November 23, 1963

This day in 1963 marked the first day of Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency. On November 22, just two hours after the assassination in Dallas of President John F. Kennedy, former vice president Johnson took the oath of office. Witnesses to the swearing-in included his wife and new first lady, Claudia Johnson and the widowed Jacqueline Kennedy, whose clothes were still stained with her husband’s blood. They then flew to Washington, accompanying Kennedy’s coffin. Upon arriving in Washington Johnson said, “I will do my best. That is all I can do.”