Ten important US presidential inaugurations - and one that went wrong
Soaring speeches, a punch-up in the White House, a chilly mistake and a killer in the crowd - inaugurations have seen them all.
Friday 20 January 2017 11:46, UK
The inauguration of a new President is a time of renewal for America - the chance for a new leader to unite the country and to set out his vision for the future.
Here are ten of the most important, plus one which went terribly badly:
1. Abraham Lincoln, 4 March 1865
Lincoln's second inaugural address came towards the end of the four year civil war which had ravaged the US.
"With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds."
The war ended two months later but by then Lincoln was dead.
A photograph of the inauguration creepily shows John Wilkes Booth lurking behind Lincoln.
Five weeks later, on 14 April 1865, Booth assassinated the 16th president.
2. Franklin D Roosevelt, 4 March 1931
America's longest serving President led the country out of the Great Depression and into the Second World War.
A famed orator, FDR's first inaugural addresses contained one of the 20th century's most famous quotes.
Speaking about the economic crisis engulfing his country he told Americans: "Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
3. George Washington, 30 April 1789
George Washington's inauguration took place in New York six weeks after it was supposed to.
The new nation was so disorganised - and so big - it took all the newly elected congressmen weeks to get together to ratify the result.
As the military leader who beat the British in the War of Independence, Washington's stature was second to none.
Everything he did as President set examples for his successors to follow.
He is still regarded as one of America's best leaders - in status perhaps second only to Lincoln.
4. Barack Obama, 20 January 2009
Pressure was high on famed orator Barack Obama to deliver sweeping remarks like those of Kennedy or Lincoln.
He didn't but his inauguration still did not disappoint.
Washington DC had never seen a crowd like it.
Almost two million people turned out to see America's first black President take power.
5. John F Kennedy, 20 January 1961
John F Kennedy's inaugural address was filled with hope.
"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country."
Less than three years one of his countrymen, Lee Harvey Oswald, shot him dead.
6. Lyndon Johnson, 23 November 1963
There was no great inauguration ceremony when Lyndon Johnson first became president.
He was sworn in aboard Air Force One just two hours after John F Kennedy was assassinated.
Kennedy's widow, Jackie, stood next to Johnson - her coat still stained with her dead husband's blood.
7. Thomas Jefferson, 4 March 1801
Thomas Jefferson took power at a dangerous time for the fledgling republic.
The divisive 1800 election and the threat of involvement in European wars had led to the birth of America's first political parties.
In some of the most important inaugural remarks ever Jefferson issued a call for unity. "We are all republicans, we are all federalists."
8. Harry Truman, 12 April 1945
Harry Truman had only been vice president for a few months when his boss, Franklin Roosevelt, died.
With the Second World War still raging Truman was thrown in at the deep end.
He was sworn-in at the White House with Roosevelt's wife Eleanor among the witnesses.
When Mrs Roosevelt first told Truman of the President's death he asked "Is there anything I can do for you?"
She replied: "Is there anything we can do for you? For you are the one in trouble now."
9. Andrew Jackson, 4 March 1829
Neither before, nor since, has a populist like General Andrew Jackson won the presidency.
But his first inauguration is not remembered for what he said but for what his supporters did.
The White House was opened to the public for a post-inaugural reception but the crowd descended into a drunken mob - having fist fights and throwing china.
Jackson was forced to escape out of a window.
10. Ronald Reagan, 20 January 1981
Amid an economic downturn and the Iran hostage crisis Ronald Reagan's inauguration took place in turbulent times.
He signalled a change in direction from the Carter years declaring: "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."
And... William Henry Harrison, 4 March 1841
William Henry Harrison is, perhaps, America's most unfortunate president.
He was sworn in on a cold, wet day in Washington but still gave the longest inaugural speech in history.
Two weeks later he developed a cold, which became pneumonia and he died just one month into his term of office.