University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory of Music Washington University in St. Louis |
| Occupation | Sexologist |
| Known for | Masters and Johnson human sexuality research team |
| Spouse(s) | Two brief early marriages, followed by George Johnson
(m. 1950; div. 1956) |
| Children | 2 |
Virginia E. Johnson (born Mary Virginia Eshelman; February 11, 1925 – July 24, 2013) was an American sexologist and a member of the Masters and Johnson sexuality research team.[1] Along with her partner, William H. Masters, she pioneered research into the nature of human sexual response and the diagnosis and treatment of sexual dysfunctions and disorders from 1957 until the 1990s.
Early life
Virginia Johnson was born Mary Virginia Eshelman in Springfield, Missouri,[2] the daughter of Edna (née Evans) and Hershel "Harry" Eshelman, a farmer.[3][4] Her paternal grandparents were members of the LDS Church, and her father had Hessian ancestry.[4] When she was five, her family moved to Palo Alto, California, where her father worked as a groundskeeper for a hospital. The family later returned to Missouri and farming.[3] Virginia enrolled at her hometown's Drury College at age 16, but dropped out and spent four years working in the Missouri state insurance office.[3] She eventually returned to school, studying at the University of Missouri and the Kansas City Conservatory of Music, and during World War II began a music career as a band singer.[3] She sang country music for radio station KWTO in Springfield, where she adopted the stage name Virginia Gibson.[2] Johnson moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where she became a business writer for the St. Louis Daily Record.[3] Eschewing a singing career, Johnson enrolled at Washington University in St. Louis, intending to earn a degree in sociology[3] but never attaining one.[5]
Sexological works
Personal life
By her early 20s,[3] Johnson had married a Missouri politician; the marriage lasted two days.[2] She then married a much older attorney, whom she also divorced.[2] In 1950, Johnson married bandleader George Johnson, with whom she had a boy and a girl, before divorcing in 1956.[2][3] In 1971, Johnson married William Masters after he divorced his first wife. They were divorced in 1993, though they continued to collaborate professionally.[3] Johnson died in July 2013 "of complications from several illnesses".[6][7]
In popular culture
The American cable network Showtime debuted Masters of Sex, a dramatic television series loosely based on the 2009 biography of the same name, on September 29, 2013. The series stars Lizzy Caplan as Johnson.
References
- ↑ Masters, William H.; Johnson, Virginia E. (1970-04-27). "Craftsmen of Sexuality". The New York Times.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Fox, Margalit (July 25, 2013). "Virginia Johnson, Widely Published Collaborator in Sex Research, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Hayman, Suzie (July 28, 2013). "Virginia Johnson Obituary". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Maier, Thomas (2010). Masters of Sex: The Life and Times of William Masters and Virginia Johnson, the Couple Who Taught America How to Love. ReadHowYouWant. pp. 7, 8, 650. ISBN 978-1458767516.
- ↑ "Virginia Johnson". Missouri Women. 14 February 2012.
- ↑ "Virginia Johnson, renowned sex researcher, dies". Archived from the original on 2013-07-25. Retrieved 2013-07-25.. Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
- ↑ Sorkin, Michael D. (July 25, 2013). "Virginia Johnson Masters Dies at 88; Famed Researcher Helped Debunk Sexual Myths". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
External links
- Nemy, Enid (March 24, 1994). "An Afternoon with: Masters and Johnson; Divorced, Yes, But Not Split". The New York Times.
- American women social scientists
- American sexologists
- 20th-century American educators
- 20th-century American women scientists
- American sex educators
- 21st-century American non-fiction writers
- 21st-century American women writers
- 20th-century American non-fiction writers
- 20th-century American women writers
- American relationships and sexuality writers
- Writers from Springfield, Missouri
- Writers from St. Louis
- Drury University alumni
- University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni
- Washington University in St. Louis alumni
- Washington University in St. Louis faculty
- American founders
- American women founders
- American people of German descent
- 1925 births
- 2013 deaths
- American women non-fiction writers