John Nance Garner (1868-1967)

He was Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives during the last two years of Herbert Hoover’s presidency and Vice President during President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first two terms (1933-1941). He was a dominant national political figure who played a critical role in the passage of much of the New Deal legislation aimed at alleviating or ending the most severe economic crisis in U.S. history. Considered to be the godfather of Texas politics, he paved the way for Texans to occupy the highest levels of the nation’s government, including the Oval Office.