Christened Claudia Alta Taylor when she was born in a country mansion near
Karnack, Texas, she received her nickname "Lady Bird" as a small child; and as
Lady Bird she was known and loved throughout America. Perhaps that name was
prophetic, as there has seldom been a First Lady so attuned to nature and the
importance of conserving the environment.

Her mother, Minnie Pattillo Taylor, died when Lady Bird was five, so she was
reared by her father, her aunt, and family servants. From her father, Thomas
Jefferson Taylor, who had prospered, she learned much about the business world.
An excellent student, she also learned to love classical literature. At the
University of Texas she earned a bachelor's degree in arts and in journalism.

In 1934 Lady Bird met Lyndon Baines Johnson, then a Congressional secretary
visiting Austin on official business; he promptly asked her for a date, which
she accepted. He courted her from Washington with letters, telegrams, and
telephone calls. Seven weeks later he was back in Texas; he proposed to her and
she accepted. In her own words: "Sometimes Lyndon simply takes your breath
away." They were married in November 1934.

The years that followed were devoted to Lyndon's political career, with "Bird"
as partner, confidante, and helpmate. She helped keep his Congressional office
open during World War II when he volunteered for naval service; and in 1955,
when he had a severe heart attack, she helped his staff keep things running
smoothly until he could return to his post as Majority Leader of the Senate. He
once remarked that voters "would happily have elected her over me."

After repeated miscarriages, she gave birth to Lynda Bird (now Mrs. Charles S.
Robb) in 1944; Luci Baines (Mrs. Ian Turpin) was born three years later.

In the election of 1960, Lady Bird successfully stumped for Democratic
candidates across 35,000 miles of campaign trail. As wife of the Vice
President, she became an ambassador of goodwill by visiting 33 foreign
countries. Moving to the White House after Kennedy's murder, she did her best
to ease a painful transition. She soon set her own stamp of Texas hospitality
on social events, but these were not her chief concern. She created a First
Lady's Committee for a More Beautiful Capital, then expanded her program to
include the entire nation. She took a highly active part in her husband's
war-on-poverty program, especially the Head Start project for preschool
children.

When the Presidential term ended, the Johnsons returned to Texas, where he died
in 1973. Mrs. Johnson's White House Diary, published in 1970, and a 1981
documentary film, The First Lady, A Portrait of Lady Bird Johnson, give
sensitive and detailed views of her contributions to the President's Great
Society administration.

Lady Bird lead a life devoted to her husband's memory, her children, and seven
grandchildren. She supported causes dear to her--notably the National
Wildflower Research Center, which she founded in 1982, and The Lyndon Baines
Johnson Library. She also served on the Board of the National Geographic
Society as a trustee emeritus.