HOME   -   FAMOUS SPEECHES IN HISTORY

 
   


CICERO DELIVERS HIS SPEECH AGAINST CATILINE - 63 BC
CICERO DELIVERS HIS SPEECH AGAINST CATILINE - 63 BC


Browse the Speech Archive

A lot of people said a lot of things throughout history. Some of the countless lectures, sermons, talks, discourses, and addresses have been preserved.

In this speech archive you will find transcripts of great and famous speeches in history.

Some speeches have an additional audio track, some have a video clip.

Let's kick off with a  Cicero quote:

Nemo umquam neque poeta neque orator fuit, qui quemquam meliorem quam se arbitraretur.

In other words,

No poet or orator has ever existed who thought there was another better than himself.

End quote.

 

Image Above

Cicero addressing the Senate. Cell phone snapshot by Cesare Maccari.

 

The Speech Archive

This speech collection is indexed alphabetically by topic, alphabetically by speaker, chronologically, and then some.


 

Speeches by Topic: A

Speeches by Topic: B - D

Speeches by Topic: E - G

Speeches by Topic: H - I

Speeches by Topic: J - O

Speeches by Topic: P - S

Speeches by Topic: Ta - The J

Speeches by Topic: The K - Tz

Speeches by Topic: U - Z


Speeches by Speaker: A - C

Speeches by Speaker: D - G

Speeches by Speaker: H - L

Speeches by Speaker: M - R

Speeches by Speaker: S - Z


Speeches by Date: Ancient Times-1800

Speeches by Date: 1801-1850

Speeches by Date: 1851-1900

Speeches by Date: 1901-1920

Speeches by Date: 1921-1940

Speeches by Date: 1941-1950

Speeches by Date: 1951-1960

Speeches by Date: 1961-1965

Speeches by Date: 1966-1970

Speeches by Date: 1971-1980

Speeches by Date: 1981-1990

Speeches by Date: 1991-Today
 

 


Terminology

Oratory is the art of public speaking. Ideally, the orator delivers his oration with eloquence.


What is the difference between eloquence and rhetoric?

The word eloquence stems from the Latin term eloquentia, referring to the readiness, elegance, fluency, and persuasiveness of speech. If you are able to deliver a bombastic and pompous speech, you are grandiloquent.

The word rhetoric is equivalent to the Greek word ritoriki, which in turn stems from the Greek term ritoras, meaning orator. Rhetoric, therefore, is the art or method of an orator, his skill. A master of rhetoric is also called a rhetor or a rhetorician.


At the end of your oration, you probably want to repeat your message in a nutshell and combine it with a call for action. This concluding part of your speech is called peroration.


 

Outstanding Masters of Rhetoric in History

ARISTOTLE 384 - 322 BC
ARISTOTLE 384 - 322 BC
DeA Picture Library

Among the ancient Greeks, rhetoric was a respected art.  Aristotle wrote on the subject and titled his work Rhetoric.

 Read Aristotle's Rhetoric online.

 

QUINTILIAN TEACHING AT ORATORY BOOT CAMP IN ROME
QUINTILIAN TEACHING AT ORATORY BOOT CAMP IN ROME
Copper engraving by F. Bleyswyk

Quintilian was professor of Latin Rhetoric from AD 68 to 88. He wrote the bible for oratory in 12 volumes and titled it Institutio oratoria which is Latin and means Institutes of Oratory or Education of an Orator.

Read Quintilian online.
 



Elizabeth I - Tilbury - Spanish Armada Speech
ELIZABETH ARRIVING AT OPEN MIC NIGHT IN TILBURY 1588
Life Magazine

In her youth, Queen Elizabeth I of England had studied rhetoric. Her Majesty became famous for her captivating speeches.

Check here for Elizabeth's Spanish Armada Speech.
 

 

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1842
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1842
house.gov

John Quincy Adams taught Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard from 1805 to 1809. His nickname was Old Man Eloquent.


 

Get a Break !!

 

 

 

More History


 


Browse the Speech Archive
You have three main ways to search for speeches:

Speeches by Topic A-Z

Speeches by Speaker A-Z

Speeches by Date of Speech


Additionally, the Speech Archive is indexed by the following categories:

Speeches Given by Women

Speeches Given by African-Americans

Speeches Given by U.S. Presidents

 

The Loneliness in Public Speaking


There are two times in life when you are totally alone... Harvey Mackay explains.

 

Frequently Viewed Speeches

Socrates: Apology - 399 BC
Socrates: Apology
399 BC

Abraham Lincoln: Gettysburg Address - 1863
Abraham Lincoln: Gettysburg Address
1863

Winston Churchill: Their Finest Hour - 1940
Winston Churchill: Their Finest Hour
1940

Martin Luther King Jr.: I Have a Dream - 1963
Martin Luther King Jr.: I Have a Dream
1963

 

 



Famous Animals in History

 

Picture Archive



Find pictures and photos of historic people and events.

Picture Archive A - C

Picture Archive D - M

Picture Archive N - Z



Attila the Hun

Attila King of the Huns

The greatest of all Barbarian rulers, Attila kicked rear on a large scale.

Attila short biography

Map of Attila's empire

Battle of the Catalaunian Plains

Who were the Huns?
 


 

Greco-Persian Wars

Also called the Persian Wars, the Greco-Persian Wars were fought for almost half a century from 492 BC - 449 BC. Greece won against enormous odds. Here is more:

Battle of Marathon
Battle of Thermopylae
Battle of Salamis
Battle of Plataea

 

 

 


EK Books

Knowledge that sticks. Print or download. Global shipping. 

Reseller
 

 

 

 

The Ancient Greeks in a Nutshell

 



About Mata Hari

 


American Timeline 1492-Today

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

French Revolution - Its Causes, Its Victims, Its Effects