Today is officially Lyndon Baines Johnson Day here in the state of Texas. The late 36th president's birthday was hallowed in his home state after he died in 1973 of a massive heart attack at the age of 64. He would have been 104 today.

Johnson ascended to the presidency from the vice-presidency after the assassination of John F. Kennedy at the hands of Lee Harvey Oswald. Johnson had not been Kennedy's first choice of a running mate, but he accepted the senator as a way to win over Southern Democrats.

Nonetheless, his presence in the Kennedy administration was negligible to the point that he attempt to seize the powers of the Senate Majority Leader. Kennedy instead appointed him to President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunities, a move that would hasten great positive change in the country later.