Thread This Day, 1801: John Adams, a lame duck president, n…

This Day, 1937: Franklin Roosevelt became the first president to be inaugurated on Jan. 20th (they used to be Mar. 4). In his Inaugural address, he said the fight against the Great Depression was far from over: “I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.”

This Day, 1949: The interlude between World War II and the Korean War was brief, as Harry Truman - a caretaker president since Apr 12, 1945 - was sworn n

This Day, 1953: After receiving permission from Dwight Eisenhower - just sworn in as the 34th President - rodeo star Montie Montana lassoed him. Mamie Eisenhower seems delighted; VP Nixon perplexed. Secret Service wasn't too happy

He was the youngest person ever elected - just 43 years old. John F. Kennedy, sworn in this day in 1961 (youngest POTUS ever, however: Theodore Rosevelt, 42, who took over for the assassinated William McKinley in 1901)

This Day, 1965: Lyndon Johnson, a caretaker President since Nov, 22, 1963, was sworn in for his own term. Here: Johnny Carson and Barbra Streisand in the receiving line

The '61 Lincoln Continental that Pres. Kennedy was murdered in? You may not know that it was refurbished and used by LBJ, Nixon, Ford & Carter. Here: LBJ rides down Pennsylvania Ave. - this day 1965. Also shown: @ClintHill_SS - who leaped into the car moments after JFK was shot

As LBJ was sworn in, Robert Kennedy - now a Senator from New York - seemed lost in thought. It should have been his brother's second inaugural. RFK and LBJ harbored a bitter hatred for each other - and that may be understating it

This Day, 1969: Lyndon Johnson - exhausted and delighted to be heading home to Texas - with his successor, Richard Nixon

This Day, 1977: After a decade dominated by Vietnam and Watergate, Jimmy Carter promised a new era of openness and honesty in the White House. Here: He and Rosalynn after departing the Capitol

This Day, 1981: Jimmy Carter, crushed in a landslide by Ronald Reagan, escorts his successor to the Capitol. At that very moment, a parallel drama was playing out: the release of 52 American hostages from Iran - after 444 days in captivity

Just the fourth sitting VP to be elected to the presidency (can you name the others?), George H.W. Bush was sworn in this day in 1989. As his predecessor Ronald Reagan departed the Capitol that day, Bush said: "There goes a good man."

This Day, 1993: Bill Clinton was sworn in. The '90s were a time of peace and prosperity - but also, in retrospect, the beginning of a nasty, hyperpartisan era in American politics that has only gotten worse

This Day, 2001: After one of the most controversial and drawn out elections in American history, George W. Bush was sworn in. His agenda would soon be upended by the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor (and bloodier)

This Day, 2009: George W. Bush seemed happy to be relieved of the burdens of the presidency as he greeted his successor Barack Obama, on the North Portico (Photo/WWR)