He was born in
Stamford to
Maurice and Jane Johnson, one of seven children; his father was
Member of Parliament for
Stamford. He was orphaned at age eleven. He was educated by his guardian uncle Robert Smith, first at
Peterborough Grammar School, then at Cambridge University. He matriculated in 1557, on the eve of Queen Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne, and in 1563, was appointed a Fellow of
Trinity College, Cambridge. a post he held for over a half a century. Sometime before 1571, he became chaplain for Sir
Nicholas Bacon,
Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, at Bacon’s Elizabethan mansion of
Gorhambury. While there, Johnson possibly tutored Bacon's son, the young
Francis Bacon, and met Lord Burghley and
Queen Elizabeth. Along with Lord Bacon, their patronage launched his clerical career. He became simultaneously
prebendary or
canon of four Church of England prebends, those of Windsor, Peterborough, Norwich and Rochester. This collection of endowed benefices made him very wealthy. He founded free
grammar schools in
Oakham and
Uppingham in 1584, as well as other charitable institutions. Johnson died on 23 July 1625 in North Luffenham. His memorial is in the chancel of the
parish church there. ==Charitable works==