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Top Commencement Speakers

As big names address millions of cap-and-gown-clad graduates this month, The Daily Beast figures out which speakers—from Maya Angelou to Al Gore—have graced the podium the most through the years.

Published May 17 2011 9:28AM EDT

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---cosby_jcngkw — Matt Rourke / AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---cosby_rt7mia — Comedian, author, activist

Commencement speeches: 40
Matt Rourke / AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---bill-clinton_i2qhyr — 42nd U.S. President

Commencement speeches: 32
Dale Sparks / AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---edelman_yhgiso — President and founder of the Children’s Defense Fund

Commencement speeches: 25
AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---albright_kqdup1 — Former Secretary of State

Commencement speeches: 22
AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---elizabeth-dole_k3igv8 — Former U.S. senator, Cabinet secretary, Red Cross director

Commencement speeches: 19
Joe Raymond / AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---brokaw_hcmtme — Broadcast journalist and former anchor of NBC Nightly News

Commencement speeches: 19
AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---angelou_idtmp2 — Poet and author

Commencement speeches: 18
AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---george-h-w-bush_z5bodc — 41st U.S. President

Commencement speeches: 17
Matthew Healey / Landov

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---bill-bradley_sbvv23 — Former basketball player, U.S. senator and 2000 Democratic presidential candidate

Commencement speeches: 16
Charlie Neibergall / AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---hillary-clinton_dpxpm1 — U.S. Secretary of State

Commencement speeches: 16
AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---ted-koppel_fd92on — Broadcast journalist; former anchor of Nightline

Commencement speeches: 16
Michael Okoniewski / AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---garry-trudeau_hbthij — Creator of Doonesbury comic strip

Commencement speeches: 15
Newscom

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---kofi-annan_y0x5of — Former Secretary-General of the United Nations

Commencement speeches: 14
Michael Smith / Getty Images

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---gore_k6szsw — 45th U.S. Vice President

Commencement speeches: 14
AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---daniel-moynihan_u89trz — Former U.S. senator and U.N. ambassador

Commencement speeches: 13
Mike Mergen / AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---george-w-bush_ctaxhx — 43rd U.S. President

Commencement speeches: 13
Larry Downing / Reuters

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---roberts-1_nfmoxf — Journalist and author

Commencement speeches: 13
Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---john-mccain_jt65ms — U.S. Senator and 2008 Republican presidential candidate

Commencement speeches: 12
Frank Franklin II / AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---andrew-young_pwcqpg — Former Atlanta mayor, U.S. congressman and U.N. ambassador

Commencement speeches: 12
Peter Schumacher / AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---obama_yp8jwg — U.S. President

Commencement speeches: 12
Charles Dharapak / AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---gates_qcucdh — U.S. Secretary of Defense

Commencement speeches: 12
Dean Hare / AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---mario-cuomo_wmi4pq — Former New York Governor

Commencement speeches: 11
Alan Solomon / AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---powell-1_tehvve — Author

Commencement speeches: 11
AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---tutu_xrg64s — Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town; Nobel Peace Prize recipient

Commencement speeches: 10
Chris Hondros / Getty Images

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---steinem_o2bhtt — Political activist and journalist

Commencement speeches: 10
Newscom

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---johnnetta-cole_bgdqdx — Director of Smithsonian National Museum of African Art; former president of Spellman College

Commencement speeches: 10
Evan Agostini / Getty Images

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---michael-bloomberg_vauddm — New York City Mayor; founder of Bloomberg, LP

Commencement speeches: 10
Matt Rourke / AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---sol-linowitz_tmfsvm — Former diplomat; former chairman of Xerox

Commencement speeches: 9
AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---paul-volcker_pp9xis — Chairman of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board; former chairman of the Federal Reserve

Commencement speeches: 9
Brian Snyder / Reuters

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---oscar-arias_ncuixd — Former president of Costa Rica; Nobel Peace Prize recipient

Commencement speeches: 9
Yuri Cortez, AFP / Getty Images

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---ted-kennedy_znkpj7 — Former U.S. Senator

Commencement speeches: 9
Carlos Rene Perez / AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---will_dqxvqd — Journalist

Commencement speeches: 9
Christopher Ruppel / Getty Images

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---alexander_ru8w4i — Actress; former director of the National Endowment for the Arts

Commencement speeches: 9
Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---powell_pq3csi — Former Secretary of State

Commencement speeches: 9
AP Photo

galleries/2011/05/17/top-commencement-speakers/commencement-speakers---rudolph-guiliani_lwrtwe — Former Mayor of New York

Commencement speeches: 8
David Holston / AP Photo

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