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Presidential inaugurations mark some of the most defining moments in US history, allowing presidents to establish traditions and reinvigorate the American people.
Some openings make history, while others are remembered for comical missteps and even brawls.
before President-elect Donald Trump He takes office for the second time on Monday, here are some of the most momentous Inauguration Day moments in American history.
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George Washington’s first inaugural address
No story of tradition is complete without its origin. President George Washington delivered the first inaugural address on April 30, 1789, just two weeks after Congress had unanimously elected him to serve as the nation’s leader.
George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States on April 30, 1789 in the old City Hall in New York. (Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images)
His 10-minute speech he noted the “divine blessing” of the nation’s founding, expressing gratitude to “the benign father of the human race” for the deliberations that led to the founding and unity of the American people.
Andrew Jackson’s crowd at the White House
President Andrew Jackson had some 20,000 of his supporters attend a celebration around the White House after it was first inaugurated in 1829.
However, the mob quickly became rowdy, with fights and furniture being destroyed. Jackson eventually fled through a window to the safety of a nearby hotel, according to the National Archives.
Falling in love in the White House after President Andrew Jackson’s 1829 presidential inauguration. (Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images)
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White House staff then resorted to filling bathtubs with whiskey and orange juice outside the White House in order to get the crowd to leave the building.
William Henry Harrison’s only inauguration
President William Henry Harrison delivered his inaugural address on a bitterly cold day in March 1841. He refused to wear a coat and traveled there from the inauguration on open horseback. His address is also the longest in US history, with Harrison speaking for more than two hours.
Presidential Inauguration of President William Henry Harrison on March 4, 1841. (Library of Congress)
A few weeks later Inauguration Day, Harrison caught a cold, which later turned into pneumonia, and died on April 4, barely a month after taking office.
First inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt
President Franklin D. Roosevelt was first sworn into office in 1933 in the midst of the Great Depression.
It was during his first inaugural address that he delivered a line now familiar to virtually every American, telling the people, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, center, watches his inaugural parade in Washington, DC on March 4, 1933. (AP Photo, File)
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Roosevelt’s steadfast leadership would see Americans through the Great Depression and World War II.
John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address
President John F. Kennedy took office on January 20, 1961, and he too delivered a line that would enter the American pantheon.
“Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country,” he urged.
President John F. Kennedy delivering his inaugural address from the East Portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC (Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images)
Kennedy’s words took the country to the moon and back, and to this day, polls rank him as the most beloved recent president.
Barack Obama’s first inaugural address
of President Barack Obama The first inauguration is notable not only because he was the first black American to become president, but also because of the historical peculiarity that he had to be sworn in twice.
Obama and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts spoke briefly as Roberts administered the oath of office. As a result, Roberts misspoke and declared, “That I will execute the office of President of the United States faithfully.”
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Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. administers the oath of office to President Barack Obama, right, for the second time in the Map Room of the White House on January 21, 2009 in Washington, DC (Pete Souza/The White House via Getty Images)
Obama then repeated that phrase, which is incorrect. The correct wording of the oath in the Constitution is: “That I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States.”
Although the ceremony went ahead independently, Obama and Roberts met again the next day at the White House to administer the oath properly.
