Michael Johnson was born in Montreal Canada. He has a Masters degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo in 1967. He taught mathematics for two years. After that he worked in a ship yard in Vancouver, then joined Wyclife Bible Translators from 1977 until 1984, taking linguistic training in Dallas and Norman Oklahoma and Mexico. In 1979 with his wife Judy and three children he set off for Pakistan with the intention of exploring indigineous languages there. Following his return from Pakistan in 1982 he enrolled in graduate studies in Linguistics at the University of Manitoba and taught mathematics for two years from 1984 to 1986. He became a manager at Great West Life from 1986 until 2000. He is divorced from his first wife. Slnce 2000 he has had part time work and lives with his wife Carol in Winnipeg. The children and now grand children live on the West Coast.