Adrian Mackey Johnson was born in Sydney the son of Dr Alexander Johnson who graduated in Dublin in 1880 and commenced practice in Sydney in 1886. Of his three sons who became doctors, Adrian was the youngest. Alexander S Johnson OBE FRACS graduated in 1933 and became a senior surgeon at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Bristow Johnson graduated in 1935 and was a successful city general practitioner. His younger brother, Gordon, was a pharmacist and his surviving sister, Sylvia, was a senior administrator in the pathology department, Sydney University. Along with his brothers Adrian attended St Ignatius College, Riverview, where he excelled in his studies and in sport. Adrian entered the faculty of medicine at Sydney University in 1933 and soon became involved in undergraduate activities. For a time he was editor of the Sydney University Medical Journal and it was this talent he was to use to great advantage later in his life. He was a member of the Sydney University Regiment.

He graduated with honours in 1939 and was resident medical officer at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital when war was declared in 1939. He volunteered to join the AIF and became Regimental Medical Officer to the 2/5 Field Regiment. He spent two years in various countries including India, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. While in the Middle East he lead a search party which rescued his badly injured friend and fellow officer who is now Sir Roden Cutler VC. In his valedictory at Adrian's funeral, Sir Roden said:

Had it not been for his dedication as the Regimental Medical Officer, and his qualities as a friend during the war, I would not be here today. It takes a special kind of man to risk his own life to save that of another. Adrian Johnson was that kind of man

He was invalided back to Australia in 1942 with amoebiasis. It was during his convalescence he commenced studying dermatology as occupational therapy and was influenced by several eminent dermatologists of the day including EH Molesworth, Grant Lindeman and Clive Robinson. He was re-enlisted this time in the RAAF as a dermatologist and after the war continued as consultant dermatologist to the RAAF, attaining the rank of honorary group captain on retirement. In 1942 he married Margaret Flood-Nagle and they had five children- Lloyd who died at birth, Jennifer , Norman, Elisabeth and Rosemary. Their family group was happy and relaxed. A ready welcome was always offered and many fledgling dermatologists throughout Australasia will recall happy social and learning occasions in the Johnson household.

In 1948 he acquired the Diploma of Dermatological Medicine which had been established in the main by John Belisario (qv) who was part time head and lecturer in the subdepartment of dermatology, Sydney University. Adrian was aware of the role radiotherapy had to play in dermatology and under the guidance of Harold Ham he gained the Diploma of Therapeutic Radiology, Sydney University, was elected a member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists and later became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Radiologists. This enabled him to become an authority in the use of radiotherapy in dermatology and helped to create a bond between radiotherapists and dermatologists in Australia, exemplified by the Combined Skin Cancer Clinic he established at RPAH. It was chaired by a dermatologist and included a radiologist, a surgeon and a plastic surgeon. It was his firm belief that the patient's best interests were served by a broad combined approach to his problem, before any treatment was commenced. Always striving to improve and broaden his medical knowledge, Adrian was elected to Fellow of the RACP in 1972.

Adrian was a foundation member of the Dermatological Association of Australia when it was formed in 1951. John Belisario was the first president and Adrian was asked to be the foundation editor of their journal, Australasian Journal of Dermatology. He continued to edit this journal for twenty-five years and the high standard it has attained is due in no small part to Adrian's brilliance as an editor. He was also on the editorial board of the International Journal of Dermatology. He contributed many articles to medical publications and had a particular interest in medical history. He wrote a short biography for the International Psoriasis Bulletin on Dr Munro, an Australian who in 1898 described micro-abscesses in psoriasis which today bear his name. In another paper he described the treatment of psoriasis in Sydney in the 1940s. In 1982 he was afforded the honour of being asked to write his autobiography for the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. In this he expressed his belief that dermatology should remain within the mainstream of medicine, associated if possible with general hospitals as is the situation with the Belisario Institute of Dermatology at RPAH.

At a conference in Venice he once read a paper titled "Treatment of basal cell carcinoma - my last 100 failures". He believed more could be learned from the reasons for failure than the recital of success. Adrian loved books and journals and often at meetings of the dermatology department at RPAH he could be devouring a journal and at the same time keeping abreast with the flow of the meeting. This ability to concentrate on more than one thing at a time created an occasional apparent vagueness in him which could be disarming.

Adrian was president of the NSW branch of the British Association of Dermatologists in 1954 and of the Dermatological Association of Australia in 1963. When the Australasian College of Dermatologists was formed in 1965 he became a foundation member and later a Fellow. He was granted the honour of being the first Emeritus Fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists. In 1952 he attended the 10th International Congress in Dermatology in London as Australian secretary and from there visited other major centres of dermatology in Europe and the USA, making life-long friends with many dermatologists throughout the world. Later many were invited to Australia by Adrian, as visiting lecturers, thus broadening the Australian experience. Many budding Australian dermatologists have met and studied under world experts in various aspects of dermatology as a direct result of Adrian's introduction. Adrian was an honorary member of the Dermatology Section, Royal Society of Medicine, London, an international honorary member of the American Dermatological Association and an honorary member of the Association of Military Surgeon USA. These achievements were indicative of the esteem in which he was held world wide. He became an honorary physician in the department of dermatology at RPAH and later was head of the department. He was lecturer in dermatology, Sydney University from 1966 to 1976, and also was lecturer in tropical dermatology at the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

Adrian was an exceptional dermatologist with a great breadth of knowledge. His opinion was keenly sought and his advice always sound with an emphasis on the practical implications. All students and postgraduates were encouraged to develop a broad scientific base to their knowledge in order to become more complete practitioners. In spite of all this involvement with teaching and the hospital, Adrian still made time to run an extensive private consulting practice in Macquarie Street. Adrian seemed to know everyone. He could not move far along Macquarie Street or in the members enclosure at Randwick without meeting a friend. He found time to play golf and later bowls and always retained a great interest in rugby and cricket. Frequently he would detour to the Cricket Ground on his way home to watch the last few overs of an important match. He was a member of the AJC and the STC and greatly enjoyed an afternoon at the races seeking that elusive long priced winner.

A measure of the esteem for his council is the fact that he was a member of the NSW Medical Board from 1955 to 1963, a councillor for the MBF in NSW for twenty-five years, vice president of the Medical Defence Union NSW and an active worker for Legacy. He was awarded the CBE in 1968 in recognition of services to medicine and the community. Adrian Johnson was a remarkable man and a fine physician. He was friend and adviser to many people including a large band of dermatologists who have benefited greatly from his ability as a teacher. Along with AL Dawson (qv 1), EH Molesworth, Grant Lindeman and John Belisario (qv), he is commemorated by a plaque in the Institute of Dermatology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He is remembered also with great affection in the hearts and minds of his family , friends and colleagues.