Johnson, Lady Bird (Claudia Alta) (1912–2007)

US first lady 1963–69, wife of Lyndon B Johnson. She supported her husband's War on Poverty, the Headstart programme for children of low income families, and the beautification of the USA's highways and cities. She later became an entrepreneur, turning her husband's LBJ Holdings Company into a $150 million corporation. She won the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 1984.

She was born in Karnack, Texas, and studied journalism. In 1934 she married Johnson, and helped finance his first election campaign. After her husband's presidency, she published her memoir White House Diary (1970).