Claudia Johnson

Claudia Alta Taylor was born in Karnack, Texas, on December 22, 1912. She was the daughter of Thomas Jefferson Taylor and Minnie Lee Pattillo Taylor. Her nickname, “Lady Bird,” came from Alice Tittle, a nursemaid who remarked that she was “as purty as a lady bird.”¹

After graduating high school, Lady Bird attended St. Mary’s Episcopal School for Girls, a junior college in Dallas. She went on to attend the University of Texas at Austin, earning a Bachelor of Arts in history in 1933, and a second degree in journalism in 1934. That year, she met Lyndon Baines Johnson, and the couple married on November 17, 1934. She later gave birth to two daughters: Lynda Bird and Luci Baines.²

She supported her husband’s political career, providing $10,000 of her inheritance for his first congressional campaign in 1937 and running his congressional office when Lyndon enlisted in the Navy during World War II.³ In 1942, Lady Bird also purchased a radio station in Austin, Texas, which she and her family owned and operated until 2003.⁴

In 1961, Lady Bird became Second Lady of the United States, when Lyndon took the oath of office as vice president to President John F. Kennedy. Following Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963, her husband became president and she moved into the White House a couple weeks later. As first lady, Lady Bird focused on the environment, creating the First Lady’s Committee for a More Beautiful Capital, and lobbying for the passage of environmental legislation, including the Highway Beautification Act of 1965, also known as “Lady Bird’s Bill.”⁵

She also continued many of her predecessor Jacqueline Kennedy’s visions for the White House, including efforts to support the arts and humanities. In 1965, Lady Bird hosted the Festival of the Arts at the White House, featuring an exhibit of contemporary American art and performances by writers, musicians, and actors. Lady Bird also completed a redesign of the East Garden, renaming and dedicating it as the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden in April 1965.⁶ Just before leaving the White House, she created the Children’s Garden, located on the White House South Lawn.⁷

After leaving the White House in 1969, Lady Bird published her daily diary, Lady Bird Johnson: A White House Diary. In addition, she helped establish the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library in 1971, preserving Lyndon’s legacy and sharing the history of his administration.⁸ She also continued her work with the environment, creating the National Wildflower Research Center in 1982 (renamed the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in 1997).⁹ In 1977, she returned to the White House to accept the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Gerald Ford. She returned again in 1988 to accept the Congressional Gold Medal, presented by President Ronald Reagan.¹⁰ Lady Bird Johnson passed away on July 11, 2007, at the age of ninety-four in Austin, Texas. She is buried next to her husband at the LBJ Ranch in Stonewall, Texas.¹¹