The upcoming Democratic National Convention (DNC), which will be held this July 25-28 at the Wells Fargo Center, will be the third time the convention is held in Philadelphia. The first time the DNC came to Philadelphia was in 1936 and the convention resulted in the nomination of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, who gave his acceptance speech on Penn’s campus at Franklin Field.

President Roosevelt returned to campus for the University of Pennsylvania Bicentennial Celebration on September 20, 1940 and received an honorary degree.

The Republican National Convention (RNC) has been held six times in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1856, 1872, 1900, 1940, 1948 and 2000).

A total of 18 American Presidents have visited the University of Pennsylvania’s campus sometime in their lives; some of them have given commencement addresses.

Several First Ladies and Vice Presidents have also visited campus as commencement speaker.

For more information on Presidential visits to Penn’s campus, visit the University Archives http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/features/alum/99_1.html

The Flag of the President Former President Ronald Reagan delivered the first of three Plenary Session addresses at the University’s 250th Anniversary celebration in May 1990; he was accompanied by his wife, Nancy Reagan.  See Almanac May 29, 1990.	Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States, gave the 219th Commencement Address on May 18, 1975.	Jimmy Carter, the 39th  President of the United States, gave the 242nd Commencement Address on May 18, 1998. See Almanac May 19/26, 1998.

 

The Flag of the Vice President On February 14, 1996, Vice President Al Gore gave a speech at Penn’s celebration of ENIAC’s 50th anniversary and received Penn’s Medal for Distinguished Achievement.  See Almanac February 20, 1996.	Hubert H. Humphrey, the 38th Vice President of the United States, gave the 221st Commencement Address on May 22, 1977.	Joseph R. Biden, Jr., the 47th Vice President of the United States, gave the 257th Commencement Address  on May 13, 2013. See Almanac May 21, 2013.

The Shield of the University of Pennsylvania	Barbara Bush, the then First Lady of the United States, gave Penn’s 234th  Commencement Address  on May 14, 1990.	Hillary Rodham Clinton, the then First Lady of the United States, gave the 237th Commencement Address  on May 17, 1993.  See Almanac May 18, 1993.