George Eastland Christian Jr. (January 1, 1927 – November 27, 2002)[1] was an American journalist and White House staffer, who served as the twelfth White House Press Secretary from 1966 to 1969.
Upon his discharge from the military, Christian returned to Austin and studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin under the G.I. Bill of Rights. He subsequently spent seven years covering the Texas state government for the International News Service.
At the close of President Johnson's term of office, Christian returned to Austin.
After leaving government service, he revealed that no one in the White House believed that the 1967 USS Liberty incident was a case of mistaken identity: "There was considerable skepticism in the White House that the attack was accidental. An accident of this magnitude was too much to swallow."[3][4]
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 operated until his death.[5]
Christian served as vice chairman of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, member and chairman of the Texas Historical Commission, member of the Texas State Cemetery Committee, and member of the boards of the Headliners Foundation, McDonald Observatory, Texas A&M College of Medicine, and Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas.
His awards include selection as a Distinguished Alumnus of The University of Texas at Austin and an Outstanding Alumnus of the UT College of Communication. He also received the Texas Award for Historical Preservation from the Texas Historical Commission and the Harvey Penick Award from Caritas of Austin. Also in 1982, a centennial professorship in journalism was established in his name at UT Austin.
Personal life and death
Christian's grave at Texas State Cemetery in his native Austin, Texas.
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.[6][7] Following the murder, John spent almost two years in Timberland Hospital in Dallas.[8] John graduated from Highland Park High School in Dallas, and then attended college and law school at the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently an attorney in Austin.[8]
Christian died on November 27, 2002, at the age of 75. Although a parishioner at All Saints Episcopal Church for 40 years, his funeral service was held at University United Methodist church. He is interred at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, beside his father and mother and near his great-grandfather, Brigadier GeneralAdam Rankin Johnson of the Confederate States Army.
