Lady Bird Johnson

Lady Bird Johnson
Johnson's White House Portrait (1964)
First Lady of the United States
In role November 22, 1963 – January 20, 1969
President	Lyndon Johnson
Preceded by	Jackie Kennedy
Succeeded by	Pat Nixon
Second Lady of the United States
In role January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963
President	John F. Kennedy
Preceded by	Pat Nixon
Succeeded by	Muriel Humphrey (1965)
Personal details
Born	Claudia Alta Taylor (1912-12-22)December 22, 1912 Karnack, Texas, U.S.
Died	July 11, 2007(2007-07-11) (aged 94) West Lake Hills, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Lyndon Johnson (1934–1973)
Children	Lynda Luci
Alma mater	University of Texas, Austin
Religion	Episcopalianism
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Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (née Taylor; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States (1963–69), as the wife of the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson.

Notably well-educated for a woman of her era, she proved a capable manager and a shrewd investor. After marrying Lyndon B. Johnson 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 served in the Navy. She bought a radio station, followed by a TV station, which generated revenues making 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.

Lady Bird Johnson was a lifelong advocate for beautifying the nation's cities and highways ("Where flowers bloom, so does hope"). The Highway Beautification Act was informally known as Lady Bird's Bill. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest U.S. civilian honors.

Claudia Alta Taylor was born in Karnack, Texas, a town in Harrison County, near the eastern state line with Louisiana. Her birthplace was "The Brick House," an antebellum plantation house on the outskirts of town, which her father had purchased shortly before her birth. She is a descendant of Rowland Taylor through his grandson Captain Thomas J. Taylor, II.

She was named for her mother's brother Claud. During her infancy, her nursemaid, Alice Tittle, said that she was as "purty as a ladybird". Opinions differ about whether the name refers to a bird or a ladybird beetle, the latter of which is commonly referred to as a "ladybug" in North America. The nickname virtually replaced her first name for the rest of her life. Her father and siblings called her Lady, and her husband called her Bird—the name she used on her marriage license. During her teenage years, some classmates would call her Bird to provoke her, since she reportedly was not fond of the name.