| 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 |
| 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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