John Bowden Connally, Jr. (February 27, 1917 – June 15, 1993), was an American politician. As a Democrat he served as the 39th Governor of Texas, as Secretary of the Navy under President John F. Kennedy, and as Secretary of the Treasury under President Richard M. Nixon. As Treasury Secretary, Connally is best remembered for removing the U.S. dollar from the gold standard in 1971, an event known as the Nixon shock.