Mattiedna Johnson facts for kids

Mattiedna Johnson (born April 7, 1918, died December 2003) was an amazing African American nurse and lab technician. In the 1940s, she helped find a cure for scarlet fever. This was a very serious illness. She also helped treat other diseases that soldiers got during World War II.

Johnson was the only African American nurse and lab technician on the U.S. Army Medical Corps penicillin project. This important work happened at the University of Minnesota. Sadly, she did not get credit for her part in developing penicillin. Later, in 1971, Johnson also helped start the National Black Nurses Association. She wrote two books: The Penicillin Project Dairy Notes and Tots Goes to Gbarnga.

Early Life and Family

Mattiedna Johnson was born in Mississippi on April 7, 1918. Her parents were sharecroppers, meaning they farmed land owned by someone else. She was born very small, weighing only three and a half pounds. She was the fifth child in her family.

Her father was worried about her health. He prayed for her to have a healthy life. He promised God that if she lived, she would serve others. This made him encourage her to work in health care. He hoped she would become a medical missionary in Africa. Mattiedna's father called her "Tots." She later wrote a book about her life called Tots Goes to Gbarnga.

Education and Training

Mattiedna Johnson was a very smart student. She was the salutatorian of her high school class. This means she had the second-highest grades.

She earned her first degree from Jane Terrell Memorial Hospital School of Nursing. This school was in Memphis, Tennessee. She then got her Registered Nurse License. This happened at the Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.

In 1945, she finished a medical technology program. This was at the Northwest Institute of Medical Technology in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She also received a special certificate from the American Red Cross. This allowed her to teach first aid and disaster nursing. Johnson also became certified as a medical missionary.

Discovering a Penicillin Breakthrough

After her medical technology program, Johnson joined the University of Minnesota. She worked as a lab technician in the Plant Pathology Department. Her job was to research penicillin.

Mattiedna grew up on a farm. This gave her a special skill for her work. She was good at finding and isolating molds from foods. She used techniques she learned from making butter and jams. These skills helped her find and keep molds for research.

She worked with many different vegetables. But one day, a bowl of tomato soup gave her a big clue. She found a mold in the soup. She then tested this mold against the bacteria that causes Scarlet fever. The results were amazing! The mold was very good at killing the bacteria.

She called the mold spores "terrible mice." She showed the mold to John Ehrlich, a colleague. She told him how well it worked against scarlet fever. She even suggested mixing the medicine with peppermint syrup. This would make it taste better for children. Ehrlich took the samples. But Johnson never heard about her discovery again.

Years later, a new antibiotic called Terramycin came out. Johnson believed it was made from her "terrible mice" mold. She also thought her idea of adding peppermint syrup led to Terramycin syrup. The company Pfizer developed and sold Terramycin. Sales reached $45 million. Pfizer agrees that Johnson worked on the Penicillin Project. However, she was never paid for her important work. Still, she was honored by Congressman Louis Stokes. He spoke about her achievements in 1990.

Founding the National Black Nurses Association

Logo for the NBNA

In 1970, nurses from all over the country met in Miami, Florida. They were there for the American Nurses Association (ANA) convention. Mattiedna Johnson noticed something important. There were not enough Black nurses being represented.

To talk about this, she held a meeting for Black nurses. They discussed the lack of representation. They also talked about other problems in Black health care. Johnson wanted to keep these important conversations going.

So, in 1971, Johnson and 11 other Black nurses started something new. They founded the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA). At their first meeting, an Interim Steering Committee was chosen. Johnson was made the Secretary. She also went on to create the Cleveland Council of Black Nurses in 1973.

Helping with Blood Pressure Screenings

Mattiedna Johnson and some other nurses noticed something sad. Their church was having many funerals. They realized many people might have high blood pressure. So, they decided to do something about it.

They organized a blood pressure screening at Cory United Methodist Church. They checked the blood pressure of 575 people. This was a very important event. It was the first time blood pressure screenings were done outside of a hospital. This led to blood pressure screenings becoming common everywhere. Johnson later joined the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB).