March 4, 1873: Ulysses S. Grant's Frozen Inauguration

March 4, 1873: President Ulysses S. Grant is inaugurated for a 2nd term. It was the coldest Inauguration Day in history to that point: 16 degrees Fahrenheit, with a wind-chill factor of -15.

Regardless of temperature, things were different at the time: First the parade; then, the Inaugural Address and swearing-in of the Vice President-elect by the outgoing Vice President, in this case, former Senator Henry Wilson, sworn in by Schuyler Colfax; then the President-elect (or the re-elected President) would deliver an Inaugural Address; and, finally, the President would be sworn in by the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, in this case, Salmon P. Chase.

Grant requested the Bible be open to Isaiah, Chapter 11, a chapter about "Christ's Peaceable Kingdom,", which was symbolic to Grant's view of post-Civil War America. The passage also referred to "the stem of Jesse," which was also the name of Grant's father. (Grant was the 1st President who had both of his parents live to see him achieve the office.)

His Inaugural Address began with a defense of his policy in the South, gave a statement of support for black freedmen, and celebrated the success of Reconstruction. He also praised technological advances, and spoke against his political enemies.

The Inaugural Ball was disastrous. It was held in a temporary structure built on Judiciary Square, which was not heated. Guests danced in their coats. Desserts congealed. The champagne froze. Musicians struggled to play. Canaries, which were to be part of the entertainment, died in their cages. The room was designed for 6,000 guests, but only half that number attended. The President and the Cabinet didn't get in until 11:30 P.M., and stayed for a short time before moving on to a private, heated room for supper. By Midnight, the event was over.

It was a bad omen: Grant had a very difficult 2nd term. Not as difficult as Vice President Wilson, though: He was in poor health for a big chunk of it, and died with over a year to go.

Despite Inauguration Day having been moved from March 4 to January 20 by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution in 1933, there has been only 1 colder one since: Ronald Reagan's 2nd Inauguration, in 1985. The ceremony was moved inside the Capitol Rotunda, and the Parade was canceled. Grant's 1873 swearing-in was held outdoors. The only other indoor ceremony, due to slushy grounds, came in 1909, when William Howard Taft was inaugurated in the Capitol's Senate chamber.

UPDATE: In 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated in the Rotunda, officially due to the cold. But it wasn't as cold as it was in 1873. Or 1985. Or 1909. Or 1961. Or 1973. Or 1993. Or 2009. Trump was a coward, either with cold, or a with seeing the crowd coming to see it being too small.

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March 4, 1873 was a Tuesday. The only professional team sport in America at this point was baseball, and the season hadn't started yet. So there were no scores on this historic day.