On this day: Lyndon Johnson wins the US presidency - The Jewish Chronicle

Lyndon Johnson had already been president for nearly a year when he was actually voted in, taking on the role in the wake of the assassination of President Kennedy. But the election of 1964, the results of which were announced on November 3, put him in office with a landslide of 61 per cent of the vote.

Remembered for escalating American troop levels in Vietnam, and also for “the Great Society”, his expansive programme of domestic legislation, he remained in the White House until 1968 when he chose not to stand for reelection.

LBJ was president when Israel fought the Six Day War and his support of the Jewish state has been well-documented. Perhaps less known is that the Texan politician, who entered congress in 1937 and became the youngest senate minority leader in 1953, had a role in helping Jewish victims of Nazi persecution.

His exact role has been disputed, but historians have claimed that LBJ helped European Jewish refugees by providing them with documentation – false passports and one-way visas - to enter Texas via Cuba, South America and Mexico.