Mattiedna Johnson

Mattiedna Johnson (7 April 1918 – December 2003) was an African American nurse and laboratory technician. In the 1940s, she played a pertinent role in the cure for the fatal scarlet fever epidemic and other diseases that soldiers in World War II were getting.

Early life Mattiedna Johnson was born to sharecroppers in Mississippi on April 7, 1918. She weighed 3 and a half pounds at birth and was the fifth child to be born in her family. She received her first degree from Jane Terrell Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in Memphis, Tennessee. Johnson's childhood provided her with a peculiar advantage in this field of work, as the research she performed often entailed isolating molds from various foods, especially vegetables. Pfizer developed and sold Terramycin, and the sales of this medication rose to $45 million. Pfizer does not disagree that Johnson was a part of the Penicillin Project, however Johnson was never compensated for her work on the medication. While attending, Mattiedna Johnson was concerned with the lack of representation for Black nurses. To discuss these matters, she hosted a meeting for Black nurses where they addressed the issues of underrepresentation and other problems in Black health care. The Interim Steering Committee was also selected at this first meeting, and Johnson was appointed as Secretary. She founded the Cleveland Council of Black Nurses in 1973.

Contributions to blood pressure screenings Mattiedna Johnson and some of her fellow nurses did a 575-person blood pressure screening after noticing the number of funerals their church was having. The screening was done at Cory United Methodist Church. It led to blood pressure screenings become widespread as it was the first time that blood pressure screenings were done outside of a hospital. Johnson later became involved in the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB).