Lyndon B. Johnson became the 36th President of the United States when John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963.
After finishing Kennedy’s term, Johnson ran in his own right and won the 1964 presidential election in a landslide.
Johnson was born on Aug. 27, 1908, in Texas.
After attending Southwest Texas State Teachers College, which is now Texas State University in San Marcos, Johnson served in the Navy during World War II as a lieutenant commander. Johnson earned a Silver Star for his service.
In November 1934, Johnson married Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Taylor after meeting in September of that year, according to the LBJ Library website. They had two daughters, Lynda and Luci, who both hosted guests at the White House for their own weddings.
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Johnson spent six terms in the House before being elected to the Senate in 1948.
He served in the Senate for 12 years, according to the LBJ Library website. During this time, he was elected as the Democrat whip and became the Democrat minority leader in 1953, per the source.
During the presidential election of 1960, Kennedy asked Johnson to be his running mate. Kennedy narrowly defeated Richard Nixon, the incumbent Republican vice president, for the White House.
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On Nov. 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated and Johnson became president. He was inaugurated while onboard Air Force One.
When Johnson became the president, he prioritized finalizing bills that were endorsed by Kennedy, putting a large focus on tax cuts and the Civil Rights Act.
In 1964, Johnson ran for president with Hubert Humphrey as his running mate. Johnson beat his Republican opponent, Barry Goldwater, earning 61% of the popular vote, which equaled over 15,000,000 votes, according to the LBJ Library.
During his presidency, Johnson signed multiple bills related to rights for African Americans, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
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He also signed the 1965 Medicare Amendment to the Social Security Act into law, giving millions of seniors medical care.
Johnson played a great role in space exploration during his time in the White House and through his years as president. While he was president, astronauts orbited the moon on Apollo 8 in 1968, marking the first time astronauts left Earth’s orbit.
One of the biggest conflicts happening at the time of his presidency was the Vietnam War. Johnson was not able to reach a peaceful end to the conflict, which sparked many protests and controversy in the U.S.
Johnson died of a heart attack on Jan. 22, 1973, at 64 years old.
