19 January 2021

Some curious facts about inaugurations

44 men have been president.
27 of them had died before they reached Joe Biden's age.


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The country has had four baby boomers in a row serve as president. Clinton, W. Bush and Trump were born within 66 days of each other. (Obama is about 15 years younger than them but still a Baby Boomer.) Curiously, rather than move forward to one of the next generations like Gen X or millennials, we've elected the first (and certainly the last) member of the Silent Generation (born between 1927 and 1946).


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Trump was the first president in history to use these words in an inauguration speech:
ignored,
tombstones,
rusted-out,
carnage,
robbed,
stolen,
stealing,
ravages,
bleed
If only he'd given us some kind of clue about the sort of presidency he had planned.


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George Washington was sworn into office wearing a sword (but fortunately he did not have to use it).

Thomas Jefferson was the first president sworn in who did not wear a powdered wig.

John Quincy Adams was the first to wear pants when being sworn in. (I'm tempted to leave it at that but it may be worth clarifying that the presidents before him wore knee breeches, the capri pants of 18th and early 19th century gentlemen.)

Teddy Roosevelt - inaugurated in 1901 - was the first to wear the modern tie. (And the first president to have his voice recorded.)


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Calvin Coolidge - who presided over a chunk of the roaring twenties - was the first president to have his inauguration broadcast over radio.

Bill Clinton - in 1997 in the midst of the dot-com boom - was the first to have his inauguration streamed online.

New media seems to augur well for the economy.


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The musical artists who performed at Obama's inauguration included Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Beyonce, Shakira, Garth Brooks, Herbie Hancock, Usher, and U2.


The musical artists who performed at Trump's inauguration included Toby Keith, Lee Greenwood, 3 Doors Down, The Piano Guys, DJ RaviDrum and The Frontmen of Country featuring Tim Rushlow, Larry Stewart and Richie McDonald.

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