Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies Inaugural Web Site. January 20, 2009; Printed from inaugural.senate.gov.

President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, 1917

Vice President Thomas R. Marshall
Inauguration Date Sunday, March 5, 1917
Location East Portico, U.S. Capitol
Oath Administered By: Edward D. White, Chief Justice
Bible Used: Same Bible used when he was sworn in as Governor of New Jersey and as President in 1913, open to Psalm 46.
Length of Inaugural Address: 1,526 words
Attire (what the president wore): Morning coat, striped trousers, silk top hat
Weather: Partly cloudy and windy. Estimated noon temperature of 38°F.
Precedents, "firsts" or other interesting information:
  • March 4, 1917 fell on a Sunday, so Wilson was sworn in privately on that day in the President's Room in the U.S. Capitol by Chief Justice Edward D. White. His public inauguration was held on Monday, March 5.
  • Edith Bolling Galt Wilson was the first First Lady to accompany the President both to and from the Capitol
  • 1917 was also the first time women participated in the Inaugural parade.

 

Library of Congress

Woodrow Wilson and Edith Wilson riding to Inauguration, 1917