Johnston, R. J. (1941–)

One of the most prolific human geographers of the past half-century, Ronald J. Johnston is best known for his research in the areas of political and electoral geography, the history of human geography, and urban social geography. He is highly regarded for his work in political geography; he was one of the geographers who led the resurgence and revitalization of the field starting in the 1970s. Within political geography, Johnston's work has focused primarily on electoral geography, with an emphasis on the British electoral system. Along with Peter Taylor, he authored the main foundational text in electoral geography, Geography of Elections, in 1979.

Johnston was born in England. He received his BA and MA from the University of Manchester and his PhD from Monash University in 1967. He is currently a professor in the School of Geographical Sciences at the University of Bristol. He has previously served as vice chancellor of the University of Essex, professor and chair of the department of geography at the University of Sheffield, and a faculty member in the department of geography at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand.

Johnston is a leading writer on the history of human geography since World War II. He is the author of the leading book on the topic, Geography and Geographers: Anglo-American Human Geography Since 1945. In terms of his work in urban social geography, Johnston is best known for his work on (a) segregation and residential differentiation and (b) the role of place in geography and the social sciences (the latter being the subject of his acclaimed 1991 book, A Question of Place).

Over all, Johnston is the author or coauthor of 50 books, editor or coeditor of an additional 40 books, and author or coauthor of over 800 journal articles and book chapters. He has received numerous honors for his research, including awards from the Royal Geographical Society and the Association of American Geographers, as well as being awarded honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Essex, Monash University, and the University of Sheffield.