All of the images in this exhibit are in the public domain and most are available for download by serial number in our photo archives.

Born August 27, at Stonewall, Texas. The first child of Sam Ealy Johnson, Jr., and Rebekah Baines Johnson was born in a small farmhouse on the Pedernales River.

This photograph (right) pictures Lyndon Johnson's parents Sam Ealy Johnson, Jr. and Rebekah Baines Johnson, along with Samuel Ealy Johnson, Sr., and Eliza Bunton Johnson in front of Samuel Ealy Johnson Sr's. house in Stonewall. [LBJ Library photo by Unknown, ca. 1910. #10-13-4]

At the age of four, Lyndon Johnson began running to the nearby one-room "Junction School" daily to play with his cousins at recess.

His mother persuaded the teacher, Miss Kathryn Deadrich, to take him as a pupil, and he would sit in his teacher's lap and recite his lessons. His school term was cut short by whooping cough.

Pictured in this photograph with Lyndon Johnson (right) are three of his four siblings (L-R) Josefa Hermine Johnson, Rebekah Luruth Johnson, and Sam Johnson. Not pictured is his older sister Lucia. [LBJ Library photo by Unknown, ca. 1914. #14-13-1]

In 1913, the family moved to nearby Johnson City, named for Lyndon's forebears, and the young Lyndon entered first grade.

His fourth grade report card (right) shows high marks in every subject except "deportment," or conduct. [LBJ Library photo by Johnson City Public Schools, 1917. #B10417]

On May 24, at the age of fifteen, Lyndon graduated from Johnson City High School.

Lyndon attended Johnson City High School in Johnson City, Texas. This group photo (right) features him (5th from the left) with his classmates. [LBJ Library photo by Unknown. #24-13-1]

Lyndon decided to forego higher education and instead made his way to California with a few friends. There he performed odd jobs, including one as an elevator operator. A year later, he returned home where he worked on a road construction gang.

Borrowing $75, Lyndon Johnson enrolled in Southwest Texas State Teachers College (now Texas State University) at San Marcos, Texas. He earned money as a janitor and as an office helper.

In this letter to his grandmother, Ruth Huffman Baines, (right) he writes, "I am enclosing a clipping from the paper which will speak for itself. I am not going to be the black-sheep of the family after all." [LBJ Library photo by Unknown. #27-2-1]

In 1928, Lyndon dropped out of school for a year to serve as principal and teach fifth, sixth, and seventh grades at Welhausen School, a Mexican-American school in the south Texas town of Cotulla. [LBJ Library photo by Unknown, 1928. #28-13-4]

After witnessing the poverty of the children in his class, Johson wrote a letter to his mother that included this request: "I want 200 pkg. [packages] of toothpaste. We soon will have over 250 in school. They are all rather small and I think they would appreciate it very much."

During his year as a teacher, he still had time to be a leader in many extracurricular activities, editing the school paper and starring on the debate team. 

On August 19, 1930, Lyndon graduated with a B.S. degree in Education. He taught for a few weeks at Pearsall High School, in Pearsall, Texas, and then took a job teaching public speaking at Sam Houston High School in Houston, Texas. In the spring of 1931, his debate team won the district championship.

Following his election to the House of Representatives in November 1931, Congressman Richard Kleberg asked Johnson to come to Washington to work as his secretary. Johnson held the job for over three years and learned how the Congress worked.

In 1933, Lyndon was elected speaker of the "Little Congress," an organization of congressional workers.

In the fall of 1934, Lyndon briefly attended Georgetown University Law School in Washington, D.C.

On a trip home to Texas, Johnson met Claudia Alta Taylor. He decided almost instantly that she should be his wife. Two months later, Lady Bird, as she was known to her friends, agreed, and on November 17, 1934, they were married in San Antonio. They honeymooned in Xochimilco, Mexico and visited the Floating Gardens, where this snapshot (right) was taken. [LBJ Library photo by Unknown, 1934. #B9798]

Johnson resigned as Secretary to Representative Kleberg to accept President Roosevelt's appointment on July 25 as the Texas Director of the National Youth Administration (NYA), a Roosevelt program designed to provide vocational training for unemployed youth and part-time employment for needy students. At 26, he was the youngest state director to have filled this position.

Johnson resigned as Texas Director of the National Youth Administration to enter the special election for the 10th Congressional District called after the death of Representative James P. Buchanan. Nine other candidates also entered the race. He backed Roosevelt 100% and handily won the election on April 10.

In Congress, Johnson worked hard for rural electrification, public housing, and eliminating government waste. His work resulted in the nation's first and still largest electric cooperative (Pedenales Electric Company) and the first federal public housing project (Austin's Santa Rita Courts).

He was appointed to the House Committee on Naval Affairs at the request of President Roosevelt.

(Right) Lyndon Johnson presented the commencement address at Southwest Texas State Teacher's College in August of 1938. [LBJ Library photo by Unknown #38-8-3]

On June 21, 1940, Johnson was appointed Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

Johnson ran for the remaining term of Senator Morris Sheppard upon Sheppard's death. On June 28, he lost a hard-fought race to conservative W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel by 1,311 votes. In this photograph (right), U.S. Senatorial candidate Lyndon Johnson (at microphone) addresses a crowd in Johnson City, Texas, LBJ's boyhood home. His mother, Rebekah Baines Johnson, and Lady Bird Johnson are seated behind him on the porch. [LBJ Library photo by Austin American-Statesman. #41-6-113]

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, Johnson became the first member of Congress to volunteer for active duty in the armed forces (U.S. Navy), reporting for active duty on December 9, 1941. Lady Bird Johnson ran the Congressional office while he was overseas.

On June 9, Johnson received the Silver Star from General Douglas MacArthur for gallantry in action during an aerial combat mission over hostile positions in New Guinea. President Roosevelt ordered all members of Congress in the armed forces to return to their offices, and Johnson was released from active duty on July 16, 1942.

On March 19, the Johnsons celebrated the birth of their first daughter, Lynda Bird. [LBJ Library photo by Unknown. #44-6/8-2]

On July 2, the Johnsons celebrated the birth of their second daughter, Luci Baines.

LBJ and Lady Bird gathered with family members for a Christmas celebration. [Front row: Becky Alexander, Cong. Lyndon Johnson, Lynda Johnson, Lady Bird Johnson, Rebekah Luruth Johnson Bobbit, Rebekah Baines Johnson]

After a dramatic campaign in which he traveled by "newfangled" helicopter all over Texas, Johnson defeated Coke Stevenson in the Democratic primary race to be the party's candidate for the Senate seat vacated by Senator W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel. Johnson won the primary by 87 votes and earned the nickname "Landslide Lyndon." In the general election, November 2, he defeated the Republican, Jack Porter, and was elected to the U.S. Senate.

This photograph (right) was taken in San Angelo, Texas as Congressman Lyndon Johnson addressed the crowd from his helicopter. [LBJ Library photo by Unknown. #48-6-23]

This family photo (right) was taken on August 28, 1948 during LBJ's Senate Campaign. [L-R: Lynda Johnson, Lady Bird Johnson, Luci Johnson, Cong. Lyndon Johnson. LBJ Library photo by Unknown. #48-8-22]

On January 2, Johnson was elected Majority Whip of the United States Senate.

On January 3, Johnson was elected Minority Leader of the Senate at the age of 44. He won national attention as chairman of the Preparedness Investigating Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee during the Korean War.

On November 2, Johnson was re-elected to the U.S. Senate for a second term by a margin of three to one.

Johnson was elected Majority Leader of the Senate on January 5. During his tenure as Senate Majority Leader, he served as Chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, Democratic Steering Committee, and Democratic Conference of the Senate.

On July 2, while visiting George Brown's estate in Middleburg, Virginia, Johnson suffered a severe heart attack and entered Bethesda Naval Hospital. On August 7, he was released from Bethesda, and on August 27, he returned to the LBJ Ranch to recuperate. Johnson did not return to Washington and Capitol Hill until December.

Johnson was nominated for President at the Democratic National Convention as a favorite son candidate.

Johnson guided the passage of the first civil rights bill in 82 years, the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

(Right) Senators celebrate Johnson's 49^th birthday. [LBJ Library photo by World Wide Photos. #57-8-15]

As Chairman of the Senate Preparedness Investigating Subcommittee, he began hearings on the American space program following the launch of the Russian satellite, Sputnik, on October 4.

Johnson considered the highlights of his Senate career to be the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and the vitalization of the United States space program.

Johnson guided the passage of the first space legislation, the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958. President Eisenhower designated Senator Johnson to present a United States resolution to the United Nations calling for the peaceful exploration of outer space.

In this photograph (right), Lady Bird Johnson and Senator Johnson are on the Pedernales River at the LBJ Ranch near Stonewall, Texas. [LBJ Library photo by Frank Muto, 1959. #59-12-91]

On July 13, Johnson was nominated for President of the United States at the Democratic National Convention by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Sam Rayburn; he received 409 votes. He was nominated Vice President by acclamation the next day. [LBJ Library photo by Unknown. #60-7-171]

On November 8, John F. Kennedy was elected as the 35^th President of the United States, and Lyndon Johnson was elected Vice President. The Kennedy-Johnson ticket defeated the Nixon-Lodge ticket in one of the closest elections in American history.

Johnson was also re-elected to his third term in the United States Senate.

January

On January 3, Johnson took the oath of office for the full six-year term in the Senate and immediately resigned.

On January 20, Johnson was administered the oath of office as Vice President of the United States by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sam Rayburn. As Vice President, Johnson was a member of the Cabinet and the National Security Council, Chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Council, Chairman of the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity, and Chairman of the Peace Corps Advisory Council.

President Kennedy sent him on missions to the Middle East, the Far East, Europe, Latin America, Africa, and South Asia.

April

On April 20, the day Congress approved the amendment making the Vice President Chairman of the Space Council, President Kennedy sent Johnson a memorandum asking him to conduct an overall survey of the space program and to study the feasibility of going to the moon and back with a man before the Soviet Union could attain that goal.

After a careful study, Johnson replied on April 28 that a manned moon trip was possible, and "with a strong effort, the United States could conceivably be first in those accomplishments by 1966 or 1967."

May

On May 25, President Kennedy announced to Congress: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth."

From May 11 through 13, Lyndon visited Vietnam while on a trip to Southeast Asia as President Kennedy's representative.

August

In August, construction began on the Berlin Wall. LBJ visited Berlin at John F. Kennedy's request and this photo (right) was taken as he addressed a crowd. [LBJ Library photo by Unknown. #61-8-239]

October

During the Cuban Missile Crisis Lyndon Johnson advised John F. Kennedy as part of the Executive Committee of the National Security Council (ExCom).

November

On November 22, Lyndon Baines Johnson became the 36^th President of the United States following the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. He was sworn in aboard Air Force One at 2:38 p.m.

On November 23, Johnson met with National Security advisors (L-R) Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Secretary Dean Rusk, Secretary Robert McNamara, and George Ball. [LBJ Library photo by Cecil Stoughton. #CA3-4-WH63] On November 25, Johnson placed a call to Martin Luther King, Jr. and told him that enacting some of the "great progressive policies that [Kennedy] sought to initiate" was  a way to honor his memory.

Listen to a recording of their conversation or read a transcript.

On November 29, Johnson called Gerald Ford, then a Congressman from Michigan, and appointed him to the Warren Commission, a special task force to investigate the assassination of President Kennedy.

January

On January 9, Panamanian President Roberto Chiari broke diplomatic relations with the United States after riots erupted over the display of Panamanian and American flags in the Canal Zone. After tensions subsided, Johnson began efforts to renegotiate the Panama Canal Treaty (diplomatic relations were restored on April 3).

February

On February 5, the Reverend Billy Graham attended a Presidential Prayer Breakfast at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. [LBJ Library photo by Cecil Stoughton. #68-1-WH64]

On February 6, Cuban President Fidel Castro cut the water supply to the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo  to protest U.S. seizure of Cuban fishing boats. Johnson took steps to give the base a self-sufficient supply of water and labor.

March

On March 7, following a press conference, Lady Bird gave LBJ her candid assessment of his delivery. You can listen to a recording of their conversation or read a transcript.

January

On January 20, Johnson took the Oath of Office as President of the United States. The "Great Society" program became the agenda for Congress: aid to education, protection of civil rights (including the right to vote), urban renewal, Medicare, conservation, beautification, control and prevention of crime and delinquency, promotion of the arts, and consumer protection.

Johnson's foreign policy rested on four principles: deterring and resisting aggression, promoting economic and social progress, encouraging cooperation among nations of the same region, and seeking reconciliation with the communist world.

March

On March 23, 1965, Johnson had a conversation with Wilbur Cohen, Assistant Secretary to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare during which they discuss the details of the Medicare Bill. Listen to a recording of their conversation or read a transcript.

March

On March 7, French President Charles de Gaulle informed President Johnson that France would end its participation in the military aspects of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The move threatened the future of NATO and U.S. policy in Europe.

May

The President delivered a speech on May 26 commemorating the 3rd anniversary of the Organization of African Unity, outlining the administration's African policy, and establishing a task force to review U.S. development policies and programs in Africa.

July

On the 4th of July, President Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act.

August

Luci Baines Johnson, President Johnson's younger daughter, married Patrick J. Nugent in a ceremony at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on August 6.

October

On October 16, Johnson signed the act establishing the Department of Transportation and appointed Alan Boyd as its first secretary.

In October and November, President Johnson made a 17-day Far East trip, attended the seven-nation Manila Summit Conference, and visited U.S. troops in South Vietnam and South Korea. [LBJ Library photo by Yoichi Okamoto. #C3606-20]

November

On November 1, President Johnson had a telephone conversation with Wayne Aspinall, Chairman of the House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee and Congressman from Colorado Steward Udall, Secretary of the Interior. They discussed an emergency bill to protect the trees in Redwood National Park from being destroyed.

Listen to a recording of their conversation or read a transcript.

January

On January 27, President Johnson signed the Treaty on Outer Space with Great Britain, the USSR, and 57 other nations. Later that day, three U.S. astronauts died in a fire during an Apollo 1 training mission.

February

The 25th Amendment was ratified on February 10. The amendment provided for the appointment of the Vice President should the office become vacant and provided for succession to the Presidency should the President become disabled and unable to fulfill the responsibilities of the office.

April

From April 11 through 14, President Johnson met with Latin American leaders in Punta del Este, Uruguay. [LBJ Library photo by Frank Wolfe. #5072-18]

June

The Six-Day War was fought in the Middle East between Israel and its Arab neighbors, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, from June 5 to June 10. The "Hot Line" is used for the first time for communication between LBJ and Soviet Premier Alexsei Kosygin.

The USS Liberty, a U.S. Navy communications intelligence gathering ship was attacked in the Mediterranean off the Sinai coast.

On June 13, President Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court. Marshall, former chief counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) who successfully argued the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case before the Supreme Court that overturned the "separate but equal" rationale for segregated public schools, became the first African-American to serve as Supreme Court Justice. [LBJ Library by Frank Wolfe. #C5706-1]

Luci Johnson Nugent gave birth to the first Johnson grandchild, Patrick Lyndon Nugent, on June 21. [LBJ Library photo by Yoichi Okamoto. #C5781-11A]

From June 23 through 25, President Johnson met with Soviet Premier Alexsei Kosygin in Glassboro, New Jersey.

July

Major riots erupted in Newark on July 12 and in Detroit on July 23; President Johnson ordered 4,700 Federal troops to Detroit.

September

Johnson signed an extension of] the Food Stamp Act on September 27. 

October

Anti-war protests against the war in Vietnam reached a high point as the "March on the Pentagon" drew over 50,000 protestors on October 21 and 22. [LBJ Library photo by Frank Wolfe. #7049-30]

November

LBJ signed the Public Broadcasting Act on November 7, which led to the creation of the Public Broadcasting System [PBS] and National Public Radio [NPR].

On November 20, President Johnson signed the act creating the National Product Safety Commission.

On November 21, Johnson signed the Air Quality Act on November 21. [LBJ Library photo, left, by Mike Geissinger. #C7607-7]

December

Lynda Bird Johnson, President Johnson's older daughter, married Charles S. Robb in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on December 9.

From December 19 through 24, LBJ made his "Round-the-World Trip" to Australia, Pakistan, and Italy. He visited U.S. forces in South Vietnam and Thailand en route. He is pictured here with President Ayub Khan in Karachi, Pakistan. [LBJ Library photo by Frank Wolfe. #C8084-4]

January

On January 23, the USS Pueblo, a U.S. Navy communications intelligence gathering ship was attacked and captured by North Korea, which did not release the crew of the ship until December.

Enemy forces began the Tet Offensive in Vietnam on January 30.

February

On February 5, President Johnson met with foreign policy advisors. (L-R: Assistant Press Secretary Tom Johnson, Under Secretary of State Nicholas Katzenbach, Walt Rostow, President Lyndon Johnson, Clark Clifford, Secretary of State Dean Rusk. LBJ Library photo by Frank Wolfe. #8454-5a]

March

President Johnson narrowly defeated anti-war candidate Senator Eugene McCarthy on March 12 in the New Hampshire Democratic Presidential primary.

On March 31, in order to devote his time to seeking peace in Vietnam and at home, President Johnson announced that he would not be a candidate for another term as President of the United States. [LBJ Library photo by Yoichi Okamoto. #C9284-35]

April

Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4; riots erupted in Washington, D.C., and other cities. This photograph pictures President Johnson meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House with Civil Rights leaders. [LBJ Library photo by Yoichi Okamoto. #A6016-12]

On April 11, LBJ signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which included provisions for prohibiting racial discrimination in the sale and rental of housing.

May

Vietnam Peace Talks began in Paris.

June

Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated on June 6 following his victory in the California Presidential primary.

On June 19, President Johnson signed the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.

July

On July 1, Johnson signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

On July 15, LBJ signed the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act.

August

On August 21, President Lyndon Johnson called for the withdrawal of Soviet troops after their invasion of Czechoslovakia. The invasion stalled the Johnson Administration's efforts to limit the spread of armaments and to mutually reduce troop strength in Europe.

From August 26 through 29, riots disrupted the Chicago Democratic National Convention where Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey won the nomination for president.

October

On October 2, President Johnson signed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the National Trails Systems Act.

Lynda Johnson Robb gave birth to the Johnsons' first granddaughter, Lucinda Desha Robb, on October 25, 1968. [LBJ Library photo by Robert Knudsen. #D2529-29A]

On October 25, Johnson ordered a halt to all bombing of North Vietnam.

November

On November 5, Richard M. Nixon was elected 37^th President of the United States.

December

On December 25, LBJ and Lady Bird called Harry and Bess Truman to extend holiday greetings and to thank them for their support. Listen to a recording of the telephone conversation or read a transcript.

On January 20, 1969, Johnson returned to Texas and the LBJ Ranch, following the inauguration of President Richard M. Nixon.

As Senator, Vice President, and President, Johnson had exercised strong leadership in the U.S. space program, and on July 16, 1969, at President Nixon's request, President Johnson attended the launching of Apollo 11 at Cape Kennedy, Florida. Apollo 11 carried astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins toward the moon.

On July 20, 1969, while Michael Collins circled the moon in the command module Columbia, Neil Armstrong and "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men to land on the moon. The flight represented the fulfillment of the goal, set in 1961 and reaffirmed by President Johnson, of reaching the moon in the 1960s.

On May 22, 1971, Johnson attended the dedication of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library on the campus of The University of Texas at Austin. The Johnson Library is part of a system of Presidential libraries administered by the National Archives and Records Administration. It was established to preserve and make available for research the papers and memorabilia of President Lyndon Baines Johnson. [LBJ Library photo by Frank Wolfe. #D4076-18]

During his retirement, Lyndon Johnson wrote his memoirs, taught students, and participated in the beginnings of a series of national symposia on the critical issues of modern America held at the LBJ Library. On November 1, 1971, Johnson's memoir, The Vantage Point: Perspective of the Presidency, 1963-1969, was published.

Following a short retirement, Lyndon Baines Johnson died of a heart attack at his ranch on January 22, 1973. President Nixon announced his death to the nation along with the news that peace was at hand in Vietnam as cease fire agreements had been drawn up with the North Vietnamese. "No one would have welcomed peace more than [President Johnson]," said Nixon.

Lyndon Baines Johnson is buried in the family graveyard (right) on the grounds of the LBJ Ranch not far from his birthplace in Stonewall, Texas. [LBJ Library photo by Frank Wolfe, 1973. #D4930-22A]

_{All of the images in this exhibit are in the public domain and available for download in our photo archives.}