Claude Johnson

Claude Goodman Johnson (1864-1926) was an early British motoring organizer and the business entrepreneur behind Rolls-Royce. Born at Datchet, Buckinghamshire, he worked as a clerk at the Imperial Institute in South Kensington, where he proved an effective organizer of exhibitions. In 1896 Frederick Simms appointed him secretary of the newly formed Automobile Club, which became the Royal Automobile Club. He promoted the motor vehicle through exhibitions and contests, culminating in the 1900 One Thousand Mile Trial. After leaving the club in 1903 he joined Charles Rolls's motor agency, and in December 1904 C. S. Rolls and Co agreed to market the whole output of Henry Royce's cars. Johnson became managing director of Rolls-Royce in 1906 and insisted that Royce concentrate on a single model, the 40/50 Silver Ghost, built at a new works at Derby. He kept the company alive after Rolls died in 1911, and he died in London on 11 April 1926.