Lyndon B. Johnson

He married Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor in November 1934. The couple had two daughters. His wife was a smart woman and supported him well throughout his political career.

Johnson suffered from ill health and heart problems during the last months of his life. He died suddenly of a heart attack at his Texas ranch on January 22, 1973.

The Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston was renamed the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in his honor in 1973.

Lyndon Baines Johnson was born on August 27, 1908 in Stonewall, Texas, to Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr. and Rebekah Baines. He was the eldest among his siblings and had one brother and three sisters. His father was a rancher and part-time politician.

Lyndon Johnson was a confident and talkative boy who actively participated in public speaking, debate, and baseball. He graduated from Johnson City High School in 1924 at the age of 15.

He did a series of odd jobs for three years after his high school graduation and finally enrolled at Southwest Texas State Teachers College at San Marcos. He started working as a teacher while pursuing his studies. During this time, the acute poverty of some of his students deeply impacted his mind. He graduated from college in 1930.

He embarked on a teaching career following his graduation and also entered politics. In 1930, Congressman Richard M. Kleberg made Johnson his legislative secretary, and he was elected speaker of the "Little Congress," a group of Congressional aides.

In 1935, he was appointed head of the Texas National Youth Administration, and a couple of years later he successfully contested a special election for Texas's 10th congressional district. He served in the House from April 1937 to January 1949.

In between, he had also served in the U.S. Naval Reserve during the World War II. He was commissioned as a lieutenant commander in 1941 and served on a tour of the South Pacific and flew one combat mission. His plane survived an attack by Japanese fighters and he was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry. He returned to his political career in 1942.

In the 1952 general election Republicans won a majority in both the House and Senate. Johnson, a Democrat, was chosen by his colleagues to be the Minority Leader in 1953. He was the youngest Minority Leader in Senate history. The next year the Democrats won control and Johnson became the Majority Leader.

In 1960, Johnson was chosen by the Democrats as the vice presidential nominee to run alongside with the presidential nominee, John F. Kennedy. The Kennedy-Johnson ticket won the election against Republican candidate Richard Nixon by a very narrow margin.

Lyndon B. Johnson proposed the creation of the “Great Society”, to bring about the betterment of the cities, the environment, and education. He signed several important legislations to make this vision a reality: Higher Education Act of 1965, Coinage Act of 1965, Social Security Act of 1965, Animal Welfare Act of 1966, Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, Civil Rights Act of 1968, and Gun Control Act of 1968.