At LBJ's 1965 inauguration, Lady Bird Johnson held the Bible for the oath of office—the first time a First Lady performed this role.
On January 20, 1965, at the inauguration of Lyndon B. Johnson for his full presidential term, Lady Bird Johnson held the Bible upon which her husband took the oath of office, becoming the first First Lady in American history known to perform this ceremonial function at a presidential inauguration.
Traditionally, the task of holding the Bible had fallen to a Supreme Court clerk, a family member, or another designated official, but rarely, if ever, a president's wife in a nationally televised ceremony of this stature. Lady Bird's participation symbolically elevated the visibility and ceremonial standing of the First Lady within the constitutional ritual of presidential succession and inauguration.
The gesture, small in mechanics but large in symbolism, reflected the broader expansion of the First Lady's public role during the Johnson administration and has since become a common (though not universal) practice for First Ladies at subsequent inaugurations, including for presidents such as Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and others. Historians of the presidency and gender scholars point to this moment as an early visual marker of the modern First Lady's increasing prominence in the public and ceremonial life of the nation, foreshadowing Lady Bird's more substantive policy contributions throughout the remainder of the term.