Presidential Inauguration Lands on a Palindrome Date — and It Won’t Happen Again Until 3021
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The presidential inauguration of Joe Biden on Wednesday marks a historic day in America for yet another reason.
Jan. 20 — which sees Biden, 78, and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, 56, officially be sworn into office at the U.S. Capitol — also marks the first Inauguration Day in American history that falls on a rare seven-digit palindrome date, according to the Farmer's Almanac.
Palindrome dates are dates that can be read the same forward and backward — which is the case for Wednesday's seven-digit date, 1/20/2021. It is one of 26 such seven-digit palindrome dates in the 21st century, Dr. Aziz Inan, a professor at the University of Portland who has been studying palindrome dates for over a decade, told Farmer's Almanac.
Including Wednesday, a string of five-digital palindrome dates will continue on for 10 days straight until 1/29/21.
The next Inauguration Day to fall on a palindrome date will not occur for another 1,000 years on Jan. 20, 3021, per Farmer's Almanac.
Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Inauguration Day
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2021 will feature a total of 22 palindrome dates: one four-digit palindrome, which occurred on 1/2/21, 19 five-digit palindromes in January and December, and two six-digit palindromes that also occur in December, according to Farmer's Almanac.
"The year 2011 had 22 (palindrome dates), and in the next century, they will be found in 2111 and 2121," said Dr. Inan.
December 2021 will mark another string of palindrome dates, with 12/1/21 to 12/9/21 featuring nine consecutive five-digit palindromes. 12/02/2021 is also an eight-digit palindrome date, which will only occur 12 times in the 21st century, according to Dr. Inan's calculations.
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Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Speak at COVID Memorial Ahead of Inauguration Day
Biden and Harris will be sworn into office on Wednesday
Wednesday's inauguration features a slimmed-down guest list amid the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened security following the deadly riots at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, along with former First Ladies Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush, are all slated to attend.
Departing President Donald Trump and his family left the White House earlier in the day and headed to his private club in Florida, ending his four-year term in office that had been punctuated by his refusal to acknowledge his defeat.
Biden and Harris will take the oaths of office around noon local time, officially becoming the next president and vice president of the United States.
