George Eastland Christian Jr. (January 1, 1927 – November 27, 2002) was an American journalist and

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

staffer, who served as the twelfth White House Press Secretary from 1966 to 1969.

Career

Christian was born in Austin,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, to George Eastland Christian Sr. (1888–1941), a district attorney and a member of the

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in Texas. The Court, which is based in the Supreme Court Building in Downtown Austin, is composed of a Presiding Judge and eight judges. Article V of ...

, and Ruby Scott (1900–1995). After graduating from Austin High School in 1944, he enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

and saw duty in the Pacific theater and in Japan during the occupation. Upon his discharge from the military, Christian returned to Austin and studied journalism at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

under the

G.I. Bill of Rights The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...

. He subsequently spent seven years covering Texas state government for the International News Service. He left journalism for politics, serving as press secretary first for

Governors A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Price Daniel Marion Price Daniel Sr. (October 10, 1910August 25, 1988), was an American jurist and politician who served as a Democratic U.S. Senator and the 38th governor of Texas. He was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson to be a member of the Na ...

, and then for John B. Connally Jr.

White House Press Secretary tenure

Christian relocated to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, to join the staff of U.S. President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

. Christian served as the White House Press Secretary from 1966 to 1969. At the close of President Johnson's term of office, Christian returned to Austin.

Later life

After serving as White House Press Secretary, Christian began a career in the private sector in Austin, working in public relations, consulting, and at a lobbying firm. In 1986, Christian founded the Texas Civil Justice League, an organization dedicated to judicial reform, which he continued to operate until his death. Christian served as vice chairman of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, member and chairman of the

Texas Historical Commission The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas. The commission also identifies Recorded Texas Historic L ...

, member of the

Texas State Cemetery The Texas State Cemetery (TSC) is a cemetery located on about just east of downtown Austin, the capital of the U.S. state of Texas. Originally the burial place of Edward Burleson, Texas Revolutionary general and vice-president of the Republic of ...

Committee, and member of the boards of the Headliners Foundation,

McDonald Observatory McDonald Observatory is an astronomical observatory located near unincorporated community of Fort Davis in Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States. The facility is located on Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains of West Texas, with additional faci ...

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

College of Medicine, and Scott and White Memorial Hospital in

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, Texas. His awards include selection as a Distinguished Alumnus of The University of Texas at Austin and as an Outstanding Alumnus of the UT College of Communication. He also received the Texas Award for Historical Preservation from the

and the

Harvey Penick Harvey Morrison Penick (October 23, 1904 – April 2, 1995) was an American professional golfer and coach, who coached many Hall of Fame players. Late in life, he became a best-selling writer. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in ...

Award from Caritas of Austin. Also in 1982, a

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at ...

professorship in journalism was established in his name at UT Austin.

Personal life and death

Christian was married twice, firstly to Elizabeth Brown, and secondly, to Jo Anne Martin (1936–2015), a lawyer and philanthropist. He had six children. In 1978, his son John, then thirteen years of age, shot his English teacher, Wilbur Grayson, to death in front of his classmates with his father's

.22 Long Rifle The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smo ...

. Following the murder, John spent almost two years in Timberland Hospital in Dallas. John graduated from Highland Park High School in Dallas, and then attended college and law school at the

. He is currently an attorney in Austin. Christian died on November 27, 2002, at the age of 75. He is interred at the

in Austin, beside his father and mother and near his great-grandfather,

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Adam Rankin Johnson of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

References

External links

*
Texas Legislature H.R. No. 557 George Eastland Christian, Jr Resolution

George Eastland Christian
Texas State Cemetery Official Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, George 1927 births 2002 deaths American male journalists 20th-century American journalists Burials at Texas State Cemetery Military personnel from Texas Moody College of Communication alumni White House Press Secretaries Writers from Austin, Texas United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II