HARD NUMBERS: Term limits, Day fit for a King and a president, Benefits of brevity, Presidential addresses clarified
22: Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the only American president to be inaugurated four times, serving from 1933 to 1945. In 1951, the United States Congress ratified the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution, limiting future presidents to a maximum of two terms in office.
2: For only the second time in history, Inauguration Day coincides with Martin Luther King Jr. day, a federal holiday that honors the slain civil rights leader on the third Monday of January. Many liberal and progressive groups have pledged to focus on traditional days of service to mark the King holiday rather than inauguration day itself, while some protest marches against Trump are expected as well.
8,445: The longest inaugural address in US history was delivered by William Henry Harrison, whose speech ran to 8,445 words. After speaking for nearly two hours without a coat or hat on a wet and chilly Washington day in January 1841, Harrison fell ill, developed pneumonia, and died a month later. The shortest inaugural was George Washington’s second, which ran to just 135 words, half the length of this Hard Numbers section.
40: Trump is the 47th president, but how many have given inaugural addresses? Only 40, as it turns out. Four US presidents were actually vice presidents who ascended to office due to death or assassination and never won an election of their own, so they didn’t get the chance to give an inaugural address. Two US presidents have been counted twice because they served nonconsecutive terms – Grover Cleveland was the first, and Donald Trump is the second.