First lady Michelle Obama sits next to a vacant seat to honor victims of gun violence during President Barack Obama's final State of the Union address on Tuesday, January 12. Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy is at left and Army veteran Naveed Shah is at right. Behind them, from left, are activist Ryan Reyes, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, community college student Jennifer Bragdon and Air Force Staff Sgt. Spencer Stone.
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Astronaut Scott Kelly is recognized in the House chamber during Obama's State of the Union address in 2015.
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U.S. Army Ranger Cory Remsburg, who was wounded in Afghanistan, gives a thumbs-up while being honored during Obama's State of the Union address in 2014.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook was a special guest at Obama's State of the Union address in 2013.
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At left is Warren Buffett's secretary, Debbie Bosanek, who was one of Obama's guests at the 2012 State of the Union.
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From left, John, Dallas and Roxanna Green were Obama's guests at the 2011 State of the Union. They are the family of the late Christina Taylor Green, who was killed in Arizona by the gunman who shot then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
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Wesley Autrey, who risked his life to save a man who had fallen onto the tracks of a New York City subway, was President George W. Bush's guest at the 2007 State of the Union.
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Afghanistan's then-president, Hamid Karzai, was Bush's guest at the 2002 State of the Union.
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Baseball legend Hank Aaron was honored at President Bill Clinton's State of the Union in 2000.
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Another baseball star, Sammy Sosa, was honored at Clinton's 1999 address.
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Civil rights icon Rosa Parks was honored in 1999.
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First lady Nancy Reagan, lower right, claps for the special young guests at President Ronald Reagan's 1986 State of the Union address. To her right are Trevor Ferrell, Shelby Butler, Tyrone Ford and Richard Cavoli. Reagan honored Ferrell, who was barely a teenager, for working with the homeless. Butler, also in her early teens, was honored for saving a fellow student. Ford was recognized for his musical accomplishments. Cavoli's experiment was aboard the space shuttle Challenger.
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Lenny Skutnik was recognized during Reagan's 1982 State of the Union speech. Skutnik risked his life to save a passenger after an airplane crashed into the icy Potomac River.