May 3rd, 1941

On this day in 1941, a rally was held opening Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1941 U.S. Senate Campaign in San Marcos, Texas.

May 3rd, 1968

On this day in 1968, President Johnson made Remarks at the Dedication of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Collection of Fine Arts.

“If I will never be remembered as a patron of the arts, I should be delighted to be known as an uncle of the arts.

“Truly, this is a historic night for all of us. Until now, the United States was the only great country which had no national museum devoted to its own art.

“The American collection was shunted about our Capital like a cultural stepchild. It was always in search of a home. Tonight it has a home—a great, historic home whose sandstone came from quarries that were first operated by George Washington, and whose halls welcomed Abraham Lincoln on the night of his Inaugural Ball.

“So tonight, thanks to the tireless dedication of many, many Americans, we see laid out before us the creative history of our great Nation.”