In Photos: State Dinners Held by Past U.S. Presidents

President Gerald R. Ford dances with Queen Elizabeth II in the East Room of the White House at the Bicentennial State Dinner held in honor of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of Great Britain, on July 7, 1976, in Washington, D.C.

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library / Ricardo Thomas

French President Charles de Gaulle and wife Madame Yvonne de Gaulle (center) pose with their dinner hosts, President Dwight Eisenhower and First Lady Mary Geneva Eisenhower in the Oval Room at the White House on April 22, 1960.

AP

President John F. Kennedy and Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy welcome the Shah and Empress of Iran as the royal couple arrived at the White House for a state dinner in their honor on April 11, 1962.

Byron Rollins / AP

President John F. Kennedy makes a toast at a state dinner.

Corbis via Getty