George Washington took the presidential oath at Federal Hall on April 30, 1789.
The ceremony took place on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, then the national capital. Chancellor of New York Robert Livingston administered the oath before a large crowd. Washington then delivered his First Inaugural Address to Congress.
This inauguration marked the formal beginning of the executive branch under the Constitution. Congress had begun meeting at Federal Hall earlier in 1789, and the building served as the first seat of the federal government under the new constitutional system.
The date is sometimes confused with March 4, which was the traditional inauguration date for later presidents before the Twentieth Amendment changed the regular date to January 20. Washington’s inauguration also occurred nearly two months after his presidential term technically began. John Adams had already assumed the vice presidency on April 21, 1789, before Washington took the oath.