George Washington was inaugurated as the first U.S. president on April 30, 1789.
The ceremony took place on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City, then the nation’s capital. Chancellor of New York Robert Livingston administered the presidential oath before a large crowd. Washington then delivered his first inaugural address in the Senate chamber.
Congress had set March 4, 1789, as the beginning of the new federal government, but travel and organizational delays prevented the House and Senate from immediately achieving a quorum. Electoral votes were not formally counted until April 6, and Washington reached New York later that month.
The date is often confused with March 4, which was the scheduled start of the first presidential term and the traditional inauguration date for many later presidents. Inaugurations moved to January 20 beginning in 1937 under the Twentieth Amendment.