Presidential Inauguration timeline
-
Washington delivers first inaugural address
On April 30, 1789, George Washington delivered his first inaugural address to a joint session of Congress, assembled in Federal Hall in the... Read more
-
George Washington's second inaugural address
President Washington's second oath of office was taken in the Senate Chamber of Congress Hall in Philadelphia on March 4, the date fixed by the... Read more
-
John Adams delivers his inaugural address
The first Vice President became the second President of the United States. His opponent in the election, Thomas Jefferson, had won the second... Read more
-
Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated as the third president of the United States
Chief Justice John Marshall administered the first executive oath of office ever taken in the new federal city in the new Senate Chamber (now the... Read more
-
Thomas Jefferson's second inauguration
The second inauguration of Mr. Jefferson followed an election under which the offices of President and Vice President were to be separately... Read more
-
James Madison is inaugurated as the fourth president of the United States
Chief Justice John Marshall administered the oath of office in the Hall of the House of Representatives (now National Statuary Hall). Subsequently... Read more
-
James Madison delivers his second inaugural address
Chief Justice John Marshall administered the oath of office in the Hall of the House of Representatives. The United States was at war with Great... Read more
-
James Monroe is inaugurated as the fifth president of the United States
Because the Capitol was under reconstruction after the fire, President-elect Monroe offered to take his oath of office in the House Chamber of... Read more
-
James Monroe's second inauguration
In 1821, March 4 fell on a Sunday for the first time that presidential inaugurations had been observed. Although his previous term had expired on... Read more
-
John Quincy Adams is inaugurated as the sixth president of the United States
The only son of a former President to be elected to the Nation's highest office, John Quincy Adams was chosen by the House of Representatives when... Read more
-
Andrew Jackson is inaugurated as the seventh president of the United States
The election of Andrew Jackson was heralded as a new page in the history of the Republic. The first military leader elected President since George... Read more
-
Andrew Jackson delivers his second inaugural address
Cold weather and the President's poor health caused the second inauguration to be much quieter than the first. The President's speech was... Read more
-
Martin Van Buren is inaugurated as the eighth president of the United States
The ailing President Jackson and his Vice President Van Buren rode together to the Capitol from the White House in a carriage made of timbers from... Read more
-
William Henry Harrison is inaugurated as the ninth president of the United States
President Harrison has the dual distinction among all the Presidents of giving the longest inaugural speech and of serving the shortest term of... Read more
-
James K. Polk is inaugurated as the 11th president of the United States
The inaugural ceremonies of former Tennessee Governor and Speaker of the House James Knox Polk were conducted before a large crowd that stood in... Read more
-
Zachary Taylor is inaugurated as the 12th president of the United States
For the second time in the history of the Republic, March 4 fell on a Sunday. The inaugural ceremony was postponed until the following Monday,... Read more
-
Franklin Pierce is inaugurated as the 14th president of the United States
On religious grounds, former Senator and Congressman Franklin Pierce chose "to affirm" rather than "to swear" the executive oath of office. He was... Read more
-
James Buchanan is inaugurated as the 15th president of the United States
The Democratic Party chose another candidate instead of their incumbent President when they nominated James Buchanan at the national convention.... Read more
-
Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln
The mystic chords of memory . . . will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our... Read more
-
Lincoln Delivers Second Inaugural Address
Abraham Lincoln delivered his second inaugural address on March 4, 1865, during his inauguration at the start of his second term as President of... Read more
-
Ulysses S. Grant is inaugurated as the 18th president of the United States
General Grant was the first of many Civil War officers to become President of the United States. He refused to ride in the carriage to the Capitol... Read more
-
Ulysses S. Grant's second inauguration
Frigid temperatures caused many of the events planned for the second inauguration to be abandoned. The thermometer did not rise much above zero... Read more
-
Rutherford B. Hayes is inaugurated as the 19th president of the United States
The outcome of the election of 1876 was not known until the week before the inauguration itself. Democrat Samuel Tilden had won the greater number... Read more
-
James Garfield is inaugurated as the 20th president of the United States
Snow on the ground discouraged many spectators from attending the ceremony at the Capitol. Congressman Garfield had been nominated on his party's... Read more
-
Grover Cleveland is inaugurated as the 22nd president of the United States
On the East Portico of the Capitol, the former Governor of New York was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice Morrison Waite. A... Read more