- –
- +
Obama's Jan. 21 inauguration date 7th in history
AP /
November 28, 2012
Text Size:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is adding an asterisk to his name in the history books.
His inauguration will be only the seventh time that the constitutionally mandated date for a president’s swearing-in — Jan. 20 — has fallen on a Sunday. So, following tradition, the inauguration will be on Monday, Jan. 21.
The adjustment puts Obama in league with President Ronald Reagan, whose second inauguration in 1985 also was changed from Sunday to Monday.
When the Constitution required a March 4 swearing-in, the first president to move his inauguration to Monday was James Monroe on March 5, 1821. After the 20th Amendment changed the inauguration to Jan. 20, Dwight Eisenhower and Reagan held private swearings-in on Sundays that fell on Jan. 20 and then held public ceremonies the following day.
© Copyright 2013 Globe Newspaper Company.
