Inauguration Day isn’t always January 20th, this year it’s MLK Day

On By Littum

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Next week, President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in for his second term in the White House, and it will take place at the Martin Luther King Jr.

It is not often that these two events coincide, and it has only happened one other time in history, when Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a relatively young holiday. Since an event only takes place every four years, it is difficult for the events to line up. Coincidences are so rare that the next time Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on January 20 during an inauguration year will be the 2053 Inauguration Day for the 2052 presidential election.

Here’s what you need to know about the double events taking place on Monday.

When is Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday, January 20, 2025. The holiday occurs on the third Monday in January, and has done so since it was first observed.

Former President Ronald Reagan first made the day a federal holiday in 1983but the first sightings did not occur until three years later in 1986. Former President Jimmy Carter attempted to do the same during his presidency, but Congress shot down the bill in 1979, only to pass it four years later.

Despite being made a federal holiday in the 80s, the first holiday observed jointly by all 50 states did not occur until the turn of the century in 2000.

Has a president ever been inaugurated on Martin Luther King Jr. The day before?

A limited number of presidents have had their inauguration days held on January 20 – 14 out of 46 – and even fewer have had the honor fall on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Since the holiday was officially designated in 1983, only one president has been sworn in on Martin Luther King Jr. Day: former President Bill Clinton. For his second term, Clinton’s inauguration took place on January 20, 1997, which was also a year in which Martin Luther King Jr. Day was January 20.

Two other presidents had elections on Monday, January 20, but they were held before Martin Luther King Jr. Day was a public holiday. Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in for his third term on Monday, January 20, 1941, and Richard Nixon was sworn in for his first term on Monday, January 20, 1969.

As previously mentioned, after President Donald Trump is sworn in on Monday, there will not be another presidential inauguration on Martin Luther King Jr. Day for 28 years, when it happens in 2053.

Barack Obama’s second inauguration day

Barack Obama can also be counted as having a half-Martin Luther King Jr. Day insertion. For his second term The inauguration was on the 20th of January on a Sunday so there was a private ceremony held on the Sunday he was sworn in and a public ceremony the following day which was Monday the 21st of January 2013 and it happened just like that. to be Martin Luther King Jr. Day that year.

So while he started his second term on Sunday, January 20, his public ceremony was held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Has Inauguration Day always been January 20?

The inauguration day was initially not held on 20 January. When George Washington was first sworn in as president, Congress made it so that the first Wednesday in March would be Inauguration Day. In 1789 this would have been Wednesday 4th March. Although this did not end up happening due to logistical delays, they decided to change it to where future dedications would be held on March 4th in honor of what was supposed to be the first Inauguration Day.

After this, the tradition continued for over 100 years, with exceptions for years when 4 March fell on a Sunday. The change to Inauguration Day did not occur until 1922, when Nebraska Senator George Norris introduced what would become Twentieth Amendment. Norris proposed shortening the period between the election and the inauguration of the next president, as communications and travel methods had improved in the 20th century, and there was no need to have the previous president make decisions for another four months.

The amendment was finally passed in 1932 and ratified by the states in 1933. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first president to be sworn in on January 20 when the inauguration for his second term took place in 1937.

Has election day always been on Super Tuesday?

Election Day has been in November almost as long as there have been elections. In 1845, during the tenure of the 11th president, James K. Polk, Congress passed a law issuing the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November election day.

In years like 2022, when the first day of the month falls on a Tuesday, the election is pushed back a week and held on November 8.