- NAME: Lyndon B. Johnson
- OCCUPATION: U.S. President, U.S. Vice President
- BIRTH DATE: August 27, 1908
- DEATH DATE: January 22, 1973
- EDUCATION: Southwest Texas State Teachers College (Texas State University), Johnson City High School
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Stonewall, Texas
- PLACE OF DEATH: Stonewall, Texas
- Full Name: Lyndon Baines Johnson
- AKA: Lyndon Johnson
- Nickname: "Bull Johnson"
- Nickname: "Landslide Lyndon"
- Nickname: "Light Bulb Lyndon"
- AKA: LBJ
- AKA: Lyndon B. Johnson
Best Known For
Lyndon B. Johnson was elected vice president of the U.S. in 1960 and became the 36th president in 1963, following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
After spending time teaching impoverished Mexican-American immigrants on the border of Texas and Mexico, Lyndon B. Johnson was inspired to bring an end to poverty.
In 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall to the post of Solicitor General, forging a strong relationship between Marshall and the President.
In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court.
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Lyndon B. Johnson, the 36th president of the United States, was born in Texas on August 27, 1908. He was elected vice president of the United States in 1960, and became the 36th president in 1963, after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. During his administration, Johnson initiated the "Great Society" social service programs, signed the Civil Rights Act into law,
"There are no problems we cannot solve together, and very few that we can solve by ourselves."
"Poverty must not be a bar to learning and learning must offer an escape from poverty."
"I will do my best. That is all I can do. I ask for your help—and God's."
"Being president is like being a jackass in a hailstorm. There's nothing to do but to stand there and take it."
and bore the brunt of national opposition to his vast expansion of American involvement in the Vietnam War. Johnson died in Texas on January 22, 1973.
Born in Stonewall, Texas, on August 27, 1908, Lyndon Baines Johnson's family had settled in Texas before the Civil War. His parents, Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr. and Rebekah Baines Johnson, had three girls and two boys. Lyndon was the oldest, born August 27, 1908. The nearby town of Johnson City was named after the Johnson family, known for farming and ranching. Lyndon's father was a rancher and part-time politician, but did not inherit the family's ranching talent and ran into financial difficulty, losing the family farm when Lyndon was in his early teens.
Lyndon B. Johnson struggled in school, but managed to graduate from Johnson City High School in 1924. He enrolled at Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now Texas State University) and participated in debates and campus politics. After graduating in 1930, he briefly taught school, but his political ambitions had already taken shape: In 1931, Johnson won an appointment as legislative secretary to Texas Democratic Congressman Richard M. Kleberg, and relocated to Washington, D.C. He quickly built a network of congressmen, newspapermen, lobbyists and friends, including aides to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
In 1934, Lyndon B. Johnson met Claudia Alta Taylor, known to her friends as "Lady Bird." Claudia soon became Johnson's top aide. She used a modest inherence to bankroll his 1937 run for Congress, and ran his office for several years. She later bought a radio station and then a television station, which made the Johnsons wealthy.
After the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, President Roosevelt helped Lyndon B. Johnson win a commission in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a lieutenant commander. Johnson served on a tour of the South Pacific and flew one combat mission. Not long into the mission, Johnson's plane was forced to turn back due to mechanical difficulty, but he managed to receive a Silver Star medal for his participation. Soon after, he returned to his legislative duties in Washington, D.C.
In a close and controversial election, Lyndon B. Johnson was elected as a senator for Texas in 1948. He advanced quickly and, with is connections, became the youngest minority leader in Senate history in 1953. Democrats won control of the Senate the following year, and Johnson was elected majority leader.
Johnson had an uncanny ability to gather information on his fellow legislators, and knew where each of his colleagues stood on political issues.
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