Lady Bird Johnson Establishes the National Wildflower Research Center

Lady Bird Johnson/1987

Pol Light Moment #131 occurred on December 22, 1982, when Lady Bird Johnson co-founded the National Wildflower Research Center on her 70th birthday. Claudia Alta Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson (1912-2007) was the First Lady of the United States while her husband Lyndon B. Johnson served as the President of the United States from 1963-1969. She was the second lady when Lyndon B. Johnson was the Vice-President from 1961-1963.

Lady Bird Johnson co-founded the National Wildflower Research Center along with actress Helen Hayes in 1982.  The National First Ladies Library states on their website that, "She made a personal donation of sixty acres of land near Austin, and $125,000; matching gifts flooded in, establishing a $700,000 endowment and the center opened the following year (National First Ladies Library: Biography of Lady Bird Johnson)."

The center was renamed it's present name of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in December 1997 in honor of Johnson's 85th birthday. The center became a part of the research program of the University of Texas at Austin in 2006 (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center).

More information about Lady Bird Johnson and her appreciation of wildflowers can be found at these websites.

• LBJ Library: Lady Bird Johnson
• National First Lady Library: Biography of Lady Bird Johnson
• Austin Woman Magazine, Lady Bird's Blooming Legacy, April 2003

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

The photo of Lady Bird Johnson is in the Public Domain.