This Day in History

January 20th


1937 – Franklin Roosevelt is inaugurated for a second term as President of the United States. This is the first inauguration scheduled on January 20, following adoption of the 20th Amendment. Previous inaugurations were scheduled on March 4.

1961 – John Fitzgerald Kennedy was inaugurated as the youngest man, and first ever Roman Catholic to become elected President of the United States. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren administered the Oath of office of the President of the United States. The newly inaugurated President Kennedy delivered his one and only inaugural address of 1364 words at 12:51 (ET) lasting only 13:59 from first word to last, (not including the resultant applause), making it the fourth-shortest inaugural address ever delivered. It is widely considered to be among the best presidential inauguration speeches in American history.

1986 – Martin Luther King, Jr., day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.

1993 – Bill Clinton is sworn in as 42nd President of the United States of America.

2009 – Barack Obama is sworn in as 44th President of the United States of America.

Information provided by: Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.