1797: First chief justice to administer the oath

of office: Oliver Ellsworth, for John Adams.

1857: First inauguration to be photographed

(James Buchanan).

1897: First video of the ceremony

(William McKinley).

1925: First radio

broadcast (Calvin

Coolidge).

1949: First televised

inauguration (Harry

Truman, right).

1997: First live Internet

broadcast (Bill Clinton).

On Friday, March 2, 1877,

Congress settled the

disputed 1876 election by

awarding 185 electoral votes

to Rutherford B. Hayes and

184 to Samuel Tilden.

Concerned that Tilden might

challenge the verdict by

taking the oath that Sunday,

Hayes went to the White

House on Saturday and was

secretly sworn in by Chief

Justice Morrison R. Waite as

President Ulysses S. Grant

looked on. Since Grant’s

term didn’t expire until noon

the next day, the country

technically had two sitting

presidents for a period of a

little over 12 hours.

“I…do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States,

and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

I INAUGURATION DAY

hasn’t always been

Jan. 20. Until 1933,

the president was typically

sworn into office on

March 4 — the day the U.S.

Constitution took effect in

1789. The 20th

Amendment to the

Constitution effectively

moved the beginning and

end of the presidential and

vice presidential terms to

noon on Jan. 20, thus

shaving roughly six weeks

off the time when the

incumbent president and

vice president would be

serving as “lame ducks.”

C N H I G R A P H I C B Y

KEVIN BURKETTL O G A N S P O R T P H A R O S - T R I B U N E

INAUGURAL LOCATIONS

INAUGURAL FIRSTS

Date President City Location

1789 George Washington New York Balcony of Federal Hall

1793 George Washington Philadelphia Senate Chamber, Congress Hall

1797 John Adams Philadelphia House Chamber, Congress Hall

1817 James Monroe Washington Old Brick Capitol

1841 John Tyler Washington Brown’s Indian Queen Hotel

1865 Andrew Johnson Washington Kirkwood House

1881 Chester A. Arthur New York Arthur residence

1901 Theodore Roosevelt Buffalo, N.Y. Ansley Wilcox Mansion

1923 Calvin Coolidge Vermont Coolidge Homestead

1945 Franklin D. Roosevelt Washington White House

1945 Harry S. Truman Washington White House

1963 Lyndon B. Johnson Dallas, Texas Air Force One

1974 Gerald R. Ford Washington White House

Most of the time, the inauguration has taken place at the U.S

Capitol — though the exact location has moved from inside the

Senate or House Chamber, under the rotunda, at one of the

porticos or on one of the exterior staircases.

The Capitol wasn’t finished for the first three inaugurations, and

it wasn’t available for use for the 8th ceremony — James

Monroe’s — because it had sustained heavy damage after being

set afire by the British during the War of 1812.

Because of failing health, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s fourth

inauguration took place at the White House. The other eight times

a president took the oath at a location other than the Capitol was

because the previous president died or resigned (in blue).

National Park Service

The first inauguration of George Washington took place in 1789

on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York — the first capital.

FACTS AND

FIGURES

70 Age of Donald Trump,

who will be the oldest

president to be inaugurated.

Ronald Reagan was 69

when he took office in 1981.

42 Age of Theodore

Roosevelt when he

was sworn in as president

on Sept. 13, 1901, after the

death of William McKinley.

At age 43, John F. Kennedy

was the youngest president

to be formally inaugurated.

8,445 Words in

William Henry

Harrison’s inaugural

address in 1841. Harrison

spent nearly two hours

giving his address in cold,

wet conditions without an

overcoat or a hat.

135 Words in George

Washington’s

second inaugural address

in 1793, the shortest in

presidential history.

7 Degrees Fahrenheit at

Ronald Reagan’s

inauguration in 1985, the

coldest on record. Wind

chills at the time of the

ceremony were reportedly 10

to 20 degrees below zero.

Architect of the Capitol

The 2009 inauguration of Barack Obama is thought to have had the highest attendance in history.

William H. Harrison, right, took the

oath of office on March 4, 1841.

He traveled to Washington by

train — an inaugural first — and

delivered a nearly two-hour

speech, stopping near the end to

take the oath. Harrison insisted

on braving the elements — it was

windy and the temperature was

estimated at 48 degrees —

without a coat, gloves or hat. He

attended three inaugural balls

that evening. Historians widely

believe he contracted pneumonia

— though others say typhoid or a

similar illness was the more

probable condition — and died

31 days after his inauguration,

making his term as president the

shortest in U.S. history.

A FATEFUL INAUGURATION TWO PRESIDENTS

A mural depicting the first inauguration

to take place outside the U.S. Capitol

building can be found in the Capitol

Rotunda. Architect of the Capitol

Sources: Architect of the Capitol; Library of Congress; National Park Service; Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies