Dorothy E. Johnson was born in Savannah, Georgia on August 21, 1919. She attended Armstrong Junior College, Savannah, GA from 1936-1938. In 1942 Johnson graduated from Vanderbilt University with a BSN. At Vanderbilt she was the outstanding student in her class and received the Founder's Medal. After graduation she joined the faculty of the Nursing School at Vanderbilt. In 1948 she received the MA/MPH from Harvard University. From Harvard she went to UCLA and remained there for the rest of her career. Dorothy Johnson published widely during her career in academic nursing. She was considered one of the outstanding nurse theorists of the 20th century.