Lady Bird Johnson Dead at 94

Lady Bird Johnson, wife of former president Lyndon Johnson, is dead today at 94. Johnson was a vociferous—if always graceful—campaigner for the beautification of the country and, during one of the most turbulent presidencies of all time, for civil rights and the betterment of the poor.

Johnson was born Claudia Taylor in Karnack, Texas, and married LBJ when he was a young congressional aide. Her biographer calls the first lady a "precursor of feminism," and the Dallas Morning News writes that her charisma, personality and whirlwind East-Texas moxie were nothing less than a match for her magnetic husband. (More Lyndon Johnson stories.)