When George Washington was inaugurated as the first U.S. president, in 1789, his words could be heard no farther than his unaided voice could project them, and they could be carried no faster than the decrees of an ancient Roman or Persian emperor had been.
The choices one had to hurry news on its way were horseback, sailing ship, and carrier pigeon. No railroads, no telegraph. Time and tech have changed how we see and hear the inauguration. Here are some firsts:
1801: Jefferson’s inaugural address prompts a newspaper extra.
1817: Steamboats (see here) on the Potomac can carry news of Monroe’s inauguration.
1837: Trains (see here) can carry word of Van Buren’s inauguration, because the B&O Railroad began service from Washington in 1835.
1845: As Polk is sworn in, telegraph inventor Samuel Morse (see here) taps out the news to places as far away as Baltimore.
1857: Buchanan’s inauguration is photographed (see here).
1885: News of Cleveland’s inaugural can be spoken over long-distance telephone wires (see here).
1897: McKinley’s inauguration is captured in moving pictures.
1905: Telephones are installed on the Capitol grounds for Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural.
1921: Harding rides to and from his inauguration in an automobile. Loudspeakers let people in the crowd actually hear the proceedings. An announcer on radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh (see here) reads an advance copy of the inaugural address.
1925: Coolidge’s inauguration is broadcast live on twenty-four radio stations.
1929: Hoover’s inaugural is recorded by talking newsreel (see here).
1949: President Truman is inaugurated on national TV.
1961: Kennedy’s inaugural parade is on color TV (see here).
1981: Reagan’s inauguration is the world’s first telecast to include live, closed-caption subtitles for the hearing-impaired.
1997: Clinton’s inaugural is webcast.
2009: Obama’s inauguration is tweeted (see here).
Note: Inauguration Day was March 4 from 1793 through 1933.—RA