David A. Johnston

For the 28th Governor General of Canada, see David Johnston.

David Alexander Johnston (December 18, 1949 – May 18, 1980) was an American USGS volcanologist. He was killed by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington. He was a principal scientist on the USGS monitoring team.^[1]

David A. Johnston
Johnston at Mount St. Helens in April 1980
Born	David Alexander Johnston December 18, 1949 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died	May 18, 1980 (aged 30) Mount St. Helens, Washington, United States
Cause of death	Killed by the volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens

Johnston was killed in the eruption while observing the 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.^[2]