first node have a checker history that dates all the fashion back to Andrew Jackson ’s inauguration in 1829 , when K of guests flooded the White House for a celebration of the populist loss leader that quick devolved into a profligate riot . Since then , there have been a phone number of notable guests at inaugurations , some more welcome than others . Here are a few of our ducky :
1. Dead pigeons
Richard Nixon did n’t want his 1973 inauguration to be spoil by a bunch of annoying pigeons . He call for that tree diagram branches along the parade route be do by with a chemical call Roost No More , which would purportedly make the birds ' feet itching so they would n’t want to roost above Tricky Dick ’s motorcade . The inaugural commission spent $ 13,000 to comply with this anti - pigeon policy , but Nixon got a mo more than he expected . The pigeons did n’t just sit on the branch , they wolfed down the Roost No More , which proved to be extremely toxic to hoot . Instead of dealing with the minor tussle of live pigeons roost in trees , Nixon ’s parade was vitiate by the macabre spectacle of beat and dying pigeons littering the route .
2. A handful of poets
accept a poet take at the inauguration is a comparatively new tradition that did n’t commence until John F. Kennedy called on Robert Frost to give a reading at his 1961 inaugural . Although Kennedy initially require Frost to recite his verse form " The Gift Outright,“ Frost decided to jazz things up by write a completely new verse form , " Dedication,“ for the occasion . Frost ’s plans go lopsided when he got up to read his new work , though . The 87 - twelvemonth - quondam poet no longer had the greatest sightedness , and the smart sunshine that morning wholly obscured the transcript of the verse form he was trying to read . Ever agile on his feet , Frost pulled himself together and simply recited " The Gift Outright" from memory .
Despite Frost ’s triumphant performance , the tradition of poetry reading did n’t watch on . In fact , Frost ’s was the only recital until Bill Clinton pulled on poetic virtuoso business leader in 1993 when he tapped Maya Angelou to read " On the Pulse of Morning,“ and in 1997 he honour his roots by ask Arkansas poet Miller Williams to learn . ( While Williams ' poem was near , more people believably know his famous daughter : Grammy - winning Isaac Bashevis Singer - songwriter Lucinda Williams . )
3. Chuck Norris
George W. Bush ’s 2001 inauguration had its contribution of ethnical intrigue . Traditional patriotic anthem sung by a consort of Kentucky youth supplant the verse reading , but ethnical critics seemed more concerned in reveling in the relatively low - electrical power guests the Bushes rounded up for the event . The New York Timesdryly notice that celebs like Chuck Norris and Meatloaf were slot in where Hollywood ’s A - listers had been during the Clinton long time . ( If the President had postulate a roundhouse thrill or a melodramatic power ballad , though , he would have been in great shape . ) The guest tilt also included Rick Schroeder , Norm Macdonald and David Spade .
4. Jonathan Lipnicki
Bush ’s second inaugural in 2005 was n’t a all over turnaround , either . While some pundits debated the propriety of throwing an inaugural bash while the country was at war , admirers still clump to Washington to take part in the hoopla .
Again , though , the famous person did n’t quite show up en masse shot . The Creative Coalition ’s Inaugural Gala sounds like it would be a star - constellate affair , right ? That really depends on how extremely you rankJerry Maguirechild star Lipnicki , Joe Piscopo , Ernie Hudson , Gary Busey , and Joe Pantoliano on your list of headliner .
5. No one
The election of 1876 is remembered as a particularly acrimonious one in which Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden fought a ridiculously skinny race . Since there had been voter deterrence and fraud in four United States Department of State , it was n’t immediately clear who won the election after voters hold out to the canvass . It was n’t until a bipartizan commission of Congressmen , Senators , and Supreme Court justices inquire all of this chicanery that Hayes officially won the four contested states and the Electoral College vote . ( Think of this as sort of a forerunner to the 2000 election , but with more outright fraud and the extra backstory of the Civil War and Reconstruction . ) Tilden ’s supporter were understandably more than a little riled about this upshot .
grant to some historians , Tilden ’s supporter were so angered that they might have made some variety of drastic attempt to break the inaugural . To counter any variety of disturbance , Hayes on the Q.T. took his oath of office in the White House ’s Red Room in a private ceremony on Saturday , March 3 , 1877.Now that there was no way Hayes ' inaugural festivities could be disrupted by the sore losers , the administration grass a second " inauguration" two days later in which Hayes restate the whole ceremony and give the traditional inaugural address .
It ’s deserving noting , though , that story probably did n’t miss out on any raging party when Hayes had his real closed in - door inauguration . Hayes was famous ( or infamous , depending on who you postulate ) for detest alcohol and perfectly condemn drinking . He was so fast in his opinion that he and his married woman , Lucy , adamantly refused to serve any liquor in the White House during their full four - class stay .
6. Top hats
You ’ll notice something if you look at old inaugural photos : the president - elect is almost always wearing a top hat . For years , one of the odder parts of the eclat and circumstance of the inaugural festivities was that the man about to get sworn in always donned a top hat . It ’s not clear when or why this custom set forth , but it date stamp back to at least Garfield ’s startup in 1881 . Why it endured long after top hats went out of trend is up for debate , although some historians speculate that wearing the formal out - of - escort headdress give the inauguration another picayune touch of ceremony . ( Scholars are almost unanimous in their opinion that this awkward sartorial option was not part of an elaborate court to a favorite Monopoly piece . )
Kennedy was the last president to sport a top chapeau at his startup in 1961.No - nonsense Lyndon Johnson left the fashion statement off the invitee tilt in 1965 , thereby depriving the world of what would sure have been screaming photos of LBJ in a pathetic hat . The Huffington Post has a short slideshow feature chair in their top lid ; it ’s definitelyworth a look .
