On January 20, the United States will hold its 59th inaugural ceremony to swear in President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
The event, held at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, will be unlike other presidential swearing-in ceremonies in memory, marked by surging COVID-19 cases, the January 6 attack on the Capitol building by supporters of US President Donald Trump and Trump's plan to not attend the swearing-in ceremony.
As the world prepares for President Biden, Roshneesh K'Maneck looks back at US Presidential inaugurations -- from James Buchanan in 1857 to Donald Trump in 2017.
(Please click on the image for a high-resolution photograph)
The first known photograph of an inauguration at the Capitol, still under construction, was at the inauguration of James Buchanan on March 4, 1857.
400 gallons of oysters were eaten at Buchanan's inaugural party.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
400 gallons of oysters were eaten at Buchanan's inaugural party.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
In 1865, in the aftermath of the horrific American Civil War, when Abraham Lincoln was re-elected, he spoke of moving the nation forward: 'With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.'
It was the first time that African Americans took part in the inaugural parade.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
It was the first time that African Americans took part in the inaugural parade.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
William McKinley delivers his inaugural address as outgoing President Grover Cleveland listens in, March 1897.
McKinley's inauguration was the first recorded by a motion picture camera.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
McKinley's inauguration was the first recorded by a motion picture camera.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
US President-elect Woodrow Wilson and President William Howard Taft laugh on the White House steps before departing together for Wilson's inauguration, March 1913.
Wilson's inauguration had quite a few event-crashers when members of the suffragette movement marched on Washington, DC.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
Wilson's inauguration had quite a few event-crashers when members of the suffragette movement marched on Washington, DC.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
Warren Harding waves to the crowd after being sworn in on the east portico of the Capitol, 1921.
Harding's inauguration was the first to feature an automobile, used to transport the President-elect and outgoing President Wilson to and from the Capitol.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
Harding's inauguration was the first to feature an automobile, used to transport the President-elect and outgoing President Wilson to and from the Capitol.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
President Calvin Coolidge rides in a car during his inaugural parade, 1925.
Coolidge's second oath was administered by the only chief justice who was a former President, William Howard Taft.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
Coolidge's second oath was administered by the only chief justice who was a former President, William Howard Taft.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
President Herbert Hoover delivers his inaugural address, March 4, 1929.
At the end of the year, the Roaring Twenties would come to an end and the Great Depression would begin.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
At the end of the year, the Roaring Twenties would come to an end and the Great Depression would begin.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
In 1937, Franklin Delano Roosevelt became the first President sworn in on January 20, a practice followed till date.
During FDR's second inauguration no Bible was available to take the oath. A policeman offered his to cover for the mistake.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
During FDR's second inauguration no Bible was available to take the oath. A policeman offered his to cover for the mistake.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
In 1961, John F Kennedy became the first and so far the only Roman Catholic sworn in as President.
And it was here that America became highly aware of how influence and status are part of fashion.
Jacqueline Kennedy helped design her own outfit with designer Ethel Frankau of the Bergdorf Custom Salon. The outfit included an exterior cape.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
And it was here that America became highly aware of how influence and status are part of fashion.
Jacqueline Kennedy helped design her own outfit with designer Ethel Frankau of the Bergdorf Custom Salon. The outfit included an exterior cape.
Photograph: Library of Congress/Reuters
$3.5 million donations poured in for Jimmy Carter's inauguration in January 1977.
Rosalynn Carter's gold-trimmed dress was the same she wore to her husband's inauguration when he was sworn in as Georgia's governor six years earlier, designed by Mary Matisse.
Photograph: Marion S Trikosko/White House Photo/Library of Congress/Reuters
Rosalynn Carter's gold-trimmed dress was the same she wore to her husband's inauguration when he was sworn in as Georgia's governor six years earlier, designed by Mary Matisse.
Photograph: Marion S Trikosko/White House Photo/Library of Congress/Reuters
Ronald Reagan was the first President not to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House.
The reason: The Great Gipper's inauguration in 1985 has been the coldest to date -- a miserable -7 degree Celsius.
Photograph: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library/Reuters
The reason: The Great Gipper's inauguration in 1985 has been the coldest to date -- a miserable -7 degree Celsius.
Photograph: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library/Reuters
Michael Jackson appears on stage with President-elect Bill Clinton, his daughter Chelsea and Diana Ross during the celebrations at the Lincoln Memorial for the inauguration in 1993.
A whopping 14 balls were held in William Jefferson Clinton's honour after he was elected President.
In 1997, his second inauguration was the first to be broadcast live on the Internet.
Photograph: Reuters
A whopping 14 balls were held in William Jefferson Clinton's honour after he was elected President.
In 1997, his second inauguration was the first to be broadcast live on the Internet.
Photograph: Reuters
George W Bush and Laura Bush during the Inaugural parade, 2001.
Bush, the 43rd President, was the second father and son to be President -- his Pappy, George Herbert Walker Bush, was the 41st President.
John Adams and John Quincy Adams, the second and sixth Presidents, were the other father and son Presidents.
Photograph: Reuters
Bush, the 43rd President, was the second father and son to be President -- his Pappy, George Herbert Walker Bush, was the 41st President.
John Adams and John Quincy Adams, the second and sixth Presidents, were the other father and son Presidents.
Photograph: Reuters
In 2009, Barack Obama became the first African-American to be sworn in President, also the first to be born in Hawaii.
A record 1.8 million people attended the inauguration -- the largest number to date.
Photograph: Chuck Kennedy/Reuters
A record 1.8 million people attended the inauguration -- the largest number to date.
Photograph: Chuck Kennedy/Reuters
In 2013, Obama toook the oath of office on a Bible that belonged to Dr Martin Luther King Jr.
Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Donald Trump takes the oath of office with his wife Melania and son Barron at his side, during his inauguration at the US Capitol in Washington on January 20, 2017. An estimated 300,000 to 600,000 people attended the public ceremony held at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. According to reports, private donors put up $107 million to usher Donald Trump into office.
Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
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