From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Laura Lane Welch Bush (born
November 4, 1946) is the wife of the forty-third President
of the United States, George
W. Bush, and was theFirst
Lady of the United States from
January 20, 2001 to January 20, 2009.
Mrs. Bush has had a love for books and reading since childhood, and her life
and education have reflected that interest. She graduated fromSouthern
Methodist University in 1968
with a Bachelor's
degree in education,
and soon took a job as a second grade school
teacher. After attaining her Master's
degree in Library
Science at the University
of Texas at Austin, she was employed as a librarian.
She met George Walker Bush in 1977, and they were married later that year. In
1981, the couple had twin daughters.
Bush's political involvement began with her marriage. She campaigned in her
husband's unsuccessful 1978 run for the United
States Congressand later his successful Texas
gubernatorial campaign. As
First Lady of Texas, Bush implemented many initiatives focused on health,
education, and literacy.
In 1999, she aided her husband in campaigning for the presidency of the United
States in a number of ways, most notably delivering a keynote
address at the 2000
Republican National Convention; this gained her national attention. She
became first lady after her husband defeated Democrat Al
Gore in the 2000
election.
Polled by Gallup as
one of the most popular first ladies,[1] Laura
Bush was involved in topics of both national and global concern during her
tenure. She continued to advance her trademark interests of education and
literacy by establishing the annual National
Book Festival in 2001 and
encouraged education on a worldwide scale. She also advanced women's causes
through The
Heart Truth and Susan
G. Komen for the Cure. She represented the United States during her
foreign trips, which tended to focus on HIV/AIDS and malaria awareness.
Early
life and career
Laura Bush was born in Midland,
Texas, as the only child of Harold Welch (1912–1995) and Jenna Louise
Hawkins Welch (born 1919).[2] Her
father was a home builder and later successful real
estate developer[3] while
her mother worked as the bookkeeper for her father's business.[2]Early
on, her parents encouraged her to read, leading to what would become her love
of reading.[2] She
said, "I learned [how important reading is] at home from my mother. When I was
a little girl, my mother would read stories to me. I have loved books and
going to the library ever since. In the summer, I liked to spend afternoons
reading in the library. I enjoyed the Little
House on the Prairie books
and Little
Women, and many others... Reading gives you enjoyment throughout your
life."[4]
She attended James Bowie Elementary School, San Jacinto Junior High School,
and Midland
Lee High School in Midland.[5] She
graduated from Lee in 1964[6] and
went on to attend Southern
Methodist University in Dallas where
she was a member of Kappa
Alpha Theta.[7] She
graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor
of Science degree in education.
In 1963, Laura ran a stop
sign resulting in a fatal car
accident that killed her friend in another car.[8][9] The
driver of the other car was her classmate Michael
Dutton Douglas. According to the accident report released by the city of
Midland, neither driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and no
charges were filed.[10] According
to Bush's spokesperson, "It was a very tragic accident that deeply affected
the families and was very painful for all involved, including the community at
large. To this day, Mrs. Bush remains unable to talk about it."[10]
After graduating from SMU, she began her career as a school
teacher of the second grade at
Longfellow Elementary School in the Dallas
Independent School District.[7] She
then taught for three years at John F. Kennedy Elementary School, a Houston
Independent School District school
in Houston,
until 1972.
In 1973, Welch attained a Master
of Science degree in Library
Science from the University
of Texas at Austin.[7] She
was soon employed as a librarian at
the Kashmere Gardens Branch at the Houston
Public Library. The following year, she moved back to Austin and
took another job as a librarian in the Austin
Independent School District school
Dawson Elementary until 1977. She reflected upon her employment experiences to
a group of children in 2003, saying, "I worked as a teacher and librarian and
I learned how important reading is in school and in life."[4]
Marriage
and family
She met George
W. Bush in 1977 at a backyard
barbecue at the home of mutual friends, John and Jan O'Neill.[7] After
a three-month courtship, he proposed to her and they were married on November
5 of that year[11] at
the First United Methodist Church in Midland, the same church in which she had
been baptized.[12] The
couple did not have a honeymoon.