The inauguration of George H. W. Bush as the 41st president of the United States was held on Friday, January 20, 1989, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. This was the 51st inauguration and marked the commencement of the only term of both George H. W. Bush as president and Dan Quayle as vice president. Chief Justice William Rehnquist administered the presidential oath of office to Bush and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor administered the vice presidential oath of office to Quayle. Bush was the first sitting vice president to be inaugurated as president (not due to his predecessor's death or resignation) since Martin Van Buren in 1837 and the last World War II combat veteran. Bush composed his own prayer for the ceremony which he recited at the start of his inaugural address; the last president to do so was Dwight D. Eisenhower at his first inauguration in 1953. Quayle was also the first vice president to have his oath administered by a female justice of the Supreme Court. This is the first inauguration since 1929 and the most recent in which the party of the outgoing president (in which case Ronald Reagan), was sworn in for another term.
The event helped the Washington Metro set a single-day record of 604,089 trips, breaking the record of 565,000 set the spring before by the Washington for Jesus '88 rally. The record would stand until the day of the National Victory Celebration in 1991.
Weather conditions for 12 noon at Washington National Airport, located 3.1 miles from the ceremony, were: 50 °F (10 °C), wind 18 mph, and cloudy.
Oath of office At noon, the oath of office was administered to Bush by Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Present were the members of Bush family as well as his wife Barbara.
Bush recited the following, as prescribed by the Constitution:
See also Presidency of George H. W. Bush Presidential transition of George H. W. Bush Timeline of the George H. W. Bush presidency (1989) 1988 United States presidential election George H. W. Bush 1988 presidential campaign
References
External links
George H.W. Bush inauguration, January 20, 1989, C-SPAN Inauguration Day parade, January 20, 1989, C-SPAN New York Times coverage of the 1989 inauguration Text of Bush's Inaugural Address Audio of Bush's Inaugural Address