Politics & Government

PHOTOS: Presidential Inaugurations Through the Years

Ahead of President Barack Obama's 2013 inauguration Jan. 21, we rounded up historic photos showing presidential oaths of office past.

President Barack Obama's second inauguration ceremony and celebration Jan. 21 is a far cry from the inauguration of our first president, George Washington.

Washington's ceremony was April 30, 1789 at Federal Hall in New York City, where the federal government was headquartered at the time. It was in Philadelphia at Washington's second inauguration that he made the shortest inauguration speech on record—133 words and less than two minutes long. 

Later inaugurations were held in Philadelphia when the federal government moved there. 

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One thing all swearing-in ceremonies have in common, though, are the presidential inauguration oath of office:

I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

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The first inauguration at the U.S. Capitol was for Thomas Jefferson on March 4, 1801.

The swearing-in ceremony has taken place on the east side of the Capitol, the west side of the Capitol (where it's held today) and other places like hotel rooms (for James Monroe in 1817, because the Capitol was still being rebuilt after being burned by the British) or even on a plane (when Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson was sworn into office after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas).

For more on the 2013 Presidential Inauguration, see Patch's Presidential Inauguation Section.

A few facts about some of the presidents whose photos appear in the gallery, according to "99 Interesting Facts About the U.S. Presidents" and other sources. To see pictures of past inaugurations, click through the media player above.

Inaugural Parade Facts

  • In 1865, during Abraham Lincoln's second Inauguration, African Americans marched in the parade for the first time. 
  • Jimmy Carter was the first president, in 1977, to walk from the Capitol to the White House in the parade.

Timing and Weather

  • Ronald Reagan's second inauguration, in 1985, was the coldest, 7 degrees and 10 to 20 degrees below zero with wind chill.
  • Franklin Delano Roosevelt's inauguration in 1933 was the last inauguration to be held in March. All inaugurations since then have been held in January.

Presidential Facts

  • The youngest president was Teddy Roosevelt who became president at age 42 when McKinley (1843-1901) was assassinated. 
  • When Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower arrived at the White House to pick up President Truman in 1953 for the ride to the Capitol, they not only refused to enter for a cup of coffee with the Trumans, but stayed in the vehicle until Truman came outside. 

Other Facts

  • Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993 was the first to be carried live on the Internet.
  • Lyndon Baines Johnson was sworn in on Air Force One in Texas, two hours after President Kennedy was killed Nov. 22, 1963. He was the first president to be sworn in by a woman, federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes.
  • The first poet to participate in an inauguration, Robert Frost recited from memory a poem at John F. Kennedy's inaugural in 1961, after the sun's glare on the snow made it too difficult to read a poem he had written for the occasion.
  • At one of the inaugural balls in 1969 that evening, Richard Nixon forgot to introduce the first lady, breaking a tradition, according to "The People's Almanac."
  • Gerald Ford was sworn in Aug. 9, 1974 as president after Nixon's resignation in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Ford took the oath of office in the White House East Room, after the Nixons had departed to California.


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