See also the Stanford Report for recent speeches. When available, links to online text and video of speeches are included.
| # | Year | Speaker | Occupation | Date | Title of Speech | Full Text | Video |
| 1st | 1892 | Rev. Myron W. Reed | President, National Charities Association | June 15, 1892 | |||
| 2nd | 1893 | George E. Howard | Professor of History | May 31, 1893 | "The American University and the American Man" | PDF of 2nd commencement speech | |
| 3rd | 1894 | John Casper Branner | Professor of Geology | May 30, 1894 | "The Education of the Scientific Man" | ||
| 4th | 1895 | John M. Stillman | Professor of Chemistry | May 29, 1895 | "Specialization in Education" | PDF of 4th commencement speech | |
| 5th | 1896 | Melville B. Anderson | Professor of English Literature | May 27, 1896 | "Hamlet: the Transition from the Contemplative to the Active Life" | ||
| 6th | 1897 | Oliver P. Jenkins | Professor of Physiology and Histology | May 26, 1897 | "he Passing of Plato" | PDF of 6th commencement speech | |
| 7th | 1898 | Walter Miller | Professor of Classical Philology | May 25, 1898 | "The Old and the New" | PDF of 7th commencement speech | |
| 8th | 1899 | Fernando Sanford | Professor of Physics | May 24, 1899 | "The Scientific Method and its Limitations" | PDF of 8th commencement speech | |
| 9th | 1900 | William H. Hudson | Professor of English Literature | May 30, 1900 | "The Culture of Today and the Literature of Tomorrow" | ||
| 10th | 1901 | George M. Richardson | Professor of Organic Chemistry | May 29, 1901 | "The Gospel of Work" | PDF of 10th commencement speech | |
| 11th | 1902 | Augustus T. Murray | Professor of Greek | May 28, 1902 | "A Parallel and a Lesson" | ||
| 12th | 1903 | Ewald Flugel | Professor of English Philology | May 25, 1903 | "Our Anniversary is One of Hope" | ||
| 13th | 1904 | Orrin Leslie Elliot | Registrar | May 18, 1904 | "The Higher Education and Progress" | PDF of 13th commencement speech | |
| 14th | 1905 | Charles D. Marx | Professor of Civil Engineering | May 24, 1905 | "General Education of Engineers" | ||
| 15th | 1906 | Benjamin I. Wheeler | President, University of California | Sep 15, 1906 | "Orthography" | PDF of 15th commencement speech | |
| 16th | 1907 | Harris Weinstock | Sacramento merchant & Trustee, State of California | May 22, 1907 | "The Nation's Greatest Need of the Hour" | PDF of 16th commencement speech | |
| 17th | 1908 | Ernest Carrol Moore | Superintendent of Schools, Los Angeles | May 20, 1908 | |||
| 18th | 1909 | James Parker Hall | Dean, University of Chicago Law School | May 19, 1909 | "Business and the Nation" | ||
| 19th | 1910 | William F. Slocum | President, Colorado College | May 23, 1910 | "The Nation's Guarantee of Personal Rights" | ||
| 20th | 1911 | Rev. Charles David Williams | Bishop of Michigan | May 22, 1911 | "The New Patriotism and its Appeal to the College Graduate" | PDF of 20th commencement speech | |
| 21st | 1912 | David P. Barrows | Professor of Political Science, University of California | May 20, 1912 | "Possible Influences of the Panama Canal on our National Characters" | ||
| 22nd | 1913 | David Starr Jordan | University President | May 19, 1913 | "The Conquest of Europe by America" | ||
| 23rd | 1914 | John Casper Branner | University President | May 18, 1914 | |||
| 24th | 1915 | David Starr Jordan | University Chancellor | May 17, 1915 | "The Visionary in History" | ||
| 25th | 1916 | David Starr Jordan | University Chancellor | May 22, 1916 | "Twenty-Five Years of Stanford" | PDF of 25th commencement speech | |
| 26th | 1917 | John M. Stillman | University Vice President | May 21, 1917 | "idealism and National Policy" | PDF of 26th commencement speech | |
| 27th | 1918 | John L. McNab | U.S. District Attorney of San Francisco | Jun 17, 1918 | "A Call to Arms" | ||
| 28th | 1919 | Paul Shorey | Professor of Greek, University of Chicago | Jun 16, 1919 | "America First" | ||
| 29th | 1920 | Stephen S. Wise | American Reform Rabbi and Zionist Leader | Jun 21, 1920 | "The University and the Nation: a Study in Relationships" | ||
| 30th | 1921 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | Jun 20, 1921 | |||
| 31st | 1922 | Alonzo E. Taylor | Director, Food Research Institute | Jun 19, 1922 | "Obligation of the University to the Student" | ||
| 32nd | 1923 | Robert A. Millikan | Director, Norman Bridge Laboratory, California Institute of Technology | Jun 19, 1923 | |||
| 33rd | 1924 | Henry Suzzallo, '99 | President, University of Washington | Jun 23, 1924 | |||
| 34th | 1925 | Herbert C. Hoover, '95 | U.S. Secretary of Commerce | Jun 22, 1925 | |||
| 35th | 1926 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | Jun 21, 1926 | "The Volunteer" | ||
| 36th | 1927 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | Jun 20, 1927 | "Pacific Neighbors" | ||
| 37th | 1928 | John H. Finley | Editor, New York Times | Jun 18, 1928 | "Planetary Thinking" | ||
| 38th | 1929 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | Jun 17, 1929 | |||
| 39th | 1930 | Robert Eckles Swain, '99 | Acting University President | Jun 16, 1930 | |||
| 40th | 1931 | William W. Campbell | President Emeritus, University of California | Jun 15, 1931 | |||
| 41st | 1932 | James Thomson Shotwell | Professor of History, Columbia University | Jun 20, 1932 | "Peace" | ||
| 42nd | 1933 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | Jun 19, 1933 | "Is this a new Renaissance?" | PDF of 42nd commencement speech | |
| 43rd | 1934 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | Jun 18, 1934 | "Self Navigation" | ||
| 44th | 1935 | Herbert C. Hoover, '95 | Former U.S. President | Jun 16, 1935 | |||
| 45th | 1936 | William F. Durand | Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering | Jun 14, 1936 | "Problems" | ||
| 46th | 1937 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | Jun 13, 1937 | "Coasting" | ||
| 47th | 1938 | Arthur Howland Young | Consulting Professor of Industrial Relations | ||||
| 48th | 1939 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | June 18, 1939 | "Human Hopes" | PDF of 48th commencement speech | |
| 49th | 1940 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University President | June 16, 1940 | "Wheels" | PDF of 49th commencement speech | |
| 50th | 1941 | Charles A. Beardsley, '06 | Former President, American Bar Association | ||||
| 51st | 1941 | Lou Henry Hoover, '98 | Former First Lady | ||||
| 51st | 1942 | Monroe E. Deutsch | Vice President and Provost, University of California | June 14, 1942 | PDF of 51st commencement speech | ||
| 52nd | 1943 | Ray Lyman Wilbur, '96 | University Chancellor | June 13, 1943 | "The Human Family, Inc." | PDF of 52nd commencement speech | |
| 53rd | 1944 | Henry R. Luce | Editor, Time, Life, and Fortune magazines | July 2, 1944 | "The Human Situation" | PDF of 53rd commencement speech | |
| 54th | 1945 | Isaiah Bowman | President, Johns Hopkins University | ||||
| 55th | 1946 | Ordway Tread | Editor & Director, Harper & Brothers; Chairman, New York City Board of Higher Education | ||||
| 56th | 1947 | Lee A. DuBridge | President, California Institute of Technology | ||||
| 57th | 1948 | O.C. Carmichael | President, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching | June 13, 1948 | "The Role of the Educated" | PDF of 57th commencement speech | |
| 58th | 1949 | J.E. Wallace Sterling, '38 | University President | ||||
| 59th | 1950 | Lester Bowles Pearson | Secretary of State for External Affairs, Canada | ||||
| 60th | 1951 | Eugene Meyer | Chairman of the Board, Washington Post | ||||
| 61st | 1952 | Clark Kerr | Chancellor Designate, University of California | ||||
| 62nd | 1953 | Sir Percy Spender | Australian Ambassador to the United States | ||||
| 63rd | 1954 | Robert C. Swain, '28 | Vice President, American Cynamid Co. | June 13, 1954 | "The Human Tortoise and the Scientific Hare" | PDF of 63rd commencement speech | |
| 64th | 1955 | Dag Hammarskjold | Secretary General, United Nations | June 19, 1955 | "The Nation and the World" | PDF of 64th commencement speech | |
| 65th | 1956 | N.A.M. Mackenzie | President, University of British Columbia | June 17, 1956 | "A Vision of Greatness" | PDF of 65th commencement speech | |
| 66th | 1957 | J.E. Wallace Sterling, '38 | University President | ||||
| 67th | 1958 | J.E. Wallace Sterling, '38 | University President | June 15, 1958 | PDF of 67th commencement speech | ||
| 68th | 1959 | J.E. Wallace Sterling, '38; John W. Gardner, '35, AM '36 | Sterling: University President; Gardner: Haas Centennial Professor of Public Service; Founder, Common Cause; Former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare | June 14, 1959 | |||
| 69th | 1960 | Barnaby C. Keeney | President, Brown University | ||||
| 70th | 1961 | James D. Zellerbach | Former U.S. Ambassador to Italy | ||||
| 71st | 1962 | Edwin H. Land | President and Director of Research, Polaroid Corp. | June 16, 1962 | PDF of 71st commencement speech | ||
| 72nd | 1963 | Lauris Norstad | Retired General, U.S. Air Force; President, Owens-Corning | ||||
| 73rd | 1964 | Earl Warren | Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court | ||||
| 74th | 1965 | David Elliot Bell | Administrator, Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of State | June 13, 1965 | PDF of 74th commencement speech | ||
| 75th | 1966 | Monroe E. Spaght, '29, AM '31, PhD '33 | Managing Director, Royal Dutch Shell International | June 12, 1966 | PDF of 75th commencement speech | ||
| 76th | 1967 | John Fischer | Editor in Chief, Harper's Magazine | June 18, 1967 | "Four Choices for Young People" | PDF of 76th commencement speech | |
| 77th | 1968 | J.E. Wallace Sterling, '38 | University President | ||||
| 78th | 1969 | W. Willard Wirtz | Former U.S. Secretary of Labor | June 15, 1969 | PDF of 78th commencement speech | ||
| 79th | 1970 | Charles H. Percy | Illinois Senator | ||||
| 80th | 1971 | Eric Sevareid | CBS Washington Correspondent | June 13, 1971 | PDF of 80th commencement speech | ||
| 81st | 1972 | James Reston | Vice President, New York Times | June 11, 1972 | PDF of 81st commencement speech | ||
| 82nd | 1973 | John Usher Monro | Director of Freshman Studies, Miles College; Former Dean, Harvard College | ||||
| 83rd | 1974 | Archibald Cox | Professor of Law, Harvard; Former Watergate Special Prosecutor | June 16, 1974 | PDF of 83rd commencement speech | ||
| 84th | 1975 | Daniel P. Moynihan | Professor of Government, Harvard | "Can the System Work?" | |||
| 85th | 1976 | Carla A. Hills, '55 | U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | ||||
| 86th | 1977 | John Hope Franklin | Professor of History, University of Chicago | ||||
| 87th | 1978 | Donald Kennedy | Commissioner, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Professor of Biological Sciences | ||||
| 88th | 1979 | Andrew Young | U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations | Streaming video of 88th commencement speech | |||
| 89th | 1980 | Lewis Thomas | President, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center | ||||
| 90th | 1981 | Warren Christoper, '49 | Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State | Streaming video of 90th commencement speech | |||
| 91st | 1982 | Sandray Day O'Connor, '50 | U.S. Supreme Court Justice | PDF of 91st commencement speech | |||
| 92nd | 1983 | George P. Shultz | U.S. Secretary of State; Professor of Public Policy | ||||
| 93rd | 1984 | Richard W. Lyman | President, Rockefeller Foundation | ||||
| 94th | 1985 | Mario Cuomo | Governor, New York | ||||
| 95th | 1986 | Ted Koppel, '62 | ABC-TV "Nightline" host | ||||
| 96th | 1987 | Thomas "Tip" O'Neill | Retired Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives | ||||
| 97th | 1988 | Robert C. Maynard | Editor and President, Oakland Tribune | ||||
| 98th | 1989 | Garry Trudeau | Cartoonist, Doonesbury | Streaming Video of 98th commencement speech | |||
| 99th | 1990 | Marion Wright Edelman | President, Children's Defense Fund | Streaming Video of 99th commencement speech | |||
| 100th | 1991 | John W. Gardner, '35, AM '36 | Haas Centennial Professor of Public Service; Founder, Common Cause; Former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare | PDF of 100th commencement speech | |||
| 101st | 1992 | Kirk Varnedoe, AM '70, PhD '72 | Director, Department of Painting and Sculpture, Museum of Modern Art | June 14, 1992 | PDF of 101st commencement speech | ||
| 102nd | 1993 | Dianne Feinstein, '55 | United States Senator | PDF of 102nd commencement speech | Streaming Video of 102nd commencement speech | ||
| 103rd | 1994 | Stephen Carter, '76 | Professor of Law, Yale University | PDF of 103rd commencement speech | Streaming Video of 103rd commencement speech | ||
| 104th | 1995 | William Perry, '49 | U.S. Secretary of Defense | June 18, 1995 | PDF of 104th commencement speech | Streaming video of 104th commencement speech [Part 1][Part 2][Part 3] | |
| 105th | 1996 | Mae Jemison, '77 | Founder and Director, Jemison Institute for Advanced Technology in Developing Countries at Dartmouth College | June 19, 1996 | PDF of 105th commencement speech | Streaming video of 105th commencement speech [Part 1][Part 2][Part 3] | |
| 106th | 1997 | Stephen Breyer, '59 | U.S. Supreme Court Justice | June 18, 1997 | HTML of 106th commencement speech | Streaming video of 106th commencement speech [Part 1][Part 2][Part 3] | |
| 107th | 1998 | Ted Koppel, AM '62 | Anchor of ABC's "Nightline" | June 14, 1998 | HTML of 107th commencement speech | ||
| 108th | 1999 | Robert Pinsky, AM '67 | Poet | June 13, 1999 | HTML of 108th commencement speech | ||
| 109th | 2000 | Kofi Annan | Secretary General, United Nations | June 14, 2000 | HTML of 109th commencement speech | ||
| 110th | 2001 | Carleton (Carly) S. Fiorina, '76 | Chairman and CEO, Hewlett Packard Co. | June 17, 2001 | HTML of 110th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 110th commencement speech | |
| 111th | 2002 | Condoleeza Rice | National Security Advisor | June 16, 2002 | HTML of 111th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 111th commencement speech | |
| 112th | 2003 | Alejandro Toledo, AM '72, AM '74, PhD '92 | President of Peru | June 15, 2003 | HTML of 112th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 112th commencement speech | |
| 113th | 2004 | Sandra Day O'Connor, '50 | U.S. Supreme Court Justice | HTML of 113th commencement speech | |||
| 114th | 2005 | Steve Jobs | Co-Founder and CEO, Apple Inc. | June 12, 2005 | HTML of 114th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 114th commencement speech | |
| 115th | 2006 | Tom Brokaw (undergraduate) | Anchor, NBC Nightly News | June 18, 2006 | HTML of 115th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 115th commencement speech | |
| 115th | 2006 | Vartan Gregorian, '58, PhD '64 (graduate) | President of the Carnegie Corporation, former president of the New York Public Library and Brown University | June 17, 2006 | HTML of 115th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 115th commencement speech | |
| 116th | 2007 | Dana Gioia | Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts | June 17, 2007 | HTML of 116th commencement speech | ||
| 117th | 2008 | Oprah Winfrey | Global media leader and philanthropist | June 15, 2008 | HTML of 117th commencement speech | ||
| 118th | 2009 | Anthony M. Kennedy | Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court | June 14, 2009 | HTML of 118th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 118th commencement speech | |
| 119th | 2010 | Susan E. Rice, '86 | U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations | June 13, 2010 | HTML of 119th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 119th commencement speech | |
| 120th | 2011 | Felipe Calderon Hinojosa | President of Mexico | June 12, 2011 | HTML of 120th commencement speech | Streaming Video of 120th commencement speech | |
| 121st | 2012 | Cory Booker, '91, AM '92 | Mayor of Newark, NJ | June 17, 2012 | HTML of 121st commencement speech | Streaming Video of 121st commencement speech | |
| 122nd | 2013 | Michael Bloomberg | Mayor of New York, NY | June 16, 2013 | HTML of 122nd commencement speech | Streaming video of 122nd commencement speech | |
| 123rd | 2014 | Bill and Melinda Gates | Directors of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation | Jun 15, 2014 | HTML of 123rd commencement speech | Streaming video of 123rd commencement speech | |
| 124th | 2015 | Richard Engel | Chief foreign correspondent for NBC News | Jun 14, 2015 | HTML of 124th commencement speech | Streaming video of 124th commencement speech | |
| 125th | 2016 | Ken Burns | Documentary filmmaker | Jun 12, 2016 | HTML of 125th commencement speech | Streaming video of 125th commencement speech | |
| 126th | 2017 | Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar | Assoc. Justic of Supreme Court of California | Jun 18, 2017 | HTML of 126th commencement speech | Streaming video of 126th commencement speech | |
| 127th | 2018 | Sterling K. Brown, '98 | Actor | Jun 17, 2018 | HTML of 127th commencement speech | Streaming video of 176th commencement speech | |
| 128th | 2019 | Tim Cook | Chief Executive Officer of Apple | Jun 16, 2019 | HTML of 128th commencement speech | Streaming video of 128th commencement speech | |
| 129th | 2020 | Postponed due to COVID-19 | |||||
| 130th | 2021 - Advanced degrees | Atul Gawande | Public health leader and author | Jun 12, 2021 | HTML of 130th commencement speech for advanced degrees | Streaming video of 130th commencement speech for advanced degrees | |
| 130th | 2021 - Undergraduate | Issa Rae, '07 | Actor, Writer, Producer | Jun 13, 2021 | HTML of 130th commencement speech for undergraduate degrees | Streaming video of 130th commencement speech for undergraduate degrees |