David A. Johnston

(1949-1980)

American volcanologist

more_vert

favorite

About

edit

Jump to

Family
Relationships
Associates
Similar

David Alexander Johnston (December 18, 1949 – May 18, 1980) was an American United States Geological Survey (USGS) volcanologist who was one of the 57 people killed by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in the U.S. state of Washington. A principal scientist on the USGS monitoring team, Johnston was killed in the eruption while manning an observation post six miles (10 km) away on the morning of May 18, 1980. He was the first to report the eruption, transmitting "Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!" before he was swept away by a lateral blast. Despite a thorough search, Johnston's body was never found, but state highway workers discovered remnants of his USGS trailer in 1993.

Key details

edit section

Born	18 December 1949 Oak Lawn, Illinois, United States
Died	18 May 1980 (aged 30) Mount St. Helens, Washington, United States
Zodiac	Sagittarius
Tags	Add tag