a History of Stanford Commencement Speakers, 1892-
I hate it when information literally gets discarded or lost… I remember speaking to Prof. Hector Garcia- Molina a few years ago, when he mentioned his passion for photography and how even his digital photos that had been sitting on his hard disk had become corrupted. NASA I believe even makes you submit an age distribution of your group for any research/project proposal, as they want to make sure 20 years from now, someone will still be around who understands what was done. I even recall hearing that some of the records in the Library of Congress are simply useless because the machines needed to read them are no longer in existence nor properly understood by anyone.
The only list Stanford has of all its commencement speakers at graduation ceremonies from over the years is a sparsely-maintained list sitting in the Special Collections of Green Library, without any of their actual speeches. What a shame… if you have excerpts from any of these addresses or information on where to find them, please email me… the following is a transcription of the list; you’ll recognize a few names: Millikan (the oil-drop experiment), Trudeau (creator of Doonesbury), a smattering of Supreme Court justices, and two UN Secretary Generals.
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Year | Speaker | Info | Speech with link to full text (if available) |
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1892 | Rev. Myron W. Reed | President, National Charities Association | |
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1893 | George E. Howard | Professor of History | “The American University and the American Man” |
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1894 | John Casper Branner | Professor of Geology | “The Educatino of the Scientific Man” |
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1895 | John M. Stillman | Professor of Chemistry | “Specialization in Education” |
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1896 | Melville B. Anderson | Professor of English Literature | “Hamlet: the Transition from the Contemplative to the Active Life” |
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1897 | Oliver P. Jenkins | Professor of Physiology and Histology | “the Passing of Plato” |
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1898 | Walter Miller | Professor of Classical Philology | “The Old and the New” |
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1899 | Fernando Sanford | Professor of Physics | “The Scientific Method and its Limitations” |
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1900 | William H. Hudson | Professor of English Literature | “The Culture of Today and the Literature of Tomorrow” |
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1901 | George M. Richardson | Professor of Organic Chemistry | “The Gospel of Work” |
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1902 | Augustus T. Murray | Professor of Greek | “A Parallel and a Lesson” |
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1903 | Ewald Flugel | Professor of English Philology | “Our Anniversary is One of Hope” |
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1904 | Orrin Leslie Elliot | Registrar | “The Higher Education and Progress” |
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1905 | Charldes D. Marx | Professor of Civil Engineering | “General Education of Engineers” |
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1906 | Benjamin I. Wheeler | President, University of California | “Orthography” |
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1907 | Harris Weinstock | Sacramento merchant & Trustee, State of California | “The Nation’s Greatest Need of the Hour” |
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1908 | Ernest Carrol Moore | Superintendent of Schools, Los Angeles | |
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1909 | James Parker Hall | Dean, University of Chicago Law School | “Business and the Nation” |
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1910 | William F. Slocum | President, Colorado College | “The nation’s Guarantee of Personal Rights” |
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1911 | Rev. Charles David Williams | Bishop of Michigan | “The New Patriotism and its Appeal to the College Graduate” |
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1912 | David P. Barrows | Professor of Political Science, University of California | “Possible Influences of the Panama Canal on our National Characters” |
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1913 | David Starr Jordan | University President | “The Conquest of Europe by America” |
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1914 | John Casper Branner | University President | |
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1915 | David Starr Jordan | University Chancellor | “the Visionary in History” |
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1916 | David Starr Jordan | University Chancellor | “Twenty-Five Years of Stanford” |
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1917 | John M. Stillman | University Vice President | “idealism and National Policy” |
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1918 | John L. McNab | U.S. District Attorney of San Francisco | “A Call to Arms” |
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1919 | Paul Shorey | Professor of Greek, University of Chicago | “America First” |
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1920 | Stephen S. Wise | American Reform Rabbi and Zionist Leader | “The University and the Nation: a Study in Relationships” |
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1921 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, ‘96 | University President | |
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1922 | Alonzo E. Taylor | Director, Food Research Institute | “Obligation of the University to the Student” |
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1923 | Robert A. Millikan | Director, Norman Bridge Laboratory, California Institute of Technology | |
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1924 | Henry Suzzallo, ‘99 | President, University of Washington | |
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1925 | Herbert C. Hoover, ‘95 | U.S. Secretary of Commerce | |
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1926 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, ‘96 | University President | “The Volunteer” |
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1927 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, ‘96 | University President | “Pacific Neighbors” |
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1928 | John H. Finley | Editor, New York Times | “Planetary Thinking” |
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1929 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, ‘96 | University President | |
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1930 | Robert Eckles Swain, ‘99 | Acting University President | |
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1931 | William W. Campbell | President Emeritus, University of California | |
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1932 | James Thomson Shotwell | Professor of History, Columbia University | “Peace” |
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1933 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, ‘96 | University President | “Is this a new Renaissance?” |
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1934 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, ‘96 | University President | “Self Navigation” |
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1935 | Herbert C. Hoover, ‘95 | Former U.S. President | |
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1936 | William F. Durand | Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering | “Problems” |
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1937 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, ‘96 | University President | “Coasting” |
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1938 | Arthur Howland Young | Consulting Professor of Industrial Relations | |
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1939 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, ‘96 | University President | |
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1940 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, ‘96 | University President | |
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1941 | Charles A. Beardsley, ‘06 & Lou Henry Hoover, ‘98 | Former President, American Bar Association & Former First Lady, respectively | |
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1942 | Monroe E. Deutsch | Vice President and Provost, University of California | |
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1943 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, ‘96 | University Chancellor | |
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1944 | Henry R. Luce | Editor, Time, Life, and Fortune magazines | “The Human Situation” |
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1945 | Isaiah Bowman | President, Johns Hopkins University | |
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1946 | Ordway Tread | Editor & Director, Harper & Brothers; Chairman, New York City Board of Higher Education | |
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1947 | Lee A. DuBridge | President, California Institute of Technology | |
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1948 | O.C. Carmichael | President, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching | |
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1949 | J.E. Wallace Sterling, ‘38 | University President | |
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1950 | Lester Bowles Pearson | Secretary of State for External Affairs, Canada | |
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1951 | Eugene Meyer | Chairman of the Board, Washington Post | |
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1952 | Clark Kerr | Chancellor Designate, University of California | |
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1953 | Sir Percy Spender | Australian Ambassador to the United States | |
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1954 | Robert C. Swain, ‘28 | Vice President, American Cynamid Co. | |
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1955 | Dag Hammarskjold | Secretary General, United Nations | |
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1956 | N.A.M. Mackenzie | President, University of British Columbia | |
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1957 | J.E. Wallace Sterling, ‘38 | University President | |
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1958 | J.E. Wallace Sterling, ‘38 | University President | |
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1959 | J.E. Wallace Sterling, ‘38 | University President | |
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1960 | Barnaby C. Keeney | President, Brown University | |
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1961 | James D. Zellerbach | Former U.S. Ambassador to Italy | |
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1962 | Edwin H. Land | President and Director of Research, Polaroid Corp. | |
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1963 | lauris Norstad | Retired General, U.S. Air Force; President, Owens-Corning | |
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1964 | Earl Warren | Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court | |
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1965 | David Elliot Bell | Administrator, Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of State | |
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1966 | Monroe E. Spaght, ‘29 | Managing Director, Royal Dutch Shell International | |
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1967 | John Fischer | Editor in Chief, Harper’s Magazine | |
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1968 | J.E. Wallace Sterling, ‘38 | University President | |
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1969 | W. Willard Wirtz | Former U.S. Secretary of Labor | |
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1970 | Charles H. percy | Illinois Senator | |
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1971 | Eric Sevareid | CBS Washington Correspondent | |
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1972 | James Reston | Vice President, New York Times | |
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1973 | John Usher Monro | Director of Freshman Studies, Miles College; Former Dean, Harvard College | |
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1974 | Archibald Cox | Professor of Law, Harvard; Former Watergate Special Prosecutor | |
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1975 | Daniel P. Moynihan | Professor of Government, Harvard | “Can the Sytem Work?” |
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1976 | Carla A. Hills, ‘55 | U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | |
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1977 | John Hope Franklin | Professor of History, University of Chicago | |
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1978 | Donald Kennedy | Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Adminsitration; Professor of Biological Sciences | |
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1979 | Andrew Young | U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations | |
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1980 | Lewis Thomas | President, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center | |
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1981 | Warren Christoper, ‘49 | Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State | |
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1982 | Sandray Day O’Connor, ‘50 | U.S. Supreme Court Justice | |
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1983 | George P. Shultz | U.S. Secretary of State; Professor of Public Policy | |
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1984 | Richard W. Lyman | President, Rockefeller Foundation | |
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1985 | Mario Cuomo | Governor, New York | |
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1986 | Ted Koppel, ‘62 | ABC-TV “Nightline” host | |
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1987 | Thomas “Tip” O’Neill | Retired Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives | |
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1988 | Robert C. Maynard | Editor and President, Oakland Tribune | |
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1989 | Garry Trudeau | Cartoonist, Doonesbury | |
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1990 | Marion Wright Edelman | President, Children’s Defense Fund | |
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1991 | John W. Gardner, ‘35 | Haas Centennial Professor of Public Service; Founder, Common Cause; Former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare | |
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1992 | Kirk Varnedoe, ‘70 | Director, Department of Painting and Sculpture, Museum of Modern Art | |
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1993 | Dianne Feinstein, ‘55 | United States Senator | |
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1994 | Stephen Carter, ‘76 | Professor of Law, Yale University | |
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1995 | William Perry, ‘49 | U.S. Secretary of Defense | |
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1996 | Mae Jemison, ‘77 | Founder and Director, Jemison Institute for Advanced Technology in Developing Countries at Dartmouth College | |
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1997 | Stephen Breyer, ‘59 | U.S. Supreme Court Justice | text |
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1998 | Ted Koppel, ‘62 | Anchor of ABC’s “Nightline” | text |
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1999 | Robert Pinsky, ‘67 | Poet | text |
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2000 | Kofi Annan | Secretary General, United Nations | text |
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2001 | Carleton S. Fiorina, ‘76 | Chairman and CEO, Hewlettt Packard Co. | text, video |
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2002 | Condoleeza Rice | National Security Advisor | text, video |
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2003 | Alejandro Toledo, ‘72 | President of Peru | text, video |
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2004 | Sandra Day O’Connor, ‘50 | U.S. Supreme Court Justice | text |
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2005 | Steve Jobs | Co-Founder and CEO, Apple Inc. | text, video |
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2006 | Tom Brokaw | Anchor, NBC Nightly News | text, video |
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2007 | Dana Gioia | Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts | text | 2008 | Oprah Winfrey | talk show host | text | 2009 | Anthony Kennedy | Supreme Court justice | text |
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