Judge Sarah T. Hughes was the first woman to administer the presidential oath of office for President Lydon B. Johnson after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
She got the opportunity due to the extreme impromptu nature of the ceremony.Hughs was chosen by Johnson himself because of their long standing friendship.
They managed to cram 27 people into the tight quarters of the presidential plane, Air Force One. Auxiliary power was disconnected from the plane, resulting in a non-functioning air conditioner.
The plane was instructed to take off as soon as possible, so the inauguration took place while the plane's four engines powered up. It is still the only time an inauguration took place on an aircraft.
Johnson was sworn in using a missal found by the side table in Kennedy's Air Force One bedroom since a bible was nowhere to be found. It was almost that exact moment that the nation learned of Kennedy's death via Walter Cronkite's broadcast.
