White House Historical Association
Interactive Graphic: 28 Inauguration Firsts
Find out which president was brave enough to wear trousers for the first time or which president had the guts to recite his 3,000-word address from memory.
On Monday, Washington will again bear witness to one of the grandest displays of our democracy in action--the presidential inauguration. It's a ritual that reaches back through time, connecting our past to our present.
Searching through the annals of history, we've discovered that many presidential firsts occur during the inauguration. Some presidents are edgier than others when it comes to their inauguration ceremonies. Every four years, they get the chance to break with tradition — or maybe begin some of their own.
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In this interactive graphic, find out which president was brave enough to shake the status quo by wearing trousers to his swearing in rather than knee breeches, or which president had the guts to recite his 3,000-word inaugural address from memory. From the first president to arrive by train to the first captured on motion picture, the inauguration is always quite literally history in the making.
Learn more by clicking on the names of each president in the graphic below:
( You can also view in fullscreen )
Image via White House Historical Association