LBJ Sworn-In as 36th President of the United States

Immediately after President John F. Kennedy was declared dead at Parkland Hospital, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson became the nation's 36th president.

With the uncertainty of what had transpired still in the air, the new president was whisked away, under a heavy security detail, to Love Field and ushered aboard Air Force One.

At about 2:15 p.m., with Kennedy's casket securely loaded onto the presidential airplane, Kennedy aide Kenneth O'Donnell recommended they depart immediately for Washington D.C. Takeoff would be delayed, however, until Johnson had taken the oath of office.

Without the pomp and ceremony traditionally associated with inaugurations, LBJ took the Oath of Office of the President of the United States inside a cramped cabin/conference room on Air Force One as it sat parked at Love Field.

Flanked by both his wife, Ladybird Johnson, and former first lady Jackie Kennedy, Johnson was administered the oath of office by the Honorable Sarah T. Hughes, U.S. District Judge of the Northern District of Texas.

The occasion marked the first and only time a woman has administered the oath and it's also the first and only time the oath has been taken on an airplane.

With Johnson sworn in as the 36th President of the United States, the plane immediately departed for Washington D.C. and arrived at Andrews Air Force Base at 5:58 p.m. EST.

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