Lynda Bird Johnson Robb

Lynda Bird Johnson Robb
Johnson Robb at the LBJ Presidential Library in 2018
First Lady of Virginia
In role
January 16, 1982 – January 18, 1986
Governor Chuck Robb
Preceded by Edwina P. Dalton
Succeeded by Jeannie Baliles
Second Lady of Virginia
In role
January 14, 1978 – January 16, 1982
Preceded by Edwina P. Dalton
Succeeded by Martha Davis
Personal details
Born Lynda Bird Johnson
(1944-03-19) March 19, 1944
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Spouse(s)
Charles Robb (m. 1967)
Children 3
Parents
Alma mater University of Texas, Austin (BA)

Lynda Bird Johnson Robb (born March 19, 1944) is an American chairwoman who served as chairwoman of the Board of Reading is Fundamental, the nation's largest children's literacy organization, as well as chairwoman of the President's Advisory Committee for Women. She is also a magazine editor who served as First Lady of Virginia from 1982 to 1986, before that as Second Lady of Virginia from 1978 to 1982. She is the elder of the two daughters of former United States President Lyndon Baines Johnson and former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. She became the oldest living child of a U.S. President following the death of John Eisenhower on December 21, 2013.

Biography

Johnson and Chuck Robb's wedding at the White House, December 9, 1967

When Lynda Bird Johnson was born, her mother, Lady Bird, had suffered three miscarriages, and her doctor spoke pessimistically of her chances of having more children, so her father, Lyndon suggested that she be named for both her parents. Thus, the name "Lynda Bird."[1] She is the older of former President Lyndon B. Johnson's two daughters.[2]

Johnson was engaged to Bernard Rosenbach before she met the actor George Hamilton, who himself had been engaged to Susan Kohner. In 1966, Johnson and Hamilton began dating.[3][4] Because of an increase in Secret Service protection of Presidential relatives resulting from the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Hamilton–Johnson couple were one of the first to be protected by Secret Service agents.

Johnson later married U.S. Marine Corps Captain Charles S. Robb in the East Room of the White House in 1967 in a service celebrated by the Right Reverend Gerald Nicholas McAllister. Her husband served with distinction in Vietnam. Charles Robb later became Lieutenant Governor of Virginia (1978–82), making her Second Lady of Virginia. Later, Robb became Governor of Virginia (1982–86), making her First Lady of Virginia. He also served two terms as U.S. Senator from Virginia.

On May 9, 1979, President Jimmy Carter appointed Robb to chair the President's Advisory Committee for Women. The committee of thirty worked to carry out Carter's mandate to promote equality for women in the cultural, social, economic, and political life of the United States.[5]

Robb served as Chairwoman of the Board of Reading is Fundamental (1996–2001), the nation's largest children's literacy organization. She continues to serve the organization as Chairwoman Emerita. She was a contributing editor to Ladies Home Journal magazine (1969–81). She serves on the Board of Directors of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Robb was educated at the National Cathedral School for Girls, graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, and was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. She holds an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Washington and Lee University and Norwich University and has been honored with a plethora of civic awards for her public service.

She has three, in her words, "almost perfect"[6] daughters, Lucinda Desha Robb (b. 1968), Catherine Lewis Robb (b. 1970) and Jennifer Wickliffe Robb (b. 1978).

In 2004, Robb attended the State funeral of former President Ronald Reagan, on behalf of her mother, Lady Bird Johnson, who was unable to attend because of poor health. She again represented her mother at the State funeral of former President Gerald Ford, who died December 26, 2006.

References

  1. ↑ Merle Miller, Lyndon: An Oral Biography at 103 (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons 1980).
  2. ↑ "First Daughters: Then and Now".
  3. ↑ Source, The Reliable (13 February 2012). "Lynda Johnson Robb and George Hamilton: When a president's daughter dated a movie star".
  4. ↑ "Hollywood Flashback: George Hamilton Once Took LBJ's Daughter to the Oscars".
  5. ↑ Peters, Gerhard and John T. Woolley. "Jimmy Carter: "President's Advisory Committee for Women Appointment of Chair, Vice-Chairs, and Four Members". The American Presidency Project. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  6. ↑ Bunin, Patricia (1996-04-11). "An Azalea Queen of Long Ago, Lynda Robb, Enjoys Memories". The Virginian-Pilot. p. 5. Retrieved 2006-04-09.
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