John B. Connally*

Born in 1917 in Floresville, Texas, John Connally was one of seven children. When he was 10 years old, his family moved to San Antonio. There, Connally delivered milk from a dairy truck after school in exchange for dairy products for his family.

Through family sacrifice and his own part-time jobs on campus, Connally was able to attend the University of Texas at Austin. He served as campus coordinator for the congressional campaign of Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ). After LBJ won, Connally interrupted his studies to work for the congressman in Washington, D.C.

In 1941, Connally received his LLB degree, after which he entered the naval reserve as an ensign and obtained the rank of lieutenant commander.

Following World War II, Connally started KVET radio station. In 1948, he helped LBJ win election to the Senate. After the election, Connally worked as a lawyer and then joined Sid Richardson, an independent oil producer. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy (JFK) asked Connally to be the 58th Secretary of the U.S. Navy.

On November 22, 1963, 10 months after his inauguration as governor of Texas, Connally was critically wounded while riding in an open-topped limousine with JFK the day he was assassinated in Dallas. In 1969, Connally returned to private practice.

President Richard M. Nixon named Connally as Secretary of the Treasury in 1971. Two years later, he returned to practicing law and ran his own cattle ranch. Connolly later ran unsuccessfully for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination.