# When does Inauguration Day next fall on a Sunday?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-inauguration-day-next-fall-on-a-sunday/434431>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 21, 2008, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-inauguration-day-next-fall-on-a-sunday/434431 "2008-01-21T23:35:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2008, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-inauguration-day-next-fall-on-a-sunday/434431/1 "2008-01-21T23:35:24Z")

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Traditionally whenever Inauguration Day falls on Sunday the President-elect is sworn into office in private with a public ceremony on Monday. The last time this happened what with Ronald Reagan in 1981. When does it happen again?

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**Author:** ![brianmelendez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/65b543/32.png) [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-inauguration-day-next-fall-on-a-sunday/434431/2 "2008-01-21T23:46:06Z")

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Sunday 20 January 2013.

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**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-inauguration-day-next-fall-on-a-sunday/434431/3 "2008-01-22T01:21:02Z")

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[QUOTE=alphaboi867]  
Traditionally whenever Inauguration Day falls on Sunday the President-elect is sworn into office in private with a public ceremony on Monday. The last time this happened what with Ronald Reagan in 1981. When does it happen again?  
[/QUOTE]  
Nitpick: it was Reagan’s re-inauguration, in 1985, that fell on a Sunday. This makes sense because the Gregorian calendar repeats itself every 28 years (at least until 2100), so the 28-year gap between January 20s falling on Sundays is the least often it can happen.

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**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\
**Post date:** [January 22, 2008, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-does-inauguration-day-next-fall-on-a-sunday/434431/4 "2008-01-22T02:40:22Z")

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[QUOTE=MikeS]  
Nitpick: it was Reagan’s re-inauguration, in 1985, that fell on a Sunday. This makes sense because the Gregorian calendar repeats itself every 28 years (at least until 2100), so the 28-year gap between January 20s falling on Sundays is the least often it can happen.  
[/QUOTE]

It’s also the most frequently it can happen (at least through 2100). Inauguration day goes through this sequence:  
Sun Fri Wed Mon Sat Thurs Tues  
always moving two week days backwards