LYNDON B. JOHNSON
1963 - 1969
Arizona Timeline
1964 - U. S. Senator from Arizona, Barry Goldwater, is the Republican Party candidate for President of the United States.
1965 - Lorna Lockwood is elected chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. The first woman to head a state supreme court.
1968 - Senator Carl Hayden retires after representing Arizona in Congress since 1912.
1968 - Congress authorizes Central Arizona Project to bring Colorado river water to Phoenix and Tucson.
Lyndon Baines Johnson was
born in Stonewall, TX, in 1908,
with a family background of
teachers, preachers, and public
service. After graduation from
Southwest State Teachers
College, he taught school for two
years. In 1932, he went to
Washington as secretary to Rep.
Richard Kleberg, and in 1937 was
elected to Congress. During
WWII he served in the Navy in
the Pacific and won the Silver
Star.
Claudia Taylor Johnson was
born near Karnach, TX, in 1912.
She was nicknamed Lady Bird
when a small child and was
always known by that name. She
met Lyndon Johnson in 1934,
when he was visiting in Austin.
He returned to Washington but
sent her letters and telegrams;
seven weeks later they were
married. The Johnsons had two
children, Lynda Bird and Luci
Baines.
President Lyndon Johnson became vice president to John Kennedy, after losing his own bid for president. In 1963, Johnson was riding in the
motorcade, when Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on November 22; he took the oath of office later that day. During his administration, Congress
adopted a civil rights bill, a voting rights bills, and the Medicare program. He was elected in his own right in 1964, but because of the nation's disunity
over the war in Vietnam, he did not run again in 1968. Lyndon Johnson died at his Texas ranch in 1973.
Lady Bird Johnson devoted herself to her husband's political career. Her own brand of Texas hospitality helped ease the transition into the White House
after Kennedy's death. During her White House years, she worked for a more beautiful country and was active in the war- on- poverty program. After
leaving the White House, she founded the National Wildflower Research Center. Lady Bird Johnson died in July, 2007.
