Harry Middleton, who led LBJ library and released presidential tapes, dies at 95

Harry Middleton, a journalist and speechwriter who became the longtime director of the LBJ Presidential Library and whose decision to release recordings of Oval Office telephone conversations deepened the historical understanding of the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson, died Jan. 20 at a retirement facility in Austin. He was 95.

The death was confirmed by Anne Wheeler, the LBJ Library’s communications director. She said there was no specific cause.

After working in the White House and helping Johnson write two books, Mr. Middleton became director of the LBJ Library in 1970, while it was still in development. He stood alongside the president when the library opened in 1971 on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin.

During more than 30 years as director, Mr. Middleton made the library a lively center of historical study, with frequent symposiums, speakers and exhibits. He moved to declassify presidential papers and was often called the dean of presidential librarians.