Lyndon Baines Johnson
An undated portrait of Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973), the 36th President of the United States. "A Great Society" for Americans and their fellow men elsewhere was Johnson's vision: education aid, disease fighting, Medicare, urban renewal, beautification, conservation, development of depressed regions, fighting poverty, control and prevention of crime and delinquency, and the removal of obstacles to the right to vote.
Lyndon and Lady Bird
Lyndon Johnson poses with his bride, the former Claudia "Lady Bird" Taylor, in front of the Capitol in Washington, in 1934.
Johnson was born Aug. 27, 1908, in central Texas, not far from Johnson City, which his family had helped settle.
In 1937, Johnson campaigned successfully for the House of Representatives on a New Deal platform, effectively aided on the campaign trail by his wife.
Lyndon and Lady Bird
Then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson kisses his wife Lady Bird next to their daughter Lucy Baines, in Washington, May 8, 1956. After six terms in the House, Johnson was elected to the Senate in 1948. In 1953, he became the youngest Minority Leader in Senate history, and the following year, when the Democrats won control, Majority Leader. With rare skill he obtained passage of a number of key Eisenhower measures.
Democratic Ticket
In July 1960, the day after John F. Kennedy won the Democratic presidential nomination, he and his brother, Robert Kennedy, met privately with Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson to offer him the vice presidency. Jacques Lowe was the only photographer allowed to document the historic moment.
Democratic Ticket
Senators John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson prepare to accept the presidential and vice presidential nominations of the Democratic Party, at the Los Angeles Coliseum, July 15, 1960.
Johnson and Kennedy
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with President John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office, Sept. 17, 1963, in Washington.
Kennedy, Truman and Johnson
President John F. Kennedy, former President Harry Truman and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson shake hands in a 1960s photo.
Kennedy Assassination
Vice President Lyndon Johnson is administered the oath of office by Federal Judge Sarah Hughes as he assumed the presidency following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Nov. 22, 1963. Johnson's wife Lady Bird and Jacqueline Kennedy look on.
Oval Office
Lyndon B. Johnson's photographer Yoichi Okamoto disappeared behind the President to make this image in the Oval Office. Okamoto was the first photographer to have unfettered access to the president.
Johnson and Russell
President Lyndon B. Johnson with Senator Richard Russell in the White House, Dec. 7, 1963. Russell would lead a filibuster against the Civil Rights Bill that lasted for months before the bill was passed on the Senate floor in June 1964.
Johnson and Valenti
President Lyndon Johnson pauses near the door of his office for a brief conference with his close aide, Jack Valenti, in Washington, Feb. 8, 1964.
Civil Rights Act
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the 1964 Civil Rights Act as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and others look on in the East Room of the White House, July 2, 1964.
John and Dr. King
President Lyndon Johnson shakes hands with civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. after handing him a pen during the ceremonies for the signing of the Civil Rights Act, at the White House, July 3, 1964.
Portrait
In 1964, Johnson ran against Republican Barry Goldwater and won the Presidency with 61 percent of the vote and had the widest popular margin in American history - more than 15 million votes.
Vietnam
President Lyndon B. Johnson delivers a speech July 28, 1965, at the White House in Washington, about U.S. policy in the Vietnam, ordering more U.S. troops to Vietnam.
Voting Rights Act
President Lyndon B. Johnson presents one of the pens used to sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to James Farmer, Director of the Congress of Racial Equality on Aug. 6, 1965.
Vietnam War
President Lyndon B. Johnson confers with the U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam, General Maxwell Taylor Aug. 8, 1965, in the White House in Washington.
Johnson and Gandhi
Indian Prime minister Indira Gandhi chats with President Lyndon Johnson before a dinner at the White House in Washington during a three-day official visit to United States, March 30, 1966.
Lyndon and Lady Bird
Lady Bird Johnson provides some shade for President Johnson, as he says a few words upon arriving at the airport in Ohakea, New Zealand, Oct. 19, 1966.
Family Portrait
A family portrait of President Johnson, his wife Lady Bird, and their two daughters, Lynda Bird and Luci Baines.
Meet the Press
President Lyndon B. Johnson speaks at a press conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., Nov. 17, 1967.
King Assassination
President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with civil rights leaders after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., April 5, 1968, at the White House. President Johnson steadily exerted his influence against segregation and on behalf of law and order, but there was no quick solution to racial unrest in the country.
Nixon and JOhnson
President Lyndon Johnson meets with then-presidential candidate Richard Nixon July 26, 1968, at the White House. Johnson startled the world by withdrawing as a candidate for re-election in 1968 so that he might devote his full efforts, unimpeded by politics, to the quest for peace in Vietnam.
Anguish
President Lyndon B. Johnson listens to a tape sent by Captain Charles Rabb, his son-in-law, who was serving in Vietnam, on July 31, 1968.
Apollo 11 Lift-Off
Former President Lyndon Johnson and Vice President Spiro Agnew watch the liftoff of Apollo 11 at the Kennedy Space Center VIP viewing site, July 16, 1969, with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. on board. Johnson had championed the U.S. space exploration program since its start.
Lyndon and Walter
Walter Cronkite interviews former President Lyndon B. Johnson for a "CBS News Special Report" on Dec. 6, 1971.
Lyndon and Lady Bird
Former President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird, pose with their dog Yuki to mark their 38th wedding anniversary at their ranch and home in Stonewall, Texas, Nov. 17, 1972.
Johnson died suddenly of a heart attack at his Texas ranch on January 22, 1973. He was 64.