Commencement speeches through the years
While it’s common for a modern-day speech to become instantly familiar to millions of viewers through television or the internet, few people experienced the direct impact of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s Commencement address at Harvard in September 1943. Through the years, an impressive range of orators have used the opportunity of delivering a Harvard Commencement address to reach not only the graduating class but the nation and sometimes the world, delivering messages of profound significance for their times. In the 360° video above, we imagine what it might have been like to sit among the graduates as they took in five seminal Commencement speeches across seven decades, including those of Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Mother Teresa, Bill Gates, and J.K. Rowling. This is a 360° video. If viewing on an iOS device, open the YouTube app. Otherwise, click and drag your mouse, or move your mobile device around, to explore...