Rufus W. Johnson
Cite this Page
"Rufus W. Johnson," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/933.
- Positions
- Pantryman
- Butler
- Lifeguard
- Years in President's House
- circa 1939 – 1941
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- Black or African American
- Presidency
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Biography
- Rufus Winfield Johnson was born in Silver Spring, Maryland on May 1, 1911. (1) He attended undergraduate and law school at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and while in school he was in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC), later receiving a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve. (2) Around 1939, while in his final semester of law school, Johnson also joined the White House staff part-time, serving as a lifeguard at the swimming pool; lifeguarding had been part of his ROTC training. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had the pool installed for physical therapy due to his polio diagnosis, and Rufus Johnson was there to ensure his safety while in the water. (3)
After graduating from Howard University School of Law, Rufus joined the staff full-time as the president’s butler. After one incident where he spilled soup on the president, Housekeeper Henrietta Nesbitt briefly transferred him to the pantry to shine silverware. (4) In an oral history, Johnson recalled: “At that time, in law school, studying for the bar, [First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt] set aside a room for me…she used to make her own tea and everything else, but she set aside a room for me to give that two hours to study” during his twelve-hour work days. (5) In April 1941, he left the White House to serve in the Army during World War II. Johnson served in Italy with the 92nd Infantry Division, a segregated division of the Army. (6) After the war, he became an accomplished lawyer, and then re-entered service during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. By the time he retired from the military in 1971, he had achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his service. Outside of his career and military service, he was an active Mason, accomplished in karate, and a member of several organizations including the NAACP, the ACLU, and his local Baptist church. (7) Rufus W. Johnson died on July 1, 2007. And was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. (8) - (1) Rufus Winfield Johnson in the Pennsylvania, U.S., Veteran Compensation Application Files, WWII, 1950-1966, Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Veteran Compensation Application Files, WWII, 1950-1966 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
(2) “Interview with Rufus Johnson,” by Ed Meltzer for the Center for Pacific War Studies, Archives for the National Museum of the Pacific War, Texas Parks and Wildlife, March 27, 2005, https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1604808/.
(3)“Interview with Rufus Johnson,” by Ed Meltzer for the Center for Pacific War Studies, Archives for the National Museum of the Pacific War, Texas Parks and Wildlife, March 27, 2005, https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1604808/; Lina Mann, “A Pool for the President,” White House Historical Association, https://www.whitehousehistory.org/a-pool-for-the-president; Patricia Sullivan, “Lawyer and Lt. Col. Rufus W. Johnson, 96,” Washington Post (Washington, D.C.), July 10, 2007, pg. B06.
(4) “Interview with Rufus Johnson,” by Ed Meltzer for the Center for Pacific War Studies, Archives for the National Museum of the Pacific War, Texas Parks and Wildlife, March 27, 2005, https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1604808/; “Colored Regular Employees of the White House Christmas, 1940," Folder: Christmas Subject File, Grace Tully Papers, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York.
(5) “Interview with Rufus Johnson,” by Ed Meltzer for the Center for Pacific War Studies, Archives for the National Museum of the Pacific War, Texas Parks and Wildlife, March 27, 2005, https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1604808/.
(6) Patricia Sullivan, “Lawyer and Lt. Col. Rufus W. Johnson, 96,” Washington Post, July 10, 2007, pg. B06.
(7) Patricia Sullivan, “Lawyer and Lt. Col. Rufus W. Johnson, 96,” Washington Post, July 10, 2007, pg. B06; “Johnson, Rufus W.,” Army Cemeteries Explorer, https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/index.html#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgdKb2huc29uEgVSdWZ1cxoBVw--/; “Interview with Rufus Johnson,” by Ed Meltzer for the Center for Pacific War Studies, Archives for the National Museum of the Pacific War, Texas Parks and Wildlife, March 27, 2005, https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1604808/.
(8) “Johnson, Rufus W.,” Army Cemeteries Explorer, https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/index.html#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgdKb2huc29uEgVSdWZ1cxoBVw--/. - Birthplace
- Silver Spring, Maryland, USA