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The rituals that have historically taken place for Inauguration Day — the Inaugural Address, the Inaugural Parade, the Inaugural Balls— are in some ways mostly pomp and circumstance. Many of the events marking the Inauguration of Joe Biden on Jan. 20, however, had to be reconfigured due to restrictions on large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic and amid security concerns following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob.

Inauguration Day is also a crucial moment in American democracy, a celebration of the peaceful transfer of power even in the most divided of times.

It has also been, over the years, the occasion for plenty else, from weather problems and missing Bibles to do-overs and not a few live animals. There were even some dead ones, too.

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Here’s a look back at something to know about every single Inauguration Day in American history, as well as a look at what each President said on that all-important event. (A good resource to find the full text of each inaugural address is the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara.)

The following nine swearing-in ceremonies are not included, as they were not regularly scheduled Inaugural festivities—and, in fact, were hardly festive at all, given the circumstances: John Tyler in April of 1841 following the death of William Henry Harrison, Millard Fillmore in July of 1850 following the death of Zachary Taylor, Andrew Johnson in April of 1865 following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Chester A. Arthur in September of 1881 following the assassination of James Garfield, Theodore Roosevelt in September of 1901 following the assassination of William McKinley, Calvin Coolidge in August of 1923 following the death of Warren Harding, Harry S. Truman in April of 1945 following the death of Franklin Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson in November of 1963 following the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Gerald Ford in August of 1974 following the resignation of Richard Nixon.

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Write to Lily Rothman at lily.rothman@time.com.

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