The History of Commencement

Each year an outside speaker gives an address to the graduating class during the Commencement exercises. Most often, the speaker is a relative of a graduating Sixth Former. Below is a list of Commencement speakers dating back to 1933. The list is not complete, and if you have information about who spoke during the missing years, please email the Alumni Office at alumni@eaglebrook.org.

Commencement Speakers 1933 - Present

List of 50 items.

  • 1933

  • 1934

    Henry A. Garfield
  • 1935

  • 1936

  • 1937

  • 1938

    James Phinney Baxter
  • 1939

    C. Thurston Chase
  • 1940

    C. Thurston Chase
  • 1941

    Reverend Arthur T. Brooks
  • 1942

  • 1943

    C. Thurston Chase
  • 1944

  • 1945

  • 1946

    C. Thurston Chase
  • 1947

  • 1948

    William G. Saltonstall
  • 1949

    James P. Baxter III
  • 1950

    Wilson Parkhill
  • 1951

    George Van Santvoord
  • 1952

    Reverent Stephen T. Crary
  • 1953

    John W. Hallowell
  • 1954

    Reverend John B. Whiteman
  • 1955

    Wilson Parkhill
  • 1956

    Edward T. Hall
  • 1957

    Francis O. Grubbs
  • 1958

    Reverend Wiliam Hindle
  • 1959

    Hans Froelicher
  • 1960

    Barnitz Williams
  • 1961

    Sam Lewis '57
  • 1962

    Edgar E. Kaiser
  • 1963

    Charles H. Percy
  • 1964

    Gerald Mayer '44
  • 1965

    Joshua L. Miner
  • 1966

    O. Stuart Chase '47
  • 1967

    Frank B. Conklin '30
  • 1968

    George W. Rickey
  • 1969

    Henry M. Halsted III
  • 1970

    William W. Scranton
  • 1971

    Richard N. Dyer '34
  • 1972

    Preston S. Parish
  • 1973

    Thomas S. Morse '40
  • 1974

    Reverend William Sloane Coffin, D.D.
  • 1975

    Reverend William Sloane Coffin, D.D.
  • 1976

    John R. Harrison
  • 1977

    HRH Prince Hassan
  • 1978

    Thomas O. Hoving '46
  • 1979

    James A. Baker
  • 1980

    George Tanham
  • 1981

    Anne Landers
  • 1982

    Thomas S. Morse '40

List of 42 items.

  • 1983

    Nathaniel P. Reed
  • 1984

    William R. Timken
  • 1985

    Senator John D. Rockefeller IV
  • 1986

    Ambassador William L. Eagleton
  • 1987

    Nelson Doubleday '47
  • 1988

    Gerald M. Mayer '44
  • 1989

    Jason N. Robards
  • 1990

    Dr. Thomas S. Morse '40
  • 1991

    Dr. Thelma Adair
  • 1991

    Dr. Thelma Adair
  • 1992

    Dr. Hans A. Bethe
  • 1993

    Dr. Hatem Abu Ghazaleh
  • 1994

    Martin Kimmel
  • 1995

    Dr. Robert Coles
  • 1996

    Alan B. Mollohan
  • 1997

    Gerald M. Mayer '44
  • 1998

    George Williamson
  • 1999

    Michael Beschloss '70
  • 2000

    George Gilder
  • 2001

    Steven Duprey
  • 2002

    Dr. Thomas S. Morse '40
  • 2003

    Chris Waddell '84
  • 2004

    Steven Case
  • 2005

    Marie-Elaine LaRoche
  • 2006

    Kofi Osei
  • 2007

    Emily Wade
  • 2008

    Lorenzo Mendoza
  • 2009

    Judge Judy Sheindlin
  • 2010

    Senator John Warner
  • 2011

    Rush McCloy '89
  • 2012

    Robert Miller
  • 2013

    Michael Beschloss '70
  • 2014

    Jorge Aziz
  • 2015

    Alexander Taylor '90
  • 2016

    Whitney Tilson '82
  • 2017

    Lawrence Otis Graham P14, P17
  • 2018

    Vicky Ward P18
  • 2019

    Zach Schonbrun '01
  • 2020

    Bridget Brink P20
  • 2021

    Eric Schmidt
  • 2022

    Ambassador Bridget Brink P20, P22
  • 2023

    Stephen A. Schwarzman GP23
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