JOHNSON, LYNDON B.

born Aug. 27, 1908, Gillespie county, Texas, U.S. died Jan. 22, 1973, San Antonio, Texas Lyndon B. Johnson. in full Lyndon Baines Johnson, also called LBJ 36th president of the United States (196369). A moderate Democrat and vigorous leader in the United States Senate, Johnson was elected vice president in 1960 and acceded to the presidency in 1963 upon the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. During his administration he signed into law the Civil Rights Act (1964), the most comprehensive civil rights legislation since the Reconstruction era, initiated major social service programs, and bore the brunt of national opposition to his vast expansion of American involvement in the Vietnam War.