Johnson, Lyndon B.

Lyndon B. Johnson

Born August 27, 1908
Near Stonewall, Texas

Died January 22, 1973
Near Johnson City, Texas

Politician, thirty-sixth
president of the United States

Lyndon B. Johnson was one of the most charismatic and complex leaders in U.S. history. His five-year presidency was marked by accusations of corruption and by the growing nightmare of American military involvement in the Vietnam War (1954–75). But his administration also made reforms that had a dramatic effect in reducing poverty and improving civil rights. Although some remember Johnson as a warmonger, others regard him as a political giant who improved the lives of millions of poor Americans.

Texas Childhood

Lyndon Baines Johnson was the eldest of five children. His father was Sam Ealy Johnson, a farmer, local politician, and newspaper owner who served in the Texas state legislature for eighteen years. His mother was Rebekah Baines Johnson, a talented woman who occasionally wrote for local newspapers and produced amateur plays. She also taught neighborhood children elocution, the art of speaking properly. When Johnson was five years old, his mother persuadedhis father to move from their isolated farm to Johnson City, a small town 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) west of Austin.

Johnson was always singled out by his parents as special.

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