Quote for the Day

“For me, books have been a life-long resource-to learning, laughter, solace, excitement, inspiration. At your library, the world awaits you, free for the asking.”

- Lady Bird Johnson

Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (1912 – 2007) was an American socialite and the First Lady of the United States as the wife of the 36th President of the United States, Lyndon B. Johnson (1908 - 1973) from 1963 to 1969. She also served as the Second Lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963.

Notably well-educated for a woman of her era, she proved a capable manager and a successful investor. After marrying Lyndon B. Johnson in 1934 when he was a political hopeful in Austin, Texas, she used a modest inheritance to bankroll his congressional campaign and then ran his office while he served in the Navy.

As First Lady, she broke new ground by interacting directly with Congress, employing her own press secretary, and making a solo electioneering tour. Johnson was an advocate for beautifying the nation's cities and highways ("Where flowers bloom, so does hope"). The Highway Beautification Act was informally known as "Lady Bird's Bill." She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977, and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1988, the highest honors bestowed upon a US civilian.