Farewell speech

A farewell speech or farewell address is a speech given by an individual leaving a position or place. They are often used by public figures such as politicians as a to the preceding career, or as statements delivered by persons relating to reasons for their leaving. The term is often used as a euphemism for "retirement speech", though it is broader in that it may include geographical or even biological conclusion. In the Classics, a term for a dignified and poetic farewell speech is apobaterion (ἀποβατήριον), standing opposed to the epibaterion, the corresponding speech made upon arrival.

Notable examples

• The speech of Aeneas to Helenus and Andromache, Aeneid, Book III.
• George Washington – Washington's Farewell Address where he warned of the dangers of political parties and foreign alliances.
• Robert E. Lee – Lee's Farewell Address to the Army of Northern Virginia the day after the end of the Civil War.
• Dwight D. Eisenhower – Eisenhower's farewell address where he warned of the military–industrial complex.
• Douglas MacArthur – farewell speeches before Congress and U.S. Military Academy; "old soldiers never die, they only fade away" and "duty, honor, country".
• Barack Obama – farewell speech made from Chicago, breaking tradition of holding one in the White House.

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chambers, Ephraim, ed. (1728). "^{article name needed}". Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (first ed.). James and John Knapton, et al.