For the Philosophy writer, see David Kyle Johnson

David K. Johnson is an award-winning historian and author. His first book, "The Lavender Scare" was made into a documentary film that garnered best documentary awards at over a dozen film festival. His book, "Buying Gay: How Physique Entrepreneurs Sparked a Movement", chronicles the rise of a gay commercial network in the 1950s and 1960s. Featured in a "starred review" in Publishers Weekly, it was released in February 2019 by Columbia University Press as part of its series on the History of U.S. Capitalism.

David earned a B.A.from Georgetown University and a Ph.D.from Northwestern University, both in history. He has enjoyed fellowships from the National Humanities Center, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Social Science Research Council. As an associate professor in the History Department at the University of South Florida, he teaches courses on the post-1945 U.S. and the history of gender and sexuality.