Johnson, Lady Bird

Johnson, Lady Bird Johnson, Lady Bird, 1912â€"2007, b. Karnack, Tex., as Claudia Alta Taylor. She married (1934) Lyndon B. Johnson and played an active role in his political career. As first lady (1963â€"69), she was the first to have her own press secretary and to make a campaign trip on her own. She also sponsored environmental causes and national beautification projects and later co-founded (1982) what is now the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, Tex. A successful businesswoman, she bought (1943) a debt-ridden radio station in Austin, Tex., and built it into a multimillion dollar broadcasting company. Johnson also owned and managed extensive ranching lands in Texas. She was the author of A White House Diary (1970). See M. L. Gillette, Lady Bird Johnson: An Oral History (2012); biographies by M. D. Smith (1964), G. L. Hall (1967), and J. J. Russell (2012); L. I. Gould, Lady Bird Johnson and the Environment (1988). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 20 12, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. See more Encyclopedia articles on: U.S. History: Biographies