Inauguration of Gerald Ford
The inauguration of Gerald Ford as the 38th president of the United States was held on Friday, August 9, 1974, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., after President Richard Nixon resigned due to the Watergate scandal. The inauguration – the last non-scheduled, extraordinary inauguration to take place in the 20th century – marked the commencement of Gerald Ford's only term (a partial term of 2 years, 164 days) as president. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered the oath of office. The Bible upon which Ford recited the oath was held by his wife, Betty Ford, open to Proverbs 3:5–6. Ford was the ninth vice president to succeed to the presidency intra-term, and he remains the most recent to do so, as of 2024.
The swearing in of President Gerald Ford by Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger | |
| Date | August 9, 1974 |
|---|---|
| Location | East Room, White House, Washington, D.C. |
| Participants | Gerald Ford 38th president of the United States — Assuming office Warren E. Burger Chief Justice of the United States — Administering oath |
Although this was the ninth, and most recent non-scheduled, extraordinary inauguration to take place since the presidency was established in 1789, it was the first to take place due to the president's resignation; the previous eight had been occasioned by the president's death in office. Ford had become vice president only eight months earlier, after Spiro Agnew resigned due to allegations of bribing while serving as Baltimore County Executive and Governor of Maryland. He was the first vice president appointed as such under the terms of the Twenty-fifth Amendment. Thus, when he succeeded Nixon, Ford became the first (and remains the only) person to have held both the office of vice president and president without having been elected to either office.