On This Day

Thomas Jefferson is the first US President to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C.

The first inauguration of Thomas Jefferson as the third president of the United States was held on Wednesday, March 4, 1801.

The first inauguration of Thomas Jefferson as the third president of the United States was held on Wednesday, March 4, 1801. The inauguration marked the commencement of the first four-year term of Thomas Jefferson as president and the only four-year term of Aaron Burr as vice president. Jefferson was sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, marking the first time in modern history where a national government changed hands peaceably following a free election.

Historical Significance

The first inauguration of Thomas Jefferson as the third president of the United States was held on Wednesday, March 4, 1801.

Key People

Thomas Jefferson

Founding Father & President

Primary author of the Declaration of Independence; 3rd US President

Events Before

  1. The dissolution of the Dutch East India Company comes into effect

    The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874.

  2. Napoleon I's sister Carolina marries French military leader Joachim Murat, future King of Naples

    Napoleon I's sister Carolina marries French military leader Joachim Murat, future King of Naples

  3. Alessandro Volta reports his discovery of the electric battery in a letter to Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Socie

    Alessandro Volta reports his discovery of the electric battery in a letter to Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society of London

  4. Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse gives the first cowpox vaccination in the United States to his son to prevent smallpox

    Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse gives the first cowpox vaccination in the United States to his son to prevent smallpox

  5. British politician and future Prime Minister of UK George Canning (30) weds Scottish heiress Joan Scott (24-ish) at St G

    British politician and future Prime Minister of UK George Canning (30) weds Scottish heiress Joan Scott (24-ish) at St George's Anglican Church, Hanover Square, London, until his death in 1827

Events After

  1. Congress passes an act calling for a US Capitol library

    Congress passes an act calling for a US Capitol library

  2. 1st leopard exhibited in US, Boston (admission 25 cents)

    1st leopard exhibited in US, Boston (admission 25 cents)

  3. Simon Willard patents banjo clock

    Simon Willard (April 3, 1753 – August 30, 1848) was a celebrated American clockmaker. Simon Willard clocks were produced in Massachusetts in the towns of Grafton and Roxbury, near Boston.

  4. 1st US Military Academy at West Point is established through Congressional act (opened July 4, 1802)

    The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York, that educates cadets for service as commissioned officers in the...

  5. Great Britain and the French Republic sign the Treaty of Amiens

    The Treaty of Amiens (French: la paix d'Amiens, lit. 'the peace of Amiens') temporarily ended hostilities between France, the Spanish Empire, and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the...

More from the 1800s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on March 4, 1801?
The first inauguration of Thomas Jefferson as the third president of the United States was held on Wednesday, March 4, 1801. The inauguration marked the commencement of the first four-year term of Thomas Jefferson as president and the only four-year term of Aaron Burr as vice president. Jefferson was sworn in by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall, marking the first time in modern history where a national government changed hands peaceably following a free election.
Why is Thomas Jefferson is the first US President to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C. significant?
The first inauguration of Thomas Jefferson as the third president of the United States was held on Wednesday, March 4, 1801.
Who was involved in Thomas Jefferson is the first US President to be inaugurated in Washington, D.C.?
Key figures include Thomas Jefferson (Founding Father & President).

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