Sam Houston Johnson (January 31, 1914 – December 11, 1978) was an American businessman. He was the younger brother of President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

Early life

Sam Houston Johnson was born in Johnson City, Texas on January 31, 1914, to Samuel Ealy Johnson Jr. and Rebekah Baines. He attended Southwest Texas State Teachers College, as had his brother Lyndon, and the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. He received a law degree from

Cumberland School of Law The Cumberland School of Law is an American Bar Association, ABA-accredited law school at Samford University in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law sch ...

in 1934.

Early career

For most of his life, Johnson was an aide and adviser to his older brother

; he was part of a network of supporters his brother used to maintain awareness of and control over political activities in Texas. When Lyndon Johnson was appointed Director of the

National Youth Administration The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency sponsored by Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt during his presidency. It focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

in the 1930s, Sam Houston Johnson replaced him as chief aide to

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

Richard M. Kleberg. Johnson later worked for the National Youth Administration in Texas. He also worked as an appraiser for the Federal Land Bank in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, and reported to his brother on its activities. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Johnson worked on the staff of the

War Production Board The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in January 1942, with Executive Order 9024. The WPB replaced the Su ...

. In addition, he was employed as a member of his brother's Senate staff and worked on Lyndon Johnson's campaigns. Besides working for and with his brother, Johnson also worked as an insurance executive and as the

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

representative of a Texas international trucking company.

Later career

Johnson was an

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

. In his later years, his drinking, coupled with physical disability caused by a broken hip, limited his effectiveness as a member of his brother's organization. In 1970 Johnson wrote a memoir, ''My Brother Lyndon'', which praised his brother in most respects, but was critical in others. At the time, Johnson indicated that he was estranged from his brother, but said his book was not the cause. The two reconciled before Lyndon Johnson's death. According to published accounts, Johnson stopped drinking in 1972 and underwent a religious conversion, becoming a regular attendee at services of Austin's non-denominational Community Church. Historian

Robert Caro Robert Allan Caro (born October 30, 1935) is an American journalist and author known for his biographies of United States political figures Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson. After working for many years as a reporter, Caro wrote '' The Power Bro ...

interviewed Johnson as one of his numerous sources while conducting research for '' The Years of Lyndon Johnson.'' According to Caro, he at first considered Johnson to be unreliable, largely as a result of his drinking. Caro said that he considered Johnson more credible in their subsequent encounters, largely because of his sobriety and religious conversion.

Death and burial

In 1976 Johnson was diagnosed with cancer and had a malignant tumor removed from his lung. His lung cancer returned, and Johnson died at Holy Cross Hospital in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

on December 11, 1978. He is buried in the Johnson Family Cemetery in Stonewall, Texas.

Marriage and family

In 1940, Johnson married Albertine Summers. They divorced in 1944. Their children included a daughter, Josefa Roxane (or Roxanne) (b. 1941), and a son, Samuel Summers (b. 1942). In 1955, Johnson married again to Mary Jane Michelson Fish. They later divorced.Rebekah Baines Johnson, ''A Family Album''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Sam Houston 1914 births 1978 deaths Cumberland School of Law alumni Texas State University alumni University of Texas at Austin alumni Texas Democrats Writers from Austin, Texas Businesspeople from Texas

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...

Deaths from lung cancer in Texas 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century Texas politicians