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1 of 14State dinner to Prince Henry of Prussia. East Room of White House, Washington D.C., 1902. Theodore Roosevelt, President.New York Public Library -
2 of 14President Enrique Penaranda of Bolivia, and President Franklin Roosevelt of the United States at a White House state dinner on May 5, 1943. They are shown looking at the United Nations' pact, in which Penaranda pledged his country's tin-producing resources against the axis.Bettmann—Corbis -
3 of 14President Harry Truman and the Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, at the official dinner given by the visiting ruler at the Shoreham Hotel. Washington D.C., Nov. 19, 1949.Bettmann—Corbis -
4 of 14President Dwight D, Eisenhower and Mamie Eisenhower, center, with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip before a state dinner in the White House, Washington D.C., on Oct. 17, 1957.Popperfoto—Popperfoto/Getty Images -
5 of 14President Kennedy points out landmarks to Pakistan President Mohammed Ayeb Khan and his daughter, Begum Nasir Akhtar Aurangzeb, as they and Mrs. Kennedy pose near the home of George Washington tonight. The Kennedy couple entertained their Pakistani guests at a state dinner on the lawn of historic Mt. Vernon. July 11, 1961.Bettmann—Corbis -
6 of 14President and Mrs. Johnson entertained guests at a State Dinner in honor of Philippines President and Mrs. Diosdado Macapagal in 1964. Shown here just prior to the dinner are left to right- Gloria Macapagal, daughter of the President; Mrs.Johnson; Philippine Ambassador Oscar Ledesma (partly hidden behind Mrs.Johnson); California Governor Edmund Brown (glasses, behind the Ambassador); Mrs.Ledesma; President Macapagal; Lynda Johnson, daughter of the President; President Johnson; and Secretary of State Dean Rusk (partly hidden behind President Johnson).Bettmann—Corbis -
7 of 14President and Mrs. Richard Nixon greet Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau at the North portico of the White House for a white-tie state dinner, the first of the Nixon administration. March 25, 1969.Olsen; Bob—Toronto Public Library -
8 of 14With their interpreters to aid them, Emperor Hirohito of Japan and President Gerald R. Ford chat in the Blue Room on the occasion of the state dinner in honor of the Emperor and Empress Nagako on Oct. 2, 1975, at the White House in Washington, D.C.David Hume Kennerly—Getty Images -
9 of 14President Carter and wife Rosalynn escort the Shah and Shahbanou of Iran to a state dinner in the White House, 1977.Kightlinger—Corbis -
10 of 14President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan welcome USSR General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife, Raisa, to the White House for a State Dinner in their honor. Dec. 8, 1987.Ron Sachs/CNP—Corbis -
11 of 14President George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara pose at the entrance to the North portico of the White House with Queen Margrethe II of Denmark during their arrival for the evening's state dinner. Feb. 20, 1991.Mark Reinstein—Corbis -
12 of 14President and Mrs Clinton stand at the North Portico of the White House with South African President Nelson Mandela and his daughter before a State Dinner honoring the South African president. Oct. 4, 1994.Wally McNamee—Corbis -
13 of 14President George W. Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox raise their glasses in a toast Sept. 5, 2001 at a state dinner for Fox at the White House in Washington, DC. Actor Clint Eastwood is seated at the right.Pool—Getty Images -
14 of 14President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama welcome Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mrs. Gursharan Kaur to their first White House State Dinner.Marvin Joseph—The Washington Post/Getty Images
When President Obama welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the White House on Thursday, the pomp-filled State Dinner will be a far cry from the early days of those affairs.
In the 18th century, when Washington was still a relatively small town with few frills, any dinner honoring someone related to the government might be called a state dinner, as the White House Historical Association explains. State dinners became more formal in the 19th century, as D.C. society expanded, but it wasn’t until 1874 that President Grant became the first to use one to celebrate a foreign monarch. (The guest was, in retrospect, an appropriate one for a state dinner: King David Kalakaua of Hawaii.) After the White House was restored and expanded in 1902, under Teddy Roosevelt, the tradition of hosting foreign dignitaries began in earnest.
As these photos show, more than a century of state dinners has meant changing fashions and changing administrations—but the sense of tradition endures.
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