Oscar Johnson (January 6, 1864 – July 28, 1916) was an American businessman. He was the co-founder and president of the International Shoe Company, the largest shoe-manufacturing company in the world by the time of his death.
Johnson first worked as a clerk in a country store.[1]
With his brother Jackson Johnson and his cousins Edgar E. Rand and Frank C. Rand, Johnson co-founded Johnson, Carruthers & Rand Shoe Co. in Memphis, Tennessee in 1893.[1] By 1908, they moved to St. Louis, where they co-founded the Roberts, Johnson & Rand Co. with John C. Roberts.[2] In 1911, they acquired the Peters Shoe Co.[2] It eventually became known as the International Shoe Company, and Johnson became its president, while his brother Jackson was its chairman.[2] By the time of his death, the International Shoe Company had become the largest shoe manufacturing company in the world.[2]
Johnson died on July 28, 1916, in St. Louis, and he was buried at the Bellefontaine Cemetery.[2] Upon his death, he was worth an estimated $2,147,742.[3] He was succeeded as president of the International Shoe Company by his cousin Frank C. Rand in November 1936.[5]