Thomas J. Johnson established his first company, Valor Electronics, in 1955. The company created military and industrial components. As he became more interested in telescopes as a hobby, he began to incorporate astronomy into his business, adding and “Astro-Optical” division in 1960. After creating a 20-inch multipurpose Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope in 1964, the Astro-Optical division became Celestron Pacifc. He continued to work with telescopes for the rest of his career, earning him the 1978 David Richardson Medal from OSA “for his notable contributions to applied optics through the design and manufacture of high-quality, low-cost Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes.”

He passed away in 2012.