Since 1901, all Inaugural ceremonies at the U.S. Capitol have been organized by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC). They have provided us with a list of firsts and interesting facts about U.S. Presidential Inaugurations. President links go to detail pages on the JCCIC web site.
| Inauguration Date |
President |
Facts and Firsts |
| April 30, 1789 |
George Washington |
First Inauguration; precedents set include the phrase, "So help me God," and kissing the Bible after taking the oath. |
| March 4, 1793 |
George Washington |
First Inauguration in Philadelphia; delivered shortest Inaugural address at just 135 words. |
| March 4, 1797 |
John Adams |
First to receive the oath of office from the Chief Justice of the United States. |
| March 4, 1801 |
Thomas Jefferson |
First Inauguration in Washington, D.C. |
| March 4, 1809 |
James Madison |
Inauguration held in the House chamber of the Capitol; first Inaugural ball held that evening. |
| March 4, 1817 |
James Monroe |
First President to take the oath of office and deliver the Inaugural address outdoors; ceremony took place on platform in front of the temporary Brick Capitol (where Supreme Court now stands). |
| March 5, 1821 |
James Monroe |
March 4, 1821 fell on a Sunday, so Monroe's Inauguration occurred the next day. |
| March 4, 1829 |
Andrew Jackson |
First President to take the oath of office on the east front portico of the U.S. Capitol. |
| March 4, 1833 |
Andrew Jackson |
Last time Chief Justice John Marshall administered the oath office; he presided over nine Inaugurations, from Adams to Jackson. |
| March 4, 1837 |
Martin Van Buren |
First President who was not born a British subject; first time the President-elect and President rode to the Capitol for the Inauguration together. |
| March 4, 1841 |
William H. Harrison |
First President to arrive in Washington by railroad; delivered the longest Inaugural address (8,445 words). |
| April 6, 1841 |
John Tyler |
First Vice President to assume Presidency upon the death of the President. |
| March 4, 1845 |
James K. Polk |
First Inauguration covered by telegraph; first known Inauguration featured in a newspaper illustration (Illustrated London News). |
| March 4, 1853 |
Franklin Pierce |
Affirmed the oath of office rather than swear it; cancelled the Inaugural ball. |
| March 4, 1857 |
James Buchanan |
First Inauguration known to have been photographed. |
| March 4, 1861 |
Abraham Lincoln |
Lincoln's cavalry escort to the Capitol was heavily armed, providing unprecedented protection for the President-elect. |
| March 4, 1865 |
Abraham Lincoln |
African Americans participated in the Inaugural parade for the first time. |
| March 4, 1873 |
Ulysses S. Grant |
Coldest March 4 Inauguration Day; the noon temperature was 16°F, with wind gusts up to 40 mph. |
| March 3, 1877 |
Rutherford B. Hayes |
March 4, 1877 fell on Sunday, so Hayes took oath of office on Saturday, March 3 to ensure peaceful transition of power; public Inauguration on March 5. |
| March 4, 1881 |
James Garfield |
First President to review the Inaugural parade from a stand built in front of the White House. |
| March 4, 1897 |
William McKinley |
First Inaugural ceremony recorded by a motion picture camera; first President to have a glass-enclosed reviewing stand; first Inauguration at which Congress hosted a luncheon for the President and Vice President |
| March 4, 1901 |
William McKinley |
First time the U.S. House joined with the U.S. Senate, creating the JCCIC, to make Inaugural arrangements |
| March 4, 1909 |
William H. Taft |
Inauguration took place in the Senate chamber because of blizzard; first time President's wife rode with President in the procession from the Capitol to the White House after Inauguration. |
| March 4, 1913 |
Woodrow Wilson |
Inaugural ball was suspended for the first time since 1853. |
| March 4, 1917 |
Woodrow Wilson |
First President to take the oath of office on Sunday; public Inauguration held on Monday, March 5, 1917; first time First Lady accompanied President both to and from the Capitol; first time women participated in the Inaugural parade. |
| March 4, 1921 |
Warren G. Harding |
First President to ride to and from his Inauguration in an automobile. |
| March 4, 1925 |
Calvin Coolidge |
First Inaugural ceremony broadcast nationally by radio; first time a former President (William Taft) administered the oath of office as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. |
| March 4, 1929 |
Herbert Hoover |
First Inaugural ceremony recorded by talking newsreel. |
| March 4, 1933 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt |
FDR and Eleanor begin tradition of morning worship service by attending St. John's Church. |
| January 20, 1937 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt |
First President Inaugurated on January 20th, a change made by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution; first time the Vice President was Inaugurated outdoors on the same platform with the President. |
| January 20, 1945 |
Franklin D. Roosevelt |
First and only President sworn in for a fourth term; had simple Inaugural ceremony at the White House. |
| January 20, 1949 |
Harry S. Truman |
First televised Inaugural ceremony; Truman reinstated the official Inaugural ball. |
| January 20, 1953 |
Dwight D. Eisenhower |
Broke precedent by reciting his own prayer after taking the oath, rather than kissing the Bible; first time the JCCIC hosted the Inaugural luncheon at the Capitol. |
| January 20, 1961 |
John F. Kennedy |
First time a poet participated in the Inaugural program; first Catholic to become President of the United States. |
| November 22, 1963 |
Lyndon B. Johnson |
First time a woman administered the oath of office (U.S. District Judge Sarah T. Hughes swore in Johnson on Air Force One). |
| January 20, 1969 |
Richard M. Nixon |
Took the oath of office on two Bibles; both family heirlooms. |
| August 9, 1974 |
Gerald R. Ford |
First unelected Vice President to become President. |
| January 20, 1981 |
Ronald Reagan |
First Inauguration held on the west front of the U.S. Capitol. |
| January 21, 1985 |
Ronald Reagan |
January 20th fell on Sunday, so Reagan was privately sworn in that day at the White House; public Inauguration on January 21st took place in the Capitol Rotunda, due to freezing weather; coldest Inauguration day on record, with a noon temperature of 7°F |
| January 20, 1997 |
William Clinton |
First Inaugural ceremony broadcast live on the Internet. |
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Comments
The first entry in the table, "Facts and Firsts," for George Washington needs to be reexamined. See the Jan. 9, 2009 USA TODAY article, No proof Washington said 'so help me God' will Obama?, where a spokesperson for the Senate Historical Office provided her comment:
In spite of how Beth Hahn may want to equivocate on the matter, the notion that Washington added a religious codicil to his oath can't be tabulated as a "Fact" -- that "First," as the article points out, belongs to President Chester A. Arthur. Furthermore, it is only since FDR in 1933 that all presidents have added the extra-constitutional words, "So help me God."
Posted by: Raymond Soller | January 24, 2009 11:52 AM