Between 73 and 79 days after the presidential election, the president-elect of the United States is inaugurated as president by taking the presidential oath of office. The inauguration takes place for each new presidential term, even if the president is continuing in office for a second term.
The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The 56th inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in the city, marked the commencement of the first term of Barack Obama as president and Joe Biden as vice president. Based on combined attendance numbers, television viewership, and Internet traffic, it was one of the most-observed events ever by the global audience at the time.
The first inauguration of Bill Clinton as the 42nd president of the United States was held on Wednesday, January 20, 1993, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 52nd inauguration and marked the commencement of the first term of Bill Clinton as president and Al Gore as vice president. At 46 years, 154 days of age at the time of his first inauguration, Clinton was the third-youngest person to become president, and the first from the Baby Boomer generation.
The first inauguration of George W. Bush as the 43rd president of the United States took place on Saturday, January 20, 2001, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 54th inauguration and marked the commencement of the first term of George W. Bush as president and Dick Cheney as vice president. Chief Justice William Rehnquist administered the presidential oath of office at 12:01 p.m., after he administered the vice presidential oath of office as well. An estimated 300,000 people attended the swearing-in ceremony. This was the first presidential inauguration to take place in the 21st century, and the first in the 3rd millennium.
The inauguration of George H. W. Bush as the 41st president of the United States was held on Friday, January 20, 1989, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 51st inauguration and marked the commencement of the only term of both George H. W. Bush as president and Dan Quayle as vice president. Chief Justice William Rehnquist administered the presidential oath of office to Bush and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor administered the vice presidential oath of office to Quayle. Bush was the first sitting vice president to be inaugurated as president since Martin Van Buren in 1837 and the last World War II combat veteran. Bush composed his own prayer for the ceremony which he recited at the start of his inaugural address; the last president to do so was Dwight D. Eisenhower at his first inauguration in 1953.
The second inauguration of Ronald Reagan as president of the United States was held in a televised ceremony on January 20, 1985, at the White House, and was repeated the following day, January 21, 1985, at the Capitol's rotunda. This was the 50th presidential inauguration and marked the commencement of the second and final four-year term of both Ronald Reagan as president and of George H. W. Bush as vice president. At 73 years, 349 days of age on Inauguration Day, Reagan was the oldest U.S. president to be inaugurated, until Joe Biden's inauguration as president on January 20, 2021, at the age of 78 years, 61 days.
The inauguration of Jimmy Carter as the 39th president of the United States was held on Thursday, January 20, 1977, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington D.C. This was the 48th inauguration and marked the commencement of Jimmy Carter's and Walter Mondale's single term as president and vice president. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered the presidential oath of office to Carter, and Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill administered the vice presidential oath of office to Mondale. This was the last inauguration held on the East Portico of the Capitol building as well as the last time the chief justice would stand to the left of the podium, with the audience facing them, while swearing in a president. Exactly forty years later, Carter attended the inauguration of Donald Trump, becoming the first U.S. president to mark the 40th anniversary of his inauguration.
The first inauguration of Richard Nixon as the 37th president of the United States was held on Monday, January 20, 1969, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 46th inauguration and marked the commencement of the first and eventually only full term of both Richard Nixon as president and Spiro Agnew as vice president. Chief Justice Earl Warren administered the presidential oath of office to Nixon, and Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen administered the vice presidential oath to Agnew. Nixon had narrowly defeated Hubert Humphrey, the incumbent vice president, in the presidential election. Nixon became the first non-incumbent vice president to be inaugurated as president, something that would not happen again until Joe Biden in 2021. This was also the last presidential oath administered by Chief Justice Warren.
The second inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower as president of the United States was held privately on Sunday, January 20, 1957, at the White House and publicly on the following day, Monday, January 21, 1957, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol; both located in Washington, D.C. This was the 43rd inauguration and marked the commencement of the second and final four-year term of both Dwight D. Eisenhower as president and Richard Nixon as vice president. Chief Justice Earl Warren administered the presidential oath of office after the Senate Minority Leader William Knowland swore in the vice president.
The first inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower as the 34th president of the United States was held on Tuesday, January 20, 1953, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 42nd inauguration and marked the commencement of the first term of Dwight D. Eisenhower as president and of Richard Nixon as vice president. Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson administered the presidential oath of office to Eisenhower. The vice presidential oath was administered to Nixon by Senator William Knowland.
The second inauguration of Harry S. Truman as president of the United States was held on Thursday, January 20, 1949, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 41st inauguration and marked the commencement of the second and only full term of Harry S. Truman as president as well as the only term of Alben W. Barkley as vice president. Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson administered the presidential oath of office while Justice Stanley Forman Reed administered the vice-presidential oath of office.
The second inauguration of Thomas Jefferson as president of the United States took place on Monday, March 4, 1805 in the Senate Chamber of the United States Capitol. The inauguration marked the commencement of the second four-year term of Thomas Jefferson as president and the first four-year term of George Clinton as vice president. Giving the oath of office was Chief Justice John Marshall.
The first inauguration of James Madison as the fourth president of the United States was held on Saturday, March 4, 1809, in the chamber of the House of Representatives at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The inauguration marked the commencement of the first four-year term of James Madison as president and the second term of George Clinton as vice president. The presidential oath was administered by Chief Justice John Marshall. The President wore a 100% American-made wool suit, and the first official inaugural ball occurred at Long's Hotel, with ticket prices being $4. Clinton died 3 years, 47 days into this term, and the office remained vacant for the balance of it. Clinton was the first vice president to die in office.
The second inauguration of James Madison as president of the United States was held on Thursday, March 4, 1813, at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The inauguration marked the commencement of the second four-year term of James Madison as president and the only term of Elbridge Gerry as vice president. The presidential oath was administered by Chief Justice John Marshall. Gerry died 1 year, 264 days into this term, and the office remained vacant for the balance of it.
The inauguration of William Howard Taft as the 27th president of the United States was held on Thursday, March 4, 1909, at the Senate chamber inside the United States Capitol, Washington, D.C., instead of the regular East Portico due to a blizzard. This was the 31st inauguration and marked the commencement of William Howard Taft's only term as president and James S. Sherman's only term as vice president.
The second inauguration of William McKinley as president of the United States was held on Monday, March 4, 1901, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 29th inauguration and marked the commencement of the second and final term of William McKinley as president and the only term of Theodore Roosevelt as vice president. McKinley was assassinated 194 days into this term, and Roosevelt succeeded to the presidency.
The inauguration of John F. Kennedy as the 35th president of the United States was held on Friday, January 20, 1961, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 44th inauguration and marked the commencement of John F. Kennedy's and Lyndon B. Johnson's only term as president and vice president. Kennedy was assassinated 2 years, 306 days into this term, and Johnson succeeded to the presidency.
The second inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant as president of the United States was held on Tuesday, March 4, 1873, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 22nd inauguration and marked the commencement of the second and final four-year term of Ulysses S. Grant as president and the only term of Henry Wilson as vice president. Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase administered the presidential oath of office. This was one of the coldest inaugurations in U.S. history with 16 °F (−9 °C) at noon, and the inaugural ball ended early when the food froze. Vice President Wilson died 2 years, 263 days into this term, and the office remained vacant since there was no constitutional provision to fill an intra-term vice-presidential vacancy until the Twenty-fifth Amendment in 1967.
The second inauguration of Calvin Coolidge as president of the United States, was held on Wednesday, March 4, 1925, at the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 35th presidential inauguration and marked the commencement of the second and only full term of Calvin Coolidge as president and the only term of Charles G. Dawes as vice president. Chief Justice William Howard Taft, who had served as president from 1909 to 1913, administered the oath of office. This was the first inauguration on which a former U.S. president administered the Oath and the first to be broadcast nationally on radio.
The second inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States was the 57th inauguration, marking the commencement of his second and final term, with Joe Biden as vice president. A private swearing-in ceremony took place on Sunday, January 20, 2013, in the Blue Room of the White House, followed by a public inauguration ceremony on Monday, January 21, 2013, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
