Taft Inauguration
January 19, 2001
Provided by: NOAA
Summary authors & editors: Jim Foster
President William Howard Taft's inauguration on March 4, 1909 took place during near blizzard conditions. Ten inches of snow covered the Nation's Capitol, and drifts several feet high made many streets impassable. Approximately 6,000 shovelers did their best to clear the area between the White House and the Capitol. Taft is said to have quipped "I knew it would be a cold day when I got to be President." It was the worst snow storm to ever occur for any of the presidential inaugurations. Pictured above is a carriage that was taking Taft and the outgoing president, Theodore Roosevelt, to view the 20,000 marchers who braved the cold to participate in the inaugural parade.
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