President Calvin Coolidge delivers his first annual message to Congress in 1923. Coolidge's address was the first to be broadcast to the nation via radio.
Everett Collection/Shutterstock
President Franklin D. Roosevelet delivers what came to be known as the "Four Freedoms" speech in 1941. In the message, he proposed four fundamental freedoms that people "everywhere in the world" should have: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.
AP
President Harry Truman delivers his annual message in Washington in 1947. Truman's address was the first to be broadcast on television, and it was the first year the message was officially known as the State of the Union address.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
President Dwight Eisenhower acknowledges applause from the Democratic-controlled Congress before delivering his State of the Union address in 1955.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
President John F. Kennedy shakes hands with House Speaker John McCormack in 1962.
Eric Marrapodi/CNN
President Lyndon B. Johnson delivers his first State of the Union address in 1964. Sworn in shortly after Kennedy's assassination in November 1963, his first message called on Congress to move forward with Kennedy's plans "not because of our sorrow or sympathy, but because they are right."
Getty Images
President Richard Nixon, flanked by Vice President Gerald Ford and House Speaker Carl Albert, gives his annual message on January 30, 1974. Nixon famously called for an end to the Watergate investigation during the speech. Seven months later, he resigned because of the scandal.
AP
President Gerald Ford waits for the crowd to settle before starting his 1976 State of the Union address.
David Hume Kennerly/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Congress claps for President Jimmy Carter during his address in 1980.
Diana Walker/Getty Images
Lenny Skutnik, a government employee who dove into the icy Potomac River after the Air Florida plane crash to save a woman, stands as he's acknowledged by President Ronald Reagan during the 1982 State of the Union. Reagan started the tradition of inviting guests to the speech.
Frank Johnston/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Following his State of the Union speech in 1985, Reagan shows off a birthday card given to him by members of Congress. He delivered the speech on his 74th birthday.
Ron Edmonds/AP
President George H.W. Bush speaks with lawmakers following his 1991 State of the Union.
The Washington Post/Getty Images
Vice President Al Gore, flanked by House Speaker Newt Gingrich, stands to applaud during President Bill Clinton's 1996 address. Clinton called for an "end to big government" after a 27-day government shutdown.
Denis Paquin/AP
Hillary Clinton greets civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks during President Clinton's 1999 State of the Union address.
Reuters
Secretary of State Colin Powell embraces President George W. Bush after Bush's annual address in 2002. Bush called North Korea, Iran and Iraq an "axis of evil" in the speech, which came four months after the 9/11 attacks. It was the first address streamed live online.
Luke Frazza/Pool/AP
Janet and William Norwood hold each other during applause after being acknowledge during Bush's 2005 State of the Union. The Norwood's son, Marine Corps Sergeant Byron Norwood, was killed in Iraq.
Chris Maddaloni/Roll Call/Getty Images
President Barack Obama delivers his first State of the Union address in 2010. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, seen with other justices in the audience on the left, shook his head in disagreement and reportedly mouthed "not true" after Obama criticized the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United v. FEC.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Vice President Joe Biden points and laughs as Obama gives his 2014 address. The "finger guns" image quickly became a meme.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Alan Gross pumps his fists after being recognized by Obama during his 2015 State of the Union. Gross was arrested and held in prison in Cuba for six years. He was released in December 2014 in exchange for the release and return of three Cubans convicted of espionage.
Rob Carr/Getty Images
First lady Melania Trump gives conservative media icon Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom during President Donald Trump's annual address in 2020, a day after Limbaugh announced he had been diagnosed with advanced cancer. The decision to award Limbaugh the medal ignited fury among those who pointed to the radio host's divisive rhetoric and inflammatory comments.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
Democratic congresswomen dressed in white listen as Trump gives his State of the Union Address, sending a visual message to the president. The all-white attire celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg/Getty Images
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rips her copy of Trump's 2020 speech in half, encapsulating the toxic relationship between the Republican president and the Democratic speaker. The House had recently impeached Trump for his conduct regarding Ukraine, though he would be acquitted by the GOP-led Senate the next day.
Patrick Semansky/AP
First lady Jill Biden embraces Ukrainian Ambassador to the US Oksana Markarova during President Joe Biden's first State of the Union address in 2022. After months of military buildup and brinkmanship, Russia launched an unprecedented assault on Ukraine in late February.
Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/Reuters
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who had recently announced his upcoming retirement, reacts while being applauded during the 2022 State of the Union address. Breyer served on the court from August 1994 to June 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/Getty Images
Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and Pelosi smile at each other during Biden's address in 2022. It was the first time in history that two women were seated behind the president during a formal State of the Union.
Saul Loeb/Pool/AP
