Inauguration Day and MLK Day falling on the same day is rare. Here’s why

On By Littum

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President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House will coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a rare event.

Between Martin Luther King Jr. was Day a relatively new holiday (it was made a federal holiday in 1983) and inaugurations only happen every four years, the two events have only lined up once before.

And it will be more than two decades before that happens again. The next time Martin Luther King Jr. Day falls on January 20th during an inauguration year will be the 2053 Inauguration Day for the 2052 presidential election.

Here’s what you need to know:

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.

Two other presidents had inaugurations 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.

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 4 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 for 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 reason to let the former president make decisions for another four months.

The amendment was 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.