Great moments from past presidential inaugurations – in pictures

As Donald Trump prepares to become the 45th president of the United States, we take a look back at some of the best moments from previous inaugurations

Main image: Presidential inauguration Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

  • The first known picture of a presidential inauguration, that of James Buchanan, in 1857
    james buchanan

  • The inauguration of Abraham Lincoln in 1861 took place in front of an only partially built Capitol
    abraham lincoln

  • A crowd watches as member of the National Woman’s party picket the White House at Woodrow Wilson’s second inauguration in 1917. Women had come from all over the country for a march on the day before the inauguration to demand their right to vote
    picketing

  • Dwight D Eisenhower gets lassoed by cowboy Monte Montana at the 1953 inaugural parade
    eisenhower

  • John F and Jackie Kennedy share a private moment in the rotunda of the Capitol, moments after he became the youngest elected president of the United States
    jfk

  • The extraordinary moment that Lyndon B Johnson was inaugurated as president on 22 November 1963. It took place aboard Air Force One in Dallas, Texas after the assassination of John F Kennedy, and Jackie Kennedy was at his side
    lyndon johnson

  • Police and anti-war protestors face off during the 1969 inaugural ceremonies for Richard Nixon
    richard nixon

  • A peanut-shaped float passes by reviewing stand for the inauguration of Jimmy Carter in 1977
    jimmy carter

  • Ronald and first lady Nancy Reagan wave to the crowd from their limousine during the inaugural parade in 1981
    reagan

  • Bill and Hillary Clinton dancing at an inaugural ball in 1993
    bill & hillary

  • George W and first lady Laura Bush dance on the presidential seal at the commander-in-chief’s inauguration ball in 2005
    george w

  • Barack Obama takes the oath of office in 2009, becoming the nation’s first African American president
    obama 2009

  • Sasha and Malia Obama taking a selfie during the inaugural parade in 2013
    sasha & malia
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