JFK sworn in as 35th President of the United States, LBJ as 37th VP 60 years ago this hour (Jan 20 1961)

1960s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'NBC NEWS INAUGURATION 1961 (1-20-1961)'

(Friday, January 20, 1961, 12:51 p.m. EST) — Calling for “a grand and global alliance” to combat tyranny, poverty, disease and war, former Massachusetts U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy, 43, was inaugurated today as the 35th President of the United States on the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., with Chief Justice Earl Warren administering the oath of office.


Video: 'John F. Kennedy inaugural address: Jan. 20, 1961'

Ten minutes before Kennedy was sworn in, at 12:41 p.m. EST, former U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson, 52, of Texas was inaugurated as the 37th vice president of the United States.


Video: 'Jan. 20, 1961: Inaugural Ceremonies for John F. Kennedy'

Kennedy and Johnson, both Democrats, had defeated the Republican ticket of incumbent Vice President Richard Nixon and Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. in the November 1960 general election.


Video: 'JFK'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS (JANUARY 20, 1961) (VIDEO VERSION)'

The incumbent president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican, was ineligible to run for a third term because of the term limits established by the recently approved 22nd Amendment.


Video: 'CBS News: Kennedy inaugural ball (1961)'