Inaugural Firsts
When was the first inaugural parade? Who had the longest inaugural address? A look at presidential inaugurations through time
- By Brian Wolly
- Smithsonian.com, December 17, 2008, Subscribe
First Inauguration on January 20th
1937 – Franklin Roosevelt takes the oath of the Presidency for the second time, but for the first time on January 20th. The 20th Amendment changed the date from March 4 to January 20 when it was ratified in 1933.
First Inauguration in Washington, D.C.
1801 – Thomas Jefferson is the first to take the oath of office in the new capital city, Washington, D.C. His inaugural speech is also the first to be reprinted in a newspaper.
First President to Be Sworn in on the Steps of the Capitol
1829 – Andrew Jackson is the first president to be inaugurated on the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol, facing the Library of Congress and Supreme Court. In 1981, Ronald Reagan became the first President inaugurated on the West Terrace, in front of the National Mall.
Last to Wear a Hat
1961 – John F. Kennedy was the last president to wear the traditional stovetop hat to his inauguration.
First Inaugural Poet
1961 – Robert Frost recited his poem, The Gift Outright at John F. Kennedy's inauguration. He was 87 years old at the time.
First Parade
1805 – Thomas Jefferson's second inauguration hosted the first inaugural parade.
First Inaugural Ball
1809 – James and Dolly Madison attend the first inaugural ball held on the same day as the inauguration. Tickets were $4 each.
First Inauguration in Wartime
1813 – Only a few months after declaring war on the British in 1812, James Madison delivers an address criticizing Great Britain. One year later, the Capitol would be set ablaze by the British Army.
Longest Inaugural Address
1841 – Without a hat, coat, or gloves, William Henry Harrison famously gave the longest inaugural address ever at 10,000 words long in the midst of a snowstorm. He died one month later from pneumonia contracted on Inauguration Day.
First Broadcast
1925 - Calvin Coolidge's inauguration was the first to be broadcast nationally over radio waves. In 1949, President Harry S. Truman was the first to deliver his inaugural address to a televised audience; Kennedy would be the first to do so on color television in 1961. In 1997, Bill Clinton's second inauguration was the first to be streamed live over the Internet.
First Recorded for a Newsreel
1929 – Herbert Hoover's inauguration was the first recorded for a newsreel. In 1897, William McKinley's address was the first to be recorded by a motion picture camera.
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Comments (41)
Is it true James Madison did not use a bible at his inauguration?
Posted by Macline on March 18,2013 | 02:35 AM
the answer to why 44 presidents but 56 inaugural balls...some presidents were re-elected....Reagan was the 40th president, he had two inaugural balls. Obama is 44th and he has had 2 balls. Roosevelt would have had 4. Then there are some presidents who never had a ball because they took over for a president who left office before their term had ended.
Posted by Tom Mozitis on February 10,2013 | 07:57 PM
I enjoyed this article while waiting to go to work. I will always stop what I am doing when it comes to national geographic and the articles about history. I have three favoretes, they are ancient Egypt , early Anerica, and WWII. The latter one for which my father faught in. Keep them coming!
Posted by Clinton Buckley on May 29,2012 | 10:59 AM
When did President Reagan wave during the parade at the Dixon, Il people that attended the ceremonies?
Posted by renie palen on February 5,2012 | 06:26 AM
Why is there 44 presidents and 56 inaugural balls? I have posed this question to several people and no one has an answer.
Posted by Ruth on July 6,2011 | 10:01 PM
Currently, the Library of Congress website posted at http://memory.loc.gov:8081/ammem/pihtml/pinotable.html states that: September 20, 1881, and September 22, 1881 -- Chester A. Arthur
- First time the oath of office has been taken in the Vice President's Room of the Capitol.
- Two ex-presidents (Grant and Hayes) were present at this ceremony.
- Pronounced the words "So help me, God" after taking the oath; other presidents have followed this example.
Posted by Ray Soller on November 24,2010 | 07:45 PM
How many people watched JFK's inauguration on television?
Posted by Jane on July 22,2010 | 11:46 PM
In answer to one of the questions above, the first televised inauguration was January 20, 1953 when Dwight D. Eisenhower took office the first time.
Posted by Janet Zabala on March 2,2010 | 12:36 PM
I heard Sally Hemings made a dress for someone for the Inaugural Ball. If this information is correct, can you tell me who and when.
Posted by Brenda Massey on January 25,2010 | 01:12 AM
I want to frame a presidential inauguration invitation for Pres Bush Bush and Vice President Cheney.
Were there official colors?
Posted by Barbara Rothstein on October 20,2009 | 07:21 AM
What inauguration was the first to include a sign language interpreter?
Posted by Doyle Petty on August 19,2009 | 07:14 AM
i have asked who was the very first president of the united states to change the time. i did not get an answer. can you tell me?
Posted by evelyn scott on March 12,2009 | 07:47 PM
Who was and is the only American Indian Vice-President? I believe he was elected in the early 1800's. Please give some history; e.g. tribe, term, party, platform, accomplishments,etc.
Posted by Sylvester/carol sahme on February 24,2009 | 08:25 PM
What mid twentieth century president marched in the inaugural parade of William McKinley?
Posted by Kevin O'Brien on January 28,2009 | 09:38 PM
There have been 56 inaugurals, but 44 presidents, why?
Posted by fhs on January 24,2009 | 10:04 PM
If you display the busts of all the presidents including President Barak Obama, there will only be 43, not 44 busts. Why is that?? Only 43 men have served as President...Warren G Harding served 2 non-consecutive terms as the 22nd and 23rd president.
Posted by C. Lee on January 24,2009 | 01:47 PM
It seems that 56 is the number of times that a president takes the oath of office on the official 'inauguration' day, that is the March 4 or Jan 20 after he has been elected. 56 does not count the number of times the oath of office has been administered due to death of the president. In this example, Harry Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson only had one inauguration, though they had taken office the previous term before being elected at the top of the ticket.
Posted by H. David on January 23,2009 | 03:59 AM
I found this section of the website very helpful.It gave me alot of information that is helpful to know.
Posted by shraddha on January 22,2009 | 06:19 PM
George Washington was the first to add "So help me God," and every President since then has said it. Teddy Roosevelt did not use a Bible or any other book -- every other President used a Bible. Every four years, there is an Inauguration -- how hard can this be? It may be a new President, it may be a President who was re-elected, it may be a President who took over the office from a previous President who died in office or resigned. Some schiolars have suggested that Harding was of "mixede race."
Posted by chuck sapper on January 21,2009 | 10:02 PM
In regard to why there is a disparity with the number of Presidents and the number of Inaugurations.... Remember that when a president dies in Office and his Vice President assumes the Office there is no Inauguration Ceremony ie...Truman following Roosevelt and Johnson following Kennedy...That too has to be factored in..... God Bless The United States of America
Posted by Richard Scully on January 21,2009 | 08:57 PM
What about the first president to ride to and from his inauguration in an automobile
Posted by Clare Craddock on January 21,2009 | 08:25 PM
I found this section of the website very helpful especially since our assignment was to make a quiz based on previous inaugurations.
Posted by Erica on January 21,2009 | 04:51 PM
How can we miss this first... Barack H. Obama is the FIRST African-American to be President of the United States. This is a HUGE breakthrough for this country of such high proportions of racism. I am proud of the USA, and am even more proud of the American people for this revolutionary change in thinking. Further proof that change IS possible! Lord knows, we need it!
Posted by Kate on January 21,2009 | 01:48 PM
Whose inauguration was the first to be broadcast on the Internet?
Posted by Brooklyn S. on January 21,2009 | 01:22 PM
I want to know the answer to this, "Did any of the Presidents leave out the 'So help me God' which is not in the Constitutional text of the oath?" --Rabi Arthur Waskow on January 12,2009. I imagine it's a relatively recent addition like "In God we Trust" and "under God" in the Pledge. Also, I want to know which Presidents declined to swear on a Bible (there were a few).
Posted by d on January 21,2009 | 12:10 PM
In response to "why have there been 56 Inaugural parades, but only 44 presidents?".......Is it because not every president serves for one term?, according to your constitution all presidents are allowed to serve for two terms if that's what the people wish, hence more inaugural parades than presidents.
Posted by Caroline Kuan on January 21,2009 | 09:20 AM
Re: 56 Inaugural parades. Many have two or more terms so the count goes up. G.W. Bush the 43rd President was lucky enough to have two parades and so on. I love the stovetop comment. That's funny.God Bless the U.S.A.
Posted by Nose Problem on January 21,2009 | 06:44 AM
Several presidents served more than one term and have to be inaugurated at the begining of every term. From that you get the disparity in numbers.
Posted by Sean M. Harris on January 20,2009 | 01:25 AM
44 Presidents, 56 Inaugurations .... some Presidents served more than one term.
Posted by Diana on January 20,2009 | 10:13 PM
As Barak Obama was born in 1961, he was the first president born when there were 50 states.
Posted by Keith on January 20,2009 | 08:44 PM
The reason there have been 56 inaugurations and 44 presidents, is that you've had several presidents reelected. FDR had 4 inaugurations, for example. Nixon had 2, Reagan had 2, Clinton and george W Bush had two. There have been others, but you get the idea.
Posted by Keith on January 20,2009 | 08:44 PM
I found the answer: 70 presidential inaugurations, 9 died in office and 5 were set in private. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inauguration_Day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidents_who_died_in_office
Posted by Max Biddle on January 20,2009 | 07:37 PM
I'm not sure I have the full answer but there have been 70 presidential elections, several were concurrent however a few inaugurations were set in a private setting. Reference - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inauguration_Day but I too would like to know exactly how this was determined.
Posted by Max Biddle on January 20,2009 | 07:05 PM
Do they do inaugural parades for second term presidents?
Posted by Mike Rogers on January 20,2009 | 06:54 PM
It's been reported several times today that this is the 56th inaugural parade. How can that be if we are only at the 44th President?
Posted by Elizabeth Sabin on January 20,2009 | 04:57 PM
Why have there been 56 Inaugural parades & 44 US presidents?
Posted by Peter Nagel on January 20,2009 | 04:47 PM
The first televised inauguration was 1949 for president Truman.
Posted by Brian Van Horne on January 20,2009 | 03:02 PM
Joey: "In 1949, President Harry S. Truman was the first to deliver his inaugural address to a televised audience."
Posted by Rick on January 20,2009 | 02:58 PM
What was the first president to get his inauguration telivised?
Posted by Joey on January 20,2009 | 09:38 AM
Did any of the Presidents leave out the "So help me God" which is not in the Constitutional text of the oath?
Posted by Rabi Arthur Waskow on January 12,2009 | 05:54 PM
Correction: Kennedy wore a stovepipe hat, not a stovetop hat.
Posted by Tom Proudfoot on December 25,2008 | 12:57 AM
Dear Smithsonian: I find facts about Presidents and Inagurations very intriguing. I am a student of history, and I am a devoted and loyal member of The Smithsonian. Interesting facts about Inaugation firsts. On January 20, 2009, there will be another first: the Inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama, our first black (or Afro-African) president. What exciting times we live in! Keep up the good work, Smithsonian and Smithsonian Magazine. Sincerely, Susan D. Osborn
Posted by Susan D. Osborn on December 24,2008 | 08:48 PM