1936—Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the United States
1947—Harry S. Truman, President of the United States
July 4th Naturalization Ceremony Speakers
1963—Sir Robert Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia
1964—Henry J. Taylor, former U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland
1965—Helde Alphand, Ambassador of France to the United States
1966—Torben Rønne, Ambassador of Denmark to the United States
1967—Henry H. Fowler, Secretary of the Treasury
1968—Eugene V. Rostow, Undersecretary for Political Affairs, Department of State
1969—U. Alexis Johnson, Undersecretary for Political Affairs, Department of State
1970—J. Sergeant Reynolds, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
1971—Mills E. Godwin, Jr., former Governor of Virginia
1972—Harry F. Byrd, U.S. Senator from Virginia
1973—Albertis S. Harrison, Jr., Justice, Virginia Supreme Court, and former Governor of Virginia
1974—Louis B. Wright, Director Emeritus, Folger Shakespeare Library
1975—Dumas Malone, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Professor of History, Emeritus, Univ. of Virginia
1976—Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States
1977—Caryl Parker Haskins, Trustee, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation
1978—John N. Dalton, Governor of Virginia
1979—Clifton Waller Barrett, Trustee, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation
1980—Charles F. Baldwin, Ambassador in Residence, Univ. of Virginia
1981—Merrill D. Peterson, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Professor of History, Univ. of Virginia
1982—Charles S. Robb, Governor of Virginia
1983—J. Kenneth Robinson, U.S. Representative, 7th Congressional District of Virginia
1984—John O. Marsh, Jr., Secretary of the Army
1985—John W. Warner, U.S. Senator from Virginia
1986—Kenneth W. Thompson, Director, White Burkett Miller Center for Public Affairs at the Univ. of Virginia
1987—Gerald L. Baliles, Governor of Virginia
1988—John Charles Thomas, Justice, Supreme Court of Virginia
1989—Henry J. Abraham, James Hart Professor of Government and Foreign Affairs, Univ. of Virginia
1990—L. Douglas Wilder, Governor of Virginia
1991—Jacques Andreani, Ambassador of France to the United States
1992—Carl Sagan, David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences, Cornell University
1993—John T. Casteen III, President, Univ. of Virginia
1994—David McCullough, biographer and historian
1995—Roberto C. Goizueta, Chairman and Chief Operating Officer, The Coca-Cola Company
1996—Richard Moe, President, National Trust for Historic Preservation
1997—Gen. Colin L. Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Department of Defense
1998—Andrew Young, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
1999—James S. Gilmore III, Governor of Virginia
2000—Madeleine K. Albright, Secretary of State
2001—Vartan Gregorian, President, Carnegie Corporation of New York
2002—Frank McCourt, author
2003—Allen H. Neuharth, founder of USA Today and The Freedom Forum
2004—W. Richard West, Jr., founding director of Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian
2005—I.M. Pei, architect
2006—Christo and Jeanne-Claude, artists
2007—Sam Waterston, actor
2008—George W. Bush, President of the United States
2009—Tom Perriello, U.S. Representative, 5th Congressional District of Virginia
2010—Tracey Ullman, actress and comedienne
2011—Muhtar Kent, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer The Coca-Cola Company
2012—Nadia Comăneci, Gold-medal-winning Olympic gymnast
2013—Dave Matthews, Musician
2014—David M. Rubenstein, co-Founder and co-CEO of The Carlyle Group
2015—Terence R. McAuliffe, Governor of Virginia
2016—Larry J. Sabato, founder and director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics
2017—David N. Saperstein, former U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom and prominent Reform rabbi
2018—Andrew H. Tisch, Co-Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Committee Loews Corporation, and co-author of Journeys: An American Story