Lyndon Baines Johnson was born near Stonewall, Texas on August 27, 1908.
Presidnet Johnson was one of two Presidents born in Texas.
At fifteen he ran away from home and traveled to California where he worked as a grape picker and auto mechanic.
Lyndon Baines Johnson married Claudia Alra "Lady Bird" Taylor when she was 21. They were married on November 17, 1934 in San Antonio, Texas. They had two daughters, Lynda Bird and Luci Baines.
Lyndon Johnson was in the military during WWII. He was awarded the Silver Star by General MacArthur after Johnson's plane was attacked by Japanese airplanes.
Lyndon was a teacher before he entered politics.
He was Vice President under John F. Kennedy. He became President when Kennedy was assassinated.
Lyndon Baines Johnson was the first President sworn in by a woman. He was sworn in by Federal District Judge Sarah Hughes. Also, he was the first President to be sworn in on an airplane. The plane was not in flight.
Lyndon Johnson did not have a Vice President during his first term. Hubert Humphrey (1965-1969) was Vice President during his second term.
President Johnson was 6 foot 3 inches tall and weighed 210 when he became President.
In 1964, he ran against Barry Goldwater. During the campaign the Democrats ran a TV ad showing a girl picking petals off of a daisy and counting. When she reached 10 her voice was replaced by a man counting down to zero. Then they showed a mushroom cloud of an atomic bomb. The ad only ran once, but was shown on the news and hurt Goldwater's chance to become President.
Lyndon Baines Johnson went without a Vice President until he was elected for his own term in 1964.
Lyndon Baines Johnson used to go through the White House at night turning lights off that were not needed. He did not want to waste the taxpayers money.
LBJ loved to give gifts. In his first year as President he spent over 3 times as much as his predecessor on gifts. He particularly liked giving electric toothbrushes. "I give these toothbrushes to friends," he explained, "for then I know that from now until the end of their days they will think of me the first thing in the morning and the last at night." His biographer Doris Kearns received more than 12 from Johnson in 10 years.
He was notorious for taking guests on 90-mph rides around his 415-acre LBJ Ranch in Texas in his Lincoln.
Lyndon would sometimes lift up shirt and show people his scars from surgery.
After his heart attack, an aide inquired if he should cancel Johnson order for two suits. He had ordered a brown and a blue suit. His reply was, "Let them go ahead with the blue one. We can use that no matter what happens.
He had tow beagles for pets. Their names were Him and Her. Criticized by the press for picking up one of the beagles by its ears.
During Lyndon Johnson's term the US was involved in the Vietnam War and in the war in the Dominican Republic in 1965.
Lyndon Johnson was the first president to name a black person to his Cabinet.
Lyndon Baines Johnson died on January 22, 1973. He is buried in a family plot near Johnson City, Texas.
Quotes:
"Strike down ignorance, poverty, and disease, and Communism without its allies will wither and die." May 4, 1961
Sources:
The Presidents of the United States. 22 September 2004 <http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/>
Davis, Gibbs and Ilus. David A. Johnson. Wackiest White House Pets. New York: Scholastic Press, October 2004
James, Barber and Amy Pastan. Smithsonian Presidents and First Ladies. New York: DK Publishing, 2002
Harnsberger, Caroline Thomas. Treasury of Presidential Quotations. Chicago: Follett Publishing Company, 1964
Kane, Joseph Natan. Facts about the Presidents from Washington to Johnson. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1964.
National Park Service Web Site on Presidential Trivia: http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/pres/trivia.htm.
