Presidents Inaugurations Retrospective 1861-2009

This 1889 painting by Ramon de Elorriaga shows the inauguration of the first president, George Washington

Abraham Lincoln's, March 1861

Grover Cleveland was both the 22 and 24 President of the US. He was inaugurated in 1885, 1889 ...

... and again in 1893, beating the incumbent President Benjamin Harrison

William McKinley became the 25th President of the United States in 1897 and was elected for a second term. He is pictured here leaving for his inauguration in 1901

Theodore Roosevelt, 1901 and 1905

William Howard Taft, in 1909

Woodrow Wilson served two terms in office, succeeding Taft in 1913

Warren G Harding, from 1921 until his death from a heart attack in 1923

When Harding died in 1923, Calvin Coolidge succeeded to the Presidency and was elected in his own right the following year, taking the Oath of Office in March 1925

Herbert Hoover became the 31st President of the United States in March 1929

Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1933...

..1937, 1941...

...and 1945. He died shortly after the start of his fourth term and was succeeded by Harry S Truman

Harry S Truman (the 'S' didn't stand for anything) was elected for a second term and is seen here waving to the crowd during a parade after his inauguration on January 20, 1949

Dwight D Eisenhower, in 1953. (Also pictured are Truman and Richard Nixon, bottom right)

John F Kennedy served from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.

Kennedy's Vice President, Lyndon B Johnson, succeeded him after he was killed, and took the Oath of Office for a second term in 1965

Richard Nixon, in 1969

Vice President Gerald Ford became President in August 1974 after Nixon's resignation

Jimmy Carter was sworn in on January 20 1977

Actor Ronald Reagan served two terms as President, taking the Oath of Office in January 1981 ...

.. and again in 1985

George H W Bush took the Oath of Office in January 1989

Bill Clinton, January 20 1993

... He served a second term from 1997 and left office with a high approval rating, despite the Lewinsky and Whitewater controversies

George W Bush was the 43rd President of the United States. He was sworn in as President in January 2001

Barack Obama, January 20 2009