Lady Bird Johnson
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson (December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States (1963–69) during the presidency of her husband Lyndon B. Johnson.
Notably well educated for her time, she proved a capable manager and a shrewd investor. After marrying LBJ in 1934, when he was a political hopeful in Austin, Texas, she used a modest inheritance to bankroll his congressional campaign, and then ran his office while he was serving in the navy. Next, she bought a radio station and then a TV station, which would soon make them millionaires. As First Lady, she broke new ground by interacting directly with Congress, employing her own press secretary, and making a solo electioneering tour.
Johnson was a lifelong advocate for beautifying the nation's cities and highways ("Where flowers bloom, so does hope") and the Highway Beautification Act was informally known as Lady Bird's Bill. She was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest US civilian honors.
Read more about Lady Bird Johnson: Early Life, Education, Marriage and Family, Early Politics, Business Career, Second Lady of The United States, First Lady of The United States, Honors, Later Life
Famous quotes containing the words lady bird johnson, lady, bird and/or johnson:
“The first lady is, and always has been, an unpaid public servant elected by one person, her husband.”
—Lady Bird Johnson (b. 1912)
“But when his horse had put its hoof
Into a rabbit hole
He dropped upon his head and died.
His lady saw it all
And dropped and died thereon, for she
Loved him with her soul.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Ah, like a comet through flame she moves entranced
Wrapt in her music no bird song, no, nor bough
Breaking with honey buds, shall ever equal.”
—Stephen Spender (1909–1995)
“There are few ways in which a man can be more innocently employed than in getting money.”
—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)