Open Box – Flower quotation of the day | Art, Photography and Poetry

Lady Bird Johnson, née Claudia Alta Taylor, (1912.- 2007, Austin, Texas), American first lady (1963–69), the wife of Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th president of the United States, and an environmentalist.

She proved to be 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 honour that can be bestowed upon a US civilian.