When Was President Inauguration Day Changed to January 20?

When was the inauguration day changed? President Inauguration Day has been observed on Jan 20th rather than March 4th ever since 1937.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president inaugurated on January 20. This was his second of four inaugurations. His first inauguration happened on March 4, 1933. If you are wondering why the inauguration day changed, what is the history behind the presidential inauguration, read on to find more information about them.

If Jan 20th falls on a Sunday, a private ceremony would take place on that day followed by a public inauguration on the 21st of Jan.

Why did the inauguration day change? It is changed so that they can provide enough time after Election Day for the administrators to gather all election information and also for newly-elected candidates to visit the capitol.

The recent President Inauguration occurred on January 20, 2017, for the former president Donald Trump and the upcoming President Inauguration Day will happen on January 20, 2021, and Joe Biden will assume office.

Presidential Inauguration History

Before the twentieth Amendment in the early 1930s, President Inauguration Day was March 4. The anniversary of the Constitution was first commenced in 1789. The twentieth Amendment introduced the new date, in case it falls on Sunday the day will be shifted to January 21.

The first president’s inauguration happened on April 30, 1789, for George Washington. The old inauguration date was followed from 1793 until 1933. Similar to the new president’s inauguration date, there was an exception for the old pattern in which if the date fell on a Sunday, the president ceremony was held on the next day. Historically, this occurred four times that included 1821, 1849, 1877, and 1917.

After the confirmation of the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution, the date was shifted to January 20. In 1957, 1985, and 2013 were years in which the inauguration took place Monday.

Locations of the Presidential Inauguration

Since 1801, many presidential inaugurations took place in Washington D.C. at the Capitol Building. Previous inaugurations happened at Federal Hall in New York City till 1789. After that,

It took place at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1793 to 1797. The location for James Monroe’s 1817 ceremony was shifted to the Old Brick Capitol in Washington because of on-going construction work. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s(1945), Harry S. Truman’s(1945), and Gerald Ford’s (1974) inauguration took place in n White House.

Apart from the public, the vice president, members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, high-ranking military officers, living Medal of Honor recipients, former presidents, and other dignitaries will witness the ceremony.