Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, has had an illustrious history of Independence Day celebrations. When the Levy family took over the ownership of Monticello in the nineteenth century, a tradition of celebration ensued. Typically the celebrations included homage to Jefferson with floral decorations at the grave, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, and fireworks in the evening. A report in the Washington Post for July 7, 1888, states that "a large and distinguished party of guests congregated in the main hall of the mansion" and that it was "an annual custom which has been strictly observed ever since the death of the illustrious Jefferson." In the twentieth century, a tradition was added through speech-making by notable dignitaries. In 1963 naturalization ceremonies for new United States citizens were begun with the events typically taking place on the lawn of the mansion. That tradition continues today. Thanks to Bryan Craig, Research Librarian, at Monticello for providing his list of speakers for the years 1963-2000.
1926: Stuart O. Gibboney, President, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation; Claude G. Bowers, author of Jefferson and Hamilton; Mrs. Anthony Wayne Cook of Cooksburg, Pennsylvania, honorary president general, Daughters of the American Revolution. Source: "Two-Day Exercises at Monticello Attract Distinguished Speakers," Washington Sunday Star, 4 July 1926, 6.
1936: President Franklin D. Roosevelt
1947: President Harry S. Truman
1963: Sir Robert Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia
1964: Henry J. Taylor, former U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland
1965: Monsieur Helde Alphaud, French Ambassador
1966: Torben Ronne, Danish Ambassador
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. Sargeant Reynolds, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
1971: Mills E. Godwin, Jr., former Governor of Virginia
1972: Harry Flood Byrd, Jr., U.S. Senator from Virginia
1973: Albertis S. Harrison, Jr., Justice, Supreme Court of Virginia 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, University of Virginia
1976: Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States
1977: Caryl Parker Haskins, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Trustee
1978: John N. Dalton, Governor of Virginia
1979: Clifton Waller Barrett, Thomas Jefferson Memorial foundation Trustee
1980: Charles F. Baldwin, Ambassador in Residence, University of Virginia
1981: Merrill D. Peterson, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Professor of History, University of Virginia
1982: Charles S. Robb, Governor of Virginia
1983: J. Kenneth Robinson, U.S. representative, Seventh Virginia Congressional District
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, University of Virginia
1987: Gerald L. Baliles, Governor of Virginia
1988: John Charles Thomas, Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia
1989: Henry J. Abraham, James Hart Professor of Government and Foreign Affairs, University 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, University of Virginia
1994: David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and historian
1995: Roberto C. Goizueta, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company
1996: Richard Moe, President, National Trust for Historic Preservation
1997: General Colin L. Powell, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Department of Defense
1998: Ambassador Andrew Young, Former U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations
1999: James S. Gilmore III, Governor of Virginia
2000: Madeline Albright, U.S. Secretary of State
2001: Vartan D. Gregorian, President of the Carnegie Corporation
2002: Frank McCourt, Pulitzer Prize-winning author
2003: Allen H. Neuharth, founder of the Freedom Forum and USA Today
2004: W. Richard West, Jr., founding director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C.
2005: I.M. Pei, architect, native of China and U.S. citizen
2006: Christo and Jeanne-Claude, environmental artists
2007: Sam Waterston, actor
2008: Ken Burns, "documentary filmmaker, producer, and writer"
This web page was updated on June 24, 2008.