Barack Obama, is now the president of the United States. It’s weird to say, after eight years of George W. Bush. Nearly a third of my life was spent with George W. Bush at the helm. Now, the next saga begins. I hope that everyone was able to watch the inauguration, and watch as our country came together to swear in our new president.

In light of today, I figured we would take a look at some inauguration history. There’s some interesting facts about our past inaugurations, during which our historical presidents took office.

- To this day, George Washington has given the shortest inauguration speech, which tallied at 135 words.

-Thomas Jefferson was the first president to have his inauguration conducted in Washington D.C.

- Willaim H. Harrison was the first president to arrive for his inauguration by train. He also has delivered the longest speech at 8,445 words. It’s believe that he later died from health complications due to him being outside so long.

- The first photographed inauguration was supposedly to have been James Buchanans’

- In Abraham Lincoln’s inaugural parade, African Americans participated in the festivities for the first time ever.

- Ulysses S. Grant had the coldest ‘March’ inauguration day, when it was believed to have been 16 degrees outside. Not to mention the 40 mph wind gusts. (Surprised he didn’t have the shortest speech)

- During Woodrow Wilson’s parade in 1917, women were part of the inaugural parade for the first time.

- Harry Truman’s inauguration was the first one televised. He was also the president to bring back the inaugural ball (PARTY!!).

- Ronald Reagan holds the record for overall coldest inauguration day, when it was 7 degrees outside.

- Then finally, Bill Clinton had the first inauguration that was broadcast over the internet.

Looking at the history of inaugurations, you can really find the evolution of the country and just how far we’ve come. From the ‘first time’ events, like having the first picture of the inauguration, all the way to the first African Americans being involved in the process. Now, we have our first African American president, who more than likely held the attendance record for an inauguration. Impressive indeed.

Tags: Fun //