Famous Short Speeches by Notable People

Contributed by:
Ivan
Five famous speeches that are written/spoken by some of the most popular celebrities of all time are included in this article.
1. Franklin D. Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor Address
"December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in
infamy... No matter how long it may take us to
overcome this premeditated invasion, the
American people in their righteous might will win
through to absolute victory... I ask that the
Congress declare that since the unprovoked and
dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December
7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the
United States and the Japanese empire."
Ronald Reagan's Speech Following the
Challenger Disaster
"Today is a day for mourning and remembering.
Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy
of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this
pain with all of the people of our country. This is
truly a national loss... Nineteen years ago, almost
to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible
accident on the ground. But we've never lost an
astronaut in flight. We've never had a tragedy like
this. And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it
took for the crew of the shuttle. But they, the
Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers,
but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly.
We mourn seven heroes: Michael Smith, Dick
Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair, Ellison
2. Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe.
We mourn their loss as a nation together."
Bill Clinton's 'I Have Sinned' Speech
"I agree with those who have said that in my first
statement after I testified I was not contrite
enough. I don't think there is a fancy way to say
that I have sinned. It is important to me that
everybody who has been hurt know that the
sorrow I feel is genuine: first and most important,
my family; also my friends, my staff, my Cabinet,
Monica Lewinsky and her family, and the
American people. I have asked all for their
forgiveness... But I believe that to be forgiven,
more than sorrow is required - at least two more
things. First, genuine repentance - a
determination to change and to repair breaches of
my own making. I have repented. Second, what
my bible calls a ''broken spirit''; an understanding
that I must have God's help to be the person that I
want to be; a willingness to give the very
forgiveness I seek; a renunciation of the pride and
the anger which cloud judgment, lead people to
excuse and compare and to blame and
Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream Speech
3. "I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the
difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still
have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the
American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise
up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We
hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men
are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of
Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of
former slave-owners will be able to sit down
together at a table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of
Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the
heat of injustice and oppression, will be
transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four children will one day
live in a nation where they will not be judged by
the colour of their skin but by the content of their
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of
Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently
dripping with the words of interposition and
nullification, will be transformed into a situation
where little black boys and black girls will be able
to join hands with little white boys and white girls
and walk together as sisters and brothers.
4. I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be
exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made
low, the rough places will be made plain, and the
crooked places will be made straight, and the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh
shall see it together."
William Shakespeare's Famous Short
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
5. And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans
everything. "