Inauguration of George H. W. Bush

Presidential inauguration of
George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush takes the oath of office to be sworn in as the 41st president of the United States.
Date	January 20, 1989; 36 years ago (1989-01-20)
Location	United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.
Organized by	Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies
Participants	George H. W. Bush 41st president of the United States — Assuming office William Rehnquist Chief Justice of the United States — Administering oath Dan Quayle 44th vice president of the United States — Assuming office Sandra Day O'Connor Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States — Administering oath
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This article is part of a series about George H. W. Bush
Personal Family Electoral history Eponyms Honors Bibliography Bush School of Government Points of Light Death and state funeral 43rd Vice President of the United States Transition Reagan administration first inauguration second inauguration Reagan assassination attempt Foreign policy Vice presidential campaigns 1980 election selection convention debates 1984 election convention debates 41st President of the United States Presidency timeline Transition Inauguration Presidential library Tenure Thousand points of light Invasion of Panama Gulf War Operation Restore Hope NAFTA International trips Pardons Policies Environmental Foreign Appointments Federal judges Thomas Presidential campaigns 1980 primaries convention 1988 election primaries convention "No new taxes" debates 1992 election primaries convention debates
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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.^[1] 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.

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.^[2]

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. ^[3]