Additional Information
Designed by graphic artist Meneese Wall, this beautiful portrait and accompanying biography recognizes features First Lady Lady Bird Johnson.
Born in Karnack, Texas, on December 22, 1912, Claudia Alta Taylor was nicknamed Lady Bird by a nursemaid who declared her “as purty as a lady bird.” She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1934 with a Bachelor of Arts in history and journalism and soon met Lyndon Baines Johnson. The couple married in November 1934 and raised two daughters, Lynda and Luci. Lady Bird supported her husband’s political career and bought and operated a radio station in Austin, Texas. Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in November 1963, Mrs. Johnson entered the White House as first lady. As first lady, Lady Bird focused on the environment, creating the Committee for a More Beautiful Capital, and expanded her efforts with the Beautification Act of 1965, also known as “Lady Bird’s Bill.” After leaving the White House in 1969, she focused her efforts on Texas and created the National Wildflower Research Center in 1982. Lady Bird Johnson passed away on July 11, 2007, at the age of ninety-four.