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Quick Facts
- NAME: Laura Bush
- OCCUPATION: Educator, Philanthropist, U.S. First Lady
- BIRTH DATE: November 04, 1946 (Age: 66)
- EDUCATION: Southern Methodist University, University of Texas, Robert E. Lee High School
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Midland, Texas
- Maiden Name: Laura Lane Welch
- Full Name: Laura Lane Welch Bush
- AKA: Laura Welch Bush
- AKA: Laura Bush
- AKA: Laura Welch
- ZODIAC SIGN: Scorpio
Best Known For
Laura Bush is the wife of 43rd U.S. President George W. Bush. She served as first lady from 2001 to 2009.
Videos see all videos
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Laura Bush - Mini Bio (3:44)
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Barbara Bush - Full Biography (44:48)
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Laura Bush - Mini Bio
Growing up in the small community of Midland, Texas, Laura Bush fell in love with books at an early age. Literacy, gender equality, and education were her chief causes as First Lady.
George W. Bush - Mini Biography
A short biography of George W. Bush who started out as governor of Texas in 1994 and then became president in 2000. From his handling of 9/11 to the Iraq War, Bush is considered one of the most polarizing presidents of the modern era.
Barbara Bush - Full Biography
Barbara Bush is the first woman since Abigail Adams to be wife to one U.S. President and mother to another. As First Lady, she led a long crusade against illiteracy.
George H.W. Bush - Mini Biography
A World War II veteran, George H.W. Bush served as Vice President for two terms before being elected President of the United States in 1988.
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Play NowLaura Bush. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 03:15, Jun 19, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/laura-bush-9232785.
Laura Bush. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/laura-bush-9232785 [Accessed 19 Jun 2013].
"Laura Bush." 2013. The Biography Channel website. Jun 19 2013, 03:15 http://www.biography.com/people/laura-bush-9232785.
"Laura Bush," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/laura-bush-9232785 [accessed Jun 19, 2013].
"Laura Bush," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/laura-bush-9232785 (accessed Jun 19, 2013).
Laura Bush [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 Jun 19] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/laura-bush-9232785.
Laura Bush, http://www.biography.com/people/laura-bush-9232785 (last visited Jun 19, 2013).
Laura Bush. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/laura-bush-9232785. Accessed Jun 19, 2013.
Synopsis
Laura Bush was born on November 4, 1946, in Midland, Texas. Following her marriage to George W. Bush in 1977, Laura devoted her time to volunteer work and homemaking. After George was elected governor of Texas in 1994, Laura raised her profile, working to improve literacy. As first lady, she spoke on the radio in support of the Afghan people, and testified before the Senate Committee on Education.
Quotes
"Any first lady can do whatever they want to do. In this country, people expect them to work on whatever they want or to have a career of their own."
"Every child in American should have access to a well-stocked school library."
"It's not easy to have the job of president. It's not easy to run for it. And it's not a job for the faint of heart."
Early Life
Laura Bush was born Laura Lane Welch in Midland, Texas, on November 4, 1946. She is the only child of Harold Welch, a home builder and successful real estate developer in the vast flat lands that surround Midland, and Jenna Louise Hawkins Welch, who worked as a bookkeeper in her husband's business. As a child, Laura was shy and eager to please her parents. Early on, they encouraged to her to pursue her love of reading, which became a life-long passion.
Laura's life before college was typical of many young women, going to public schools and being with friends. However, on the night of November 6, 1963, she experienced something most teenagers don't: Around 8 p.m. that evening, she was driving a friend to a party on a desolate rural road when she ran a stop sign and hit another automobile broadside, killing its driver. The driver was a friend and fellow classmate, Michael Dutton Douglas, a star athlete and popular student at Robert E. Lee High School. Laura and her passenger suffered only minor injuries. Though she was not charged in the accident, the guilt has remained with her all of her life.
After graduation from high school, Laura attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, earning a bachelor's degree in early education in 1968. She taught second grade for a few years before receiving her master's degree in library science at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, where she became a public school librarian.
Meeting George W. Bush
In 1977, on a visit back to Midland, she met George Walker Bush at a barbeque that was hosted by mutual friends. George W. Bush was the owner of a fledgling oil business and the son of George H.W. Bush, a career politician and former Director of the CIA. There was an immediate attraction, and within three months of their introduction, Bush proposed to Laura. He was considering running for a congressional seat at the time, and she accepted on the condition that she never be asked to deliver a political speech. However, she soon relented, and publically supported her husband's unsuccessful bid for office.
After his defeat, Bush returned to is oil business and Laura became a housewife, but soon returned to politics to help her father-in-law, George H.W. Bush's presidential campaign in 1980. The following year (1981), Laura gave birth to twin girls, Jenna and Barbara, named after their grandmothers. Over the ensuing years, Laura began to quietly but steadfastly build a family. She encouraged her husband to attend church and quit drinking, and became a major positive influence in his life.
Becoming Political
In 1995, George W. Bush was once again inspired to enter politics in a run for the Texas governorship.
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