The Presidential Medal of Freedom

This is a partial list of recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, listed chronologically within the aspect of life in which each recipient is or was renowned.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded by the president of the United States "for especially meritorious contribution to (1) the security or national interests of the United States, or (2) world peace, or (3) cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." Honorees are selected by the president or recommended to them by the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board.[1]

Background

Typically the medal is bestowed upon the recipient by the sitting president who has chosen them. However, the first recipients selected by President John F. Kennedy before his assassination were formally awarded by his successor in office, Lyndon B. Johnson.[2]

President Barack Obama awarded 123 medals, the most ever, followed by President Ronald Reagan with 100 medal recipients.[3][4][5] Two people, Ellsworth Bunker and Colin Powell, are two-time recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Colin Powell received his second award with Distinction,[6] while Ellsworth Bunker was given both of his awards with Distinction.

Eight Presidents have themselves received the medal either posthumously, post-presidency, or prior to being elected:

In 2015, President Barack Obama stated that there was no precedent to revoke a Presidential Medal of Freedom, regarding the award given to stand-up comedian and actor Bill Cosby.[7] After being awarded the medal, Cosby was convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault, though the convictions were later overturned.[8]

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is related to, but distinct from, the Medal of Freedom, an earlier award issued between 1945 and 1963 to honor US civilian contributions to World War II.

At the age of 25, athlete and activist Simone Biles is the youngest person to receive this award as of 2022.[9]

Declinations of the award

Bill Belichick, coach of the New England Patriots, was offered the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Donald Trump, and initially accepted it, but changed his mind and turned down the medal after the 2021 United States Capitol attack.[10]

Country musician Dolly Parton turned down the medal twice. Parton said she turned it down the first time because her husband was ill, and the second time because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

List

Awarded by John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy selected 31 recipients to be awarded in 1963. After his assassination they were officially awarded by Lyndon B. Johnson.

Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Marian Anderson 1963 Classical Contralto & First African-American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera [12]
Ralph Bunche 1963 WD Political Scientist, Mediator in Israel & First person of African descent to receive a Nobel Prize [2]
Ellsworth Bunker 1963 WD U.S. Ambassador to Argentina, Italy and India [2]
Pablo Casals 1963 Cellist [13]
Genevieve Caulfield 1963 Founder of the Bangkok School for the Blind in Thailand
James B. Conant 1963 WD Chemist, 23rd President of Harvard University & 1st U.S. Ambassador to West Germany
John Franklin Enders 1963 Biomedical Scientist & Developer of the Measles Vaccine
Felix Frankfurter 1963 WD Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States [2]
Karl Holton 1963 Head of the Los Angeles County Probation Department & Director of the California Youth Authority [14]
Robert J. H. Kiphuth 1963 Head Coach for Men's Swimming at Yale University
Edwin H. Land 1963 Co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation & Inventor of the Polaroid Instant Camera
Herbert H. Lehman 1963 [a] United States Senator from New York & 45th Governor of New York
Robert A. Lovett 1963 WD 4th United States Secretary of Defense
J. Clifford MacDonald 1963 Philanthropist & President of the Arc of the United States
John J. McCloy 1963 WD United States Assistant Secretary of War & U.S. High Commissioner For Occupied Germany
George Meany 1963 1st President of AFL-CIO [2]
Alexander Meiklejohn 1963 Philosopher & President of Amherst College
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe 1963 Architect [2]
Jean Monnet 1963 WD Entrepreneur & Founding Father of the European Union
Luis Muñoz Marín 1963 WD 1st Elected Governor of Puerto Rico
Clarence B. Randall 1963 Chairman of The Board of Inland Steel Company & Presidential Advisor [16]
Rudolf Serkin 1963 Pianist
Edward Steichen 1963 Photographer
George W. Taylor 1963 Professor of Industrial Relations at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
Alan Tower Waterman 1963 1st Director of the National Science Foundation
Mark S. Watson 1963 Editor and Correspondent for The Baltimore Sun [14]
Annie Dodge Wauneka 1963 Member of the Navajo Nation Council [17]
E. B. White 1963 Writer
Thornton Wilder 1963 3x Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright & Novelist
Edmund Wilson 1963 Writer & Literary Critic
Andrew Wyeth 1963 Realist and Regionalist Painter & Visual Artist

Awarded by Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson awarded 58 medals between 1963 and 1969, excluding 31 which were selected by John F. Kennedy.

Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
John XXIII 1963 † Pope [14]
John F. Kennedy 1963 † 35th President of the United States [18]
Dean Acheson 1964 WD 51st United States Secretary of State
Detlev Bronk 1964 6th President of Johns Hopkins University, 16th President of the National Academy of Sciences & 3rd President of Rockefeller University
Aaron Copland 1964 Classical Composer
Willem de Kooning 1964 Abstract Expressionist Artist [19]
Walt Disney 1964 Co-founder and President of The Walt Disney Company [20]
J. Frank Dobie 1964 Folklorist
Lena Frances Edwards 1964 Physician & Medical Advisor to the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs
T. S. Eliot 1964 Modernist Poet
Lynn Fontanne 1964 Actress [20]
John W. Gardner 1964 6th United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
Theodore Hesburgh 1964 Ordained Priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross & 15th President of University of Notre Dame
Clarence Johnson 1964 Aeronautical and Systems Engineer & Contributing Designer to the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird
Frederick Kappel 1964 9th President of Western Electric & Chairman of AT&T
Helen Keller 1964 Disability Rights Advocate, Human Rights Activist & Member of the American Foundation for the Blind
John L. Lewis 1964 9th President of the United Mine Workers & 1st President of the Congress of Industrial Organizations
Walter Lippmann 1964 Founding Editor of New Republic & Political Commentator
Alfred Lunt 1964 Actor & Director [20]
Ralph McGill 1964 Editor of the Atlanta Constitution & Anti-Segregationist
Samuel Eliot Morison 1964 Maritime Historian
Lewis Mumford 1964 Historian, Sociologist & Philosopher of Technology
Edward R. Murrow 1964 WD Broadcast Journalist & WWII War Correspondent
Reinhold Niebuhr 1964 Reformed Theologian, Ethicist & Professor at Union Theological Seminary
Leontyne Price 1964 Soprano & First African-American Soprano to Achieve International Acclaim
A. Philip Randolph 1964 Founder and President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
Carl Sandburg 1964 3x Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet
John Steinbeck 1964 Nobel Prize Winning Writer
Helen B. Taussig 1964 Cardiologist, Founder of Pediatric Cardiology & Co-developer of the Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt Surgical Procedure
Carl Vinson 1964 WD Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & Father of the Two-Ocean Navy
Thomas Watson Jr. 1964 President of the International Business Machines Corporation
Paul Dudley White 1964 Presidential Physician to Dwight D. Eisenhower & Co-founder of the American Heart Association
Ellsworth Bunker 1967 WD U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States and South Vietnam
Robert Komer 1967 3rd Deputy National Security Advisor & U.S. Ambassador to Turkey
Eugene M. Locke 1967 U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan & South Vietnam
Robert McNamara 1968 8th United States Secretary of Defense
James E. Webb 1968 2nd Administrator of NASA [21]
Eugene R. Black Sr. 1969 3rd President of the World Bank Group
McGeorge Bundy 1969 5th United States National Security Advisor
Clark Clifford 1969 WD 9th United States Secretary of Defense & Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board
Michael DeBakey 1969 Chairman of the Department of Surgery, President, and Chancellor of Baylor College of Medicine at the Texas Medical Center
David Dubinsky 1969 President of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union
Ralph Ellison 1969 Writer & Literary Critic
Henry Ford II 1969 President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of the Ford Motor Company
W. Averell Harriman 1969 WD 48th Governor of New York & 11th United States Secretary of Commerce
Bob Hope 1969 Comedian & Vaudevillian [22]
Edgar Kaiser 1969 Member of the Committee on Urban Housing & General Manager of the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation
Mary Lasker 1969 Philanthropist & Founder of the Lasker Foundation
John Macy 1969 President of the United States Civil Service Commission
Gregory Peck 1969 Actor & Humanitarian
Laurance Rockefeller 1969 Conservationist & Philanthropist
Dean Rusk 1969 WD 54th United States Secretary of State
Walt Whitman Rostow 1969 6th United States National Security Advisor
Merriman Smith 1969 White House Correspondent for United Press International & Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist [23]
Cyrus Vance 1969 7th United States Secretary of the Army & 11th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
William S. White 1969 Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist for the United Feature Syndicate
Roy Wilkins 1969 Executive Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People [23]
Whitney Young 1969 Civil Rights Leader & Member of the National Urban League

Awarded by Richard Nixon

Richard Nixon awarded 28 medals between 1969 and 1974.

Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Buzz Aldrin 1969 WD Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 11 Crew Member
Neil Armstrong 1969 WD Astronaut, Aeronautical Engineer & Apollo 11 Crew Member [24]
Michael Collins 1969 WD Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 11 Crew Member [24]
Duke Ellington 1969 Jazz Pianist & Composer
Earl Charles Behrens 1970 Political Editor for the San Francisco Chronicle [25]
Edward T. Folliard 1970 Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist for The Washington Post
Fred Haise 1970 Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 13 Crew Member [26]
William Henry 1970 Journalist & Daily Columnist for the Los Angeles Times [25]
Arthur Krock 1970 3x Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist for The New York Times [25]
David Lawrence 1970 Founder of U.S. News & World Report [25]
G. Gould Lincoln 1970 Political Reporter for The Washington Evening Star [25]
Jim Lovell 1970 Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 8 Crew Member [26]
Mission Operations Team 1970 [27]
Raymond Moley 1970 Political Economist, Presidential Advisor to Franklin D. Roosevelt & Columnist for Newsweek & National Review [25]
Eugene Ormandy 1970 Violinist, Conductor & Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra
Adela Rogers St. Johns 1970 Journalist for Photoplay Magazine [25]
Jack Swigert 1970 Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 13 Crew Member [26]
Manlio Brosio 1971 4th Secretary General of NATO
Samuel Goldwyn 1971 Film Producer & Founder of Goldwyn Pictures & Samuel Goldwyn Productions
William J. Hopkins 1971 Executive Clerk of the White House
John Paul Vann 1972 † Lieutenant Colonel of the United States Army & Member of the United States Agency for International Development
Lila Acheson Wallace 1972 Philanthropist & Co-founder of Reader's Digest
DeWitt Wallace 1972 Co-founder of Reader's Digest
John Ford 1973 Film Director, Naval Officer & Head of the Photography Unit of the Office of Strategic Services
William P. Rogers 1973 63rd United States Attorney General & 55th United States Secretary of State
Paul G. Hoffman 1974 1st Administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration & 1st Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
Melvin Laird 1974 10th United States Secretary of Defense & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Charles Lowman 1974 Orthopedic Surgeon & Founder of California's First Orthopedic Hospital [28]

Awarded by Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford awarded 26 medals between 1974 and 1977.

Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
David K. E. Bruce 1976 WD U.S. Ambassador to France, Germany, The United Kingdom, the People's Republic of China & NATO
Martha Graham 1976 WD Modern Dancer, Choreographer & Inventor of the Graham Technique [29]
Jesse Owens 1976 Olympic Track and Field Athlete [30]
Arthur Rubinstein 1976 WD Classical Pianist [31]
Iorwith Wilbur Abel 1977 3rd President of the United Steelworkers
John Bardeen 1977 2x Nobel Prize Winning Physicist & Engineer
Irving Berlin 1977 Composer & Songwriter [31]
Norman Borlaug 1977 Nobel Prize Winning Agronomist & Leader of the Green Revolution
Omar Bradley 1977 Senior Officer of the United States Army & 1st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [31]
Arleigh Burke 1977 Admiral of the United States Navy & Chief of Naval Operations
Alexander Calder 1977 † Mobiles Sculptor [32]
Bruce Catton 1977 Pulitzer Prize Winning Popular Historian of the American Civil War
Joe DiMaggio 1977 Professional Baseball Player [31]
Ariel Durant 1977 Pulitzer Prize Winning Researcher & Writer
Will Durant 1977 Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian & Philosopher [32]
Arthur Fiedler 1977 Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops Orchestra [31]
Henry Friendly 1977 Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Lady Bird Johnson 1977 First Lady of the United States [33]
Henry Kissinger 1977 56th United States Secretary of State & 7th United States National Security Advisor
Archibald MacLeish 1977 Modernist Poet, 9th Librarian of Congress & 1st Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs [32]
James A. Michener 1977 Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer & Philanthropist [32]
Georgia O'Keeffe 1977 Modernist Artist & Painter [34]
Nelson Rockefeller 1977 41st Vice President of the United States & 49th Governor of New York [32]
Norman Rockwell 1977 Painter & Illustrator [32]
Donald Rumsfeld 1977 WD 13th United States Secretary of Defense & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Catherine Filene Shouse 1977 Philanthropist, Member of the Women's Division of the U.S. Employment Service of the Department of Labor & First Woman appointed to the Democratic National Committee
Lowell Thomas 1977 Writer, Broadcaster & Leading Investor of Capital Cities Television Corporation [32]
James Watson 1977 Nobel Prize Winning Molecular Biologist & Geneticist who Co-developed the Double Helix Structure Theory for the DNA Molecule

Awarded by Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter awarded 34 medals between 1977 and 1981.

Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Martin Luther King Jr. 1977 † Baptist Minister, Prominent Leader in the Civil Rights Movement & 1st President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Jonas Salk 1977 Virologist & Developer of the Polio Vaccine
Arthur Goldberg 1978 9th United States Secretary of Labor, 6th U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations & Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Margaret Mead 1979 † Cultural Anthropologist & President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science [35]
Ansel Adams 1980 Landscape Photographer & Environmentalist [36]
Horace M. Albright 1980 2nd Director of the National Park Service & Conservationist [37]
Rachel Carson 1980 † Marine Biologist, Conservationist & Leader in the Global Environmental Movement [36]
Lucia Chase 1980 Ballet Director, Dancer & Co-founder of the American Ballet Theatre [36]
Hubert Humphrey 1980 † 38th Vice President of the United States & United States Senator from Minnesota [36]
Iakovos 1980 Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America & Civil Rights Activist [36]
Lyndon B. Johnson 1980 † 36th President of the United States [36]
Clarence Mitchell Jr. 1980 Civil Rights Activist & Chief Lobbyist and National Director for NAACP [36]
Roger Tory Peterson 1980 Naturalist, Ornithologist & One of the Founding Inspiration of the Environmental Movement [36]
Hyman G. Rickover 1980 Admiral in the U.S. Navy & Director of the U.S. Naval Reactors Office [36]
Beverly Sills 1980 Operatic Soprano [36]
Robert Penn Warren 1980 Poet, Literary Critic, Co-founder of New Criticism & Charter Member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers [36]
John Wayne 1980 † Actor [36]
Eudora Welty 1980 Pulitzer Prize Winning Novelist & Short Story Writer [36]
Tennessee Williams 1980 Playwright & Screenwriter [36]
Roger Nash Baldwin 1981 Co-founder and 1st Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union [38]
Harold Brown 1981 14th United States Secretary of Defense
Zbigniew Brzezinski 1981 9th United States National Security Advisor [38]
Warren Christopher 1981 5th United States Deputy Secretary of State & 9th United States Deputy Attorney General
Walter Cronkite 1981 Broadcast Journalist & Anchorman for CBS Evening News [38]
Kirk Douglas 1981 Actor & Philanthropist [38]
Margaret McNamara 1981 Founder of Reading Is Fundamental [38]
Karl Menninger 1981 Psychiatrist & Co-founder of the Menninger Foundation and Menninger Clinic
Edmund Muskie 1981 58th United States Secretary of State & United States Senator from Maine
Esther Peterson 1981 2nd Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs & 4th Director of the United States Women's Bureau [38]
Gerard C. Smith 1981 Chief U.S. Delegate to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks & 1st U.S. Chairman of the Trilateral Commission [38]
Robert S. Strauss 1981 6th United States Trade Representative & United States Special Envoy for the Middle East [38]
Elbert Tuttle 1981 Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [38]
Earl Warren 1981 † 14th Chief Justice of the United States [38]
Andrew Young 1981 Executive Director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [38]

Awarded by Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan awarded 89 medals between 1981 and 1989.

Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Eubie Blake 1981 Jazz Pianist & Composer [39]
Ella Grasso 1981 † 83rd Governor of Connecticut & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Bryce Harlow 1981 Counselor to the President
Walter Judd 1981 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Morris I. Leibman 1981 Civilian Aide-At-Large to the United States Army & Partner at Sidley Austin
Tex Thornton 1981 Founder of Litton Industries
Philip Habib 1982 9th Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs & 9th U.S. Ambassador to Korea
Kate Smith 1982 Classical Contralto
George Balanchine 1983 Ballet Choreographer & Co-founder of the New York City Ballet [40]
Clare Boothe Luce 1983 U.S. Ambassador to Italy & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [31]
Bear Bryant 1983 † College Football Player & Head Coach of the University of Alabama Football Team
James Burnham 1983 Political Theorist, Philosopher, Chair of the Philosophy Department at New York University & Leader of the American Conservative Movement [31]
James E. Cheek 1983 President of Howard University
Buckminster Fuller 1983 Architect, Systems Theorist, Inventor, Philosopher & Futurist [41]
Billy Graham 1983 Evangelist, Ordained Southern Baptist Minister & President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
Eric Hoffer 1983 Moral and Social Philosopher
Jacob Javits 1983 United States Senator from New York & 58th Attorney General of New York [31]
Dumas Malone 1983 Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian & Biographer
Mabel Mercer 1983 Cabaret Singer
Simon Ramo 1983 Engineer considered to be the Father of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
Howard Baker 1984 United States Senator from Tennessee [42]
Pierre Baruzy 1984 French Boxer & Manager
James Cagney 1984 Actor, Dancer & 6th President of the Screen Actors Guild [42]
Whittaker Chambers 1984 † Journalist for Time Magazine, Senior Editor at National Review & Key Witness against the Ware Group during the Hiss Case for Perjury [43][44]
Leo Cherne 1984 Head of the International Rescue Committee & Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board [31]
Terence Cooke 1984 † Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church & Archbishop of New York
Denton Cooley 1984 Heart and Cardiothoracic Surgeon & Founder and Surgeon-In-Chief of The Texas Heart Institute who performed the first Artificial Heart Implantation [42]
Tennessee Ernie Ford 1984 Country and Western Singer [42]
Héctor García 1984 Physician, World War II Veteran, Civil Rights Advocate & Founder of the American GI Forum [42]
Andrew Goodpaster 1984 United States Army General, Supreme Allied Commander Europe & Commander in Chief of the United States European Command [45]
Henry M. Jackson 1984 † United States Senator from Washington & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Lincoln Kirstein 1984 Writer, Impresario, Philanthropist & Co-founder of the New York City Ballet [42]
Louis L'Amour 1984 Novelist & Short Story Writer [42]
Joseph Luns 1984 5th Secretary General of NATO & Minister of Foreign Affairs
Norman Vincent Peale 1984 Protestant Clergyman, Pastor of Marble Collegiate Church, New York & Author who popularized the concept of Positive Thinking [42]
Jackie Robinson 1984 † Professional Baseball Player & Civil Rights Advocate [42]
Carlos P. Romulo 1984 President of the United Nations General Assembly & Co-founder of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines
Anwar el-Sadat 1984 † 3rd President of Egypt [46]
Eunice Kennedy Shriver 1984 Philanthropist & Founder of the Special Olympics [42]
Count Basie 1985 † Jazz Pianist, Composer & Bandleader of the Count Basie Orchestra
Albert Coady Wedemeyer 1985 United States Army Commander, General & Member of the War Planning Board which formulated plans for the Invasion of Normandy during World War II
Jacques Cousteau 1985 French Naval Officer, Oceanographer & Co-Inventor of the Aqua-Lung
Jerome H. Holland 1985 † President of Delaware State College, 9th President of Hampton University & U.S. Ambassador to Sweden
Sidney Hook 1985 Philosopher of the Pragmatist School [31]
Jeane Kirkpatrick 1985 16th U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
George Low 1985 † 14th President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute & 4th Deputy Administrator of NASA
Paul Nitze 1985 12th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense & 58th United States Secretary of the Navy
Frank Reynolds 1985 † Television Journalist for CBS and ABC News
Frank Sinatra 1985 Singer & Actor
James Stewart 1985 Actor & Brigadier General
Mother Teresa 1985 Catholic Nun, Humanitarian & Founder of the Missionaries of Charity
Juan Trippe 1985 † Commercial Aviation Pioneer, Entrepreneur & Founder of Pan American World Airways
Albert Wohlstetter 1985 Political Scientist influential to the U.S. Nuclear Strategy during the Cold War
Roberta Wohlstetter 1985 Historian of American Military Intelligence
Chuck Yeager 1985 United States Air Force Officer, Flying Ace & Record-Setting Test Pilot who was the First Confirmed Pilot in History to Exceed the Speed of Sound during Flight
Walter Annenberg 1986 Businessman, Philanthropist, Owner of Triangle Publications & U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom
Earl Blaik 1986 American Football Player & Head Coach at Dartmouth College and the United States Military Academy
Barry Goldwater 1986 United States Senator from Arizona & United States Air Force Officer
Helen Hayes 1986 Actress
Vladimir Horowitz 1986 Classical Pianist & Composer
Matthew Ridgway 1986 United States Army Senior Officer, Supreme Allied Commander of Europe & 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army
Joseph Rochefort 1986 † Naval Officer & Cryptanalyst for the United States Navy during World War II
Vermont C. Royster 1986 Editor of The Wall Street Journal
Albert Sabin 1986 Medical Researcher, President of the Weizmann Institute of Science & Developer of the Oral Polio Vaccine
An Wang 1986 Computer Engineer, Co-founder of Wang Laboratories & Contributing Developer of the Magnetic-Core Memory
Anne Armstrong 1987 First Female Counselor to the President, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom & Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board
Justin Whitlock Dart Sr. 1987 † President of Dart Industries & Executive Director of Store Industries for Walgreens
Irving Kaufman 1987 Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit & District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Danny Kaye 1987 † Actor, Comedian & Singer
Lyman Lemnitzer 1987 United States Army General, 4th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO
John A. McCone 1987 6th Director of Central Intelligence
Frederick Patterson 1987 President of Tuskegee University & Founder of the United Negro College Fund
Nathan Perlmutter 1987 4th Director of the Anti-Defamation League
Mstislav Rostropovich 1987 Cellist, Conductor & Human Rights Advocate
William B. Walsh 1987 Founder of Project HOPE (USA)
Caspar Weinberger 1987 WD 15th United States Secretary of Defense & 10th United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
Meredith Willson 1987 † Flutist, Bandleader, Composer, Conductor & Playwright
Pearl Bailey 1988 Broadway Actress & Singer
Malcolm Baldrige Jr. 1988 † 25th United States Secretary of Commerce
Irving Brown 1988 Trade Unionist & Leader of the American Federation of Labor and the AFL-CIO
Warren E. Burger 1988 15th Chief Justice of the United States
Peter Carington 1988 6th Secretary General of NATO & Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Edward DeBartolo 1988 Businessman & Real-Estate Developer
Milton Friedman 1988 Economist & Statistician
Jean MacArthur 1988 Philanthropist
J. Willard Marriott 1988 † Entrepreneur & Founder of the Marriott Corporation
David Packard 1988 Co-founder, President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Hewlett-Packard, 13th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense & President of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Roger L. Stevens 1988 Founding Chairman of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts
Mike Mansfield 1989 United States Senator from Montana
George Shultz 1989 60th United States Secretary of State

Awarded by George H. W. Bush

George H. W. Bush awarded 39 medals between 1989 and 1993.

Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Lucille Ball 1989 † Actress, Comedian & Producer
C. Douglas Dillon 1989 57th United States Secretary of the Treasury & the U.S. Ambassador to France
Jimmy Doolittle 1989 Military General & Commander of the Doolittle Raid
George F. Kennan 1989 1st Director of Policy Planning & the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union & Yugoslavia
Claude Pepper 1989 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & United States Senator from Florida
Margaret Chase Smith 1989 United States Senator from Maine
Lech Wałęsa 1989 President of Poland
Walker Hancock 1990 Sculptor of the Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial and the World War I Soldiers' Memorial [47]
James Baker 1991 10th and 16th White House Chief of Staff
William F. Buckley Jr. 1991 Founder of the National Review Magazine
Dick Cheney 1991 17th United States Secretary of Defense & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [48]
Luis A. Ferré 1991 Governor of Puerto Rico
Betty Ford 1991 First Lady of the United States [49]
Hanna Holborn Gray 1991 9th President of the University of Chicago
Friedrich Hayek 1991 Economist & Legal Theorist
Tip O'Neill 1991 47th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar 1991 Secretary General of the United Nations
Colin Powell 1991 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. 1991 Commander of the United States Central Command
Brent Scowcroft 1991 8th and 16th United States National Security Advisor
Leon Sullivan 1991 Baptist Minister & Civil Rights and Social Activist
Margaret Thatcher 1991 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Russell E. Train 1991 2nd Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Vernon A. Walters 1991 10th Deputy Director of Central Intelligence & the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, West Germany and Germany
William Webster 1991 14th Director of Central Intelligence & the 3rd Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Ted Williams 1991 Professional Baseball Player
David Brinkley 1992 Newscaster for NBC and ABC
Johnny Carson 1992 Television Host
Ella Fitzgerald 1992 Jazz Singer
Audrey Hepburn 1992 Actress & Humanitarian
Richard Petty 1992 Seven Time Champion of the NASCAR Cup Series, Seven Time Winner of the Daytona 500
Harry W. Shlaudeman 1992 U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Brazil and Nicaragua
Isaac Stern 1992 Violinist
John W. Vessey 1992 10th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Sam Walton 1992 Founder of Walmart and Sam's Club
Elie Wiesel 1992 Political Activist, Writer & Holocaust Survivor
I. M. Pei 1992 Architect [50]
Ronald Reagan 1993 WD 40th President of the United States & Governor of California [51]
Strom Thurmond 1993 United States Senator from South Carolina

Awarded by Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton awarded 89 medals between 1993 and 2001.

Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Arthur Ashe 1993 † Professional Tennis Player
William J. Brennan Jr. 1993 Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Marjory Stoneman Douglas 1993 Journalist, Woman's Suffrage Advocate & Conservationist
J. William Fulbright 1993 United States Senator from Arkansas
Thurgood Marshall 1993 † Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States & the Supreme Court's First African-American Justice
Colin Powell 1993 WD 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [6]
Joseph L. Rauh Jr. 1993 † Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Lawyer
Martha Raye 1993 Comic Actress & Singer [5]
John Minor Wisdom 1993 Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Herbert L. Block 1994 Editorial Cartoonist
Cesar Chavez 1994 † Labor Leader, Civil Rights Activist & Co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association
Arthur Sherwood Flemming 1994 3rd United States Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare
James P. Grant 1994 Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund
Dorothy Height 1994 Civil Rights and Women's Rights Activist & President of the National Council of Negro Women
Barbara Jordan 1994 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Lane Kirkland 1994 Labour Union Leader & President of AFL-CIO
Robert H. Michel 1994 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Sargent Shriver 1994 1st Director of the Peace Corps & Founder of the Job Corps, Head Start, VISTA and Upward Bound
Peggy Charren 1995 Founder of Action for Children's Television [5]
William T. Coleman Jr. 1995 4th United States Secretary of Transportation
John Hope Franklin 1995 President of Phi Beta Kappa, the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association and the Southern Historical Association
Joan Ganz Cooney 1995 Founder of Sesame Workshop [5]
A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. 1995 Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Frank Minis Johnson 1995 Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
C. Everett Koop 1995 13th Surgeon General of the United States
Gaylord Nelson 1995 United States Senator from Wisconsin
Walter Reuther 1995 † 4th President of the United Automobile Workers
James Rouse 1995 Founder of The Rouse Company
Willie Velasquez 1995 † Founder of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
Lew Wasserman 1995 President of MCA Inc. [5]
Joseph Bernardin 1996 Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church & Archbishop of Cincinnati & Chicago
James Brady 1996 17th White House Press Secretary
Millard Fuller 1996 Co-founder and President for Habitat For Humanity International
David A. Hamburg 1996 President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York
John H. Johnson 1996 Founder of the Johnson Publishing Company
Eugene Lang 1996 Founder of REFAC Technology Development Corporation
Jan Nowak-Jeziorański 1996 Polish Journalist & Writer
Antonia Pantoja 1996 Founder of ASPIRA & Boricua College
Rosa Parks 1996 Civil Rights Activist
Ginetta Sagan 1996 Human Rights Activist
Mo Udall 1996 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Bob Dole 1997 United States Senator from Kansas
William J. Perry 1997 19th United States Secretary of Defense
John Shalikashvili 1997 13th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & the Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Arnold Aronson 1998 Founder of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Brooke Astor 1998 Philanthropist & Chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation
Robert Coles 1998 Child Psychiatrist & Professor at Harvard University
Justin Dart Jr. 1998 Co-founder of the American Association of People with Disabilities
James Farmer 1998 1st National Director of the Congress of Racial Equality
Dante Fascell 1998 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Zachary Fisher 1998 Philanthropist
Frances Hesselbein 1998 CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA
Fred Korematsu 1998 Civil Rights Activist
Sol Linowitz 1998 Diplomat & Lawyer
Wilma Mankiller 1998 Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation [52]
Margaret Murie 1998 Conservationist
Mario G. Obledo 1998 Civil Rights Leader & 41st President of LULAC
Elliot Richardson 1998 69th United States Attorney General
David Rockefeller 1998 CEO of Chase Manhattan Corporation
Albert Shanker 1998 † President of the United Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers
Elmo Zumwalt 1998 19th Chief of Naval Operations
Lloyd Bentsen 1999 United States Senator from Texas & 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury
Edgar Bronfman Sr. 1999 President of the World Jewish Congress
Jimmy Carter 1999 39th President of the United States & Humanitarian [5]
Rosalynn Carter 1999 First Lady of the United States & Humanitarian [5]
Evelyn Dubrow 1999 Labour Lobbyist for the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union
Isolina Ferré 1999 Roman Catholic Religious Sister & Humanitarian [5]
Gerald Ford 1999 38th President of the United States [5]
Oliver Hill 1999 Civil Rights Attorney
Max Kampelman 1999 Counselor of the United States Department of State
Helmut Kohl 1999 Chancellor of Germany
George J. Mitchell 1999 United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland & United States Senator from Maine
Edgar Wayburn 1999 Environmentalist & President of the Sierra Club
James E. Burke 2000 CEO of Johnson & Johnson
John Chafee 2000 † United States Senator from Rhode Island
Wesley Clark 2000 Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO
William J. Crowe 2000 11th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & the 29th U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom
Marian Wright Edelman 2000 Founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund [53]
John Kenneth Galbraith 2000 7th U.S. Ambassador to India
George G. Higgins 2000 Catholic Priest & Labor Activist
Jesse Jackson 2000 Political Activist & United States Shadow Senator from the District of Columbia
Mildred Jeffrey 2000 Political and Social Activist
Mathilde Krim 2000 Founding Chairman of amfAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research
George McGovern 2000 United States Senator from South Dakota
Daniel Patrick Moynihan 2000 United States Senator from New York
Cruz Reynoso 2000 Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California
Aung San Suu Kyi 2000 General Secretary of the National League for Democracy
Gardner C. Taylor 2000 Baptist Preacher [5]
Simon Wiesenthal 2000 Holocaust Survivor & Nazi Hunter

Awarded by George W. Bush

George W. Bush awarded 83 medals between 2001 and 2009.

Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Hank Aaron 2002 Professional Baseball Player
Bill Cosby 2002 Stand-Up Comedian & Actor [5]
Plácido Domingo 2002 Opera Singer & Conductor
Peter Drucker 2002 Management Consultant & Educator
Katharine Graham 2002 † President of The Washington Post
Donald Henderson 2002 Epidemiologist & Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
Irving Kristol 2002 Journalist & Godfather of Neoconservativism
Nelson Mandela 2002 Anti-Apartheid Activist & President of South Africa
Gordon Moore 2002 Co-founder and Chairman of Intel Corporation [54]
Nancy Reagan 2002 First Lady of the United States [5]
Fred Rogers 2002 Television Host & Presbyterian Minister [5]
A. M. Rosenthal 2002 Journalist & Executive Editor of The New York Times
Robert Bartley 2003 Editor of the Editorial Page of The Wall Street Journal
Jacques Barzun 2003 Historian
Julia Child 2003 Cooking Teacher & Television Personality
Roberto Clemente 2003 † Professional Baseball Player
Van Cliburn 2003 Pianist
Václav Havel 2003 President of Czechoslovakia & the Czech Republic
Charlton Heston 2003 Actor & Political Activist [5]
George Robertson 2003 10th Secretary General of NATO
Edward Teller 2003 Theoretical Physicist
Dave Thomas 2003 † Founder and CEO of Wendy's
Byron White 2003 † Professional Football Player & Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States [55]
James Q. Wilson 2003 Political Scientist
John Wooden 2003 Basketball Coach
Edward Brooke 2004 United States Senator from Massachusetts
Doris Day 2004 Actress, Singer & Activist [5]
Tommy Franks 2004 Commander of the United States Central Command
Charlie Daniels 2004 Singer-Songwriter
Vartan Gregorian 2004 12th President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York
Gilbert Melville Grosvenor 2004 President and Chairman of the National Geographic Society
Gordon B. Hinckley 2004 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [5]
John Paul II 2004 WD Pope [5]
Estée Lauder 2004 Co-founder of the Estée Lauder Companies
Rita Moreno 2004 Actress, Dancer & Singer [5]
Arnold Palmer 2004 Professional Golfer
Arnall Patz 2004 Medical Doctor & Research Professor at Johns Hopkins University
Norman Podhoretz 2004 Magazine Editor & Writer for Commentary Magazine
George Tenet 2004 18th Director of Central Intelligence
Walter Wriston 2004 Chairman and CEO of Citicorp
Muhammad Ali 2005 Professional Boxer & Human Rights Activist
Carol Burnett 2005 Actress & Comedian [5]
Vint Cerf 2005 Co-Developer of the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol [56]
Robert Conquest 2005 Historian & Poet
Aretha Franklin 2005 Singer-Songwriter & Pianist
Alan Greenspan 2005 13th Chair of the Federal Reserve
Andy Griffith 2005 Actor & Comedian [5]
Paul Harvey 2005 Radio Broadcaster for ABC News Radio [5]
Bob Kahn 2005 Co-Developer of the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol [57]
Sonny Montgomery 2005 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & Major General of the Mississippi National Guard
Richard Myers 2005 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Jack Nicklaus 2005 Professional Golfer
Frank Robinson 2005 Professional Baseball Player
Paul Rusesabagina 2005 Rwandan politician & Manager of the Hôtel des Mille Collines in Kigali during the Rwandan Genocide protecting 1,268 Hutu and Tutsi refugees
Ruth Johnson Colvin 2006 Founder of ProLiteracy Worldwide [58]
Norman Francis 2006 President of Xavier University of Louisiana [58]
Paul Johnson 2006 Journalist [58]
B.B. King 2006 Blues Singer-Songwriter [58]
Joshua Lederberg 2006 Molecular Biologist [58]
David McCullough 2006 Popular Historian [58]
Norman Mineta 2006 14th United States Secretary of Transportation & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [58]
Buck O'Neil 2006 † Professional Baseball Player [58]
Paul Bremer 2004 Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq
William Safire 2006 Political Columnist for The New York Times [58]
Natan Sharansky 2006 Israeli Politician & Human Rights Activist [58]
Gary Becker 2007 Economist
Óscar Elías Biscet 2007 Human Rights and Democratic Freedoms Advocate in Cuba
Francis Collins 2007 2nd Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute
Benjamin Hooks 2007 Executive Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Henry Hyde 2007 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Brian Lamb 2007 Founder, Executive Chairman and CEO of C-SPAN [5]
Harper Lee 2007 Novelist & Civil Rights Activist
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf 2007 24th President of Liberia
Ben Carson 2008 Neurosurgeon & Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center [59]
Anthony Fauci 2008 5th Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases [59]
Tom Lantos 2008 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [59]
Peter Pace 2008 16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff [59]
Donna Shalala 2008 18th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services [59]
Laurence Silberman 2008 Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [59]
Tony Blair 2009 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom [60]
Ryan Crocker 2009 United States Ambassador to Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan & Iraq [61]
John Howard 2009 25th Prime Minister of Australia
Álvaro Uribe 2009 31st President of Colombia

Awarded by Barack Obama

Barack Obama awarded 117 medals between 2009 and 2017.

Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Nancy Brinker 2009 Founder of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation [62]
Joe Medicine Crow 2009 War Chief of the Crow Nation [63]
Pedro José Greer 2009 Physician & Founding Dean for the Roseman University Health Sciences College of Medicine [63]
Stephen Hawking 2009 Theoretical Physicist [63]
Jack Kemp 2009 † Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [63]
Ted Kennedy 2009 United States Senator from Massachusetts [63]
Billie Jean King 2009 Professional Tennis Player [63]
Joseph Lowery 2009 Co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference [63]
Harvey Milk 2009 † Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors & Gay Rights Activist [63]
Sandra Day O'Connor 2009 Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court [64]
Sidney Poitier 2009 Actor & First African-American & Bahamian to Win an Academy Award [5]
Chita Rivera 2009 Actress, Singer & Dancer [63]
Mary Robinson 2009 7th President of Ireland [63]
Janet Rowley 2009 Geneticist & First Scientist to Identify a Chromosomal Translocation as the Cause of Leukemia and other Cancers. [63]
Desmond Tutu 2009 Anglican Bishop, Theologian & Human Rights Activist [63]
Muhammad Yunus 2009 Founder of Grameen Bank
John H. Adams 2011 Founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council [4]
Maya Angelou 2011 Poet & Civil Rights Activist [4]
Warren Buffett 2011 Philanthropist & CEO of Berkshire Hathaway [4]
George H. W. Bush 2011 41st President of the United States [4]
Robert Gates 2011 22nd United States Secretary of Defense [65]
Jasper Johns 2011 Abstract Expressionist Painter & Printmaker [4]
John Lewis 2011 Civil Rights Activist & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [4]
Tom Little 2011 † Optometrist & Leader of an International Assistance Mission killed during the 2010 Badakhshan Massacre [4]
Yo-Yo Ma 2011 Cellist & United Nations Messenger of Peace [4]
Sylvia Mendez 2011 Civil Rights Activist [4]
Angela Merkel 2011 Chancellor of Germany [4]
Stan Musial 2011 Professional Baseball Player [4]
Bill Russell 2011 Professional Basketball Player [4]
Jean Kennedy Smith 2011 United States Ambassador to Ireland [4]
John J. Sweeney 2011 President of AFL-CIO & Labor Leader [4]
Gerda Weissmann Klein 2011 Author, Human Rights Activist & Holocaust Educator [4]
Madeleine Albright 2012 64th United States Secretary of State [66]
Bob Dylan 2012 Singer-Songwriter [66]
William Foege 2012 10th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [66]
John Glenn 2012 Astronaut and United States Senator from Ohio [66]
Juliette Gordon Low 2012 † Founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA [66]
Gordon Hirabayashi 2012 † Sociologist, Civil Rights Activist & Plaintiff in Hirabayashi v. United States [66]
Dolores Huerta 2012 Labor Leader & Co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association [66]
Jan Karski 2012 † Resistance-Fighter during WWII & Diplomat [66]
Toni Morrison 2012 Novelist & Civil Rights Activist [66]
Shimon Peres 2012 9th President of Israel [66]
John Paul Stevens 2012 Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States [66]
Pat Summitt 2012 Women's College Basketball Head Coach [66]
Patricia Wald 2012 Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [66]
Ernie Banks 2013 Professional Baseball Player [67]
Ben Bradlee 2013 Executive Editor of The Washington Post [68]
Bill Clinton 2013 42nd President of the United States [68]
John Doar 2013 Lawyer & Lead Special Counsel for the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's Impeachment Inquiry Staff during the Impeachment Process Against Richard Nixon [68]
Daniel Inouye 2013 † United States Senator from Hawaii [68]
Daniel Kahneman 2013 Psychologist & Economist [68]
Richard Lugar 2013 United States Senator from Indiana [68]
Loretta Lynn 2013 Singer-Songwriter [68]
Mario J. Molina 2013 Chemist who discovered the Antarctic Ozone Hole [68]
Sally Ride 2013 † Astronaut & Physicist [69]
Bayard Rustin 2013 † Human Rights Activist [68]
Arturo Sandoval 2013 Jazz Trumpeter, Pianist & Composer [68]
Dean Smith 2013 Men's College Basketball Head Coach [68]
Gloria Steinem 2013 Journalist & Social Political Activist [68]
C. T. Vivian 2013 Minister & Civil Rights Activist [68]
Oprah Winfrey 2013 Talk Show Host, Actress & Philanthropist [68]
Alvin Ailey 2014 † Dancer & Founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater [70]
Isabel Allende 2014 Author [70]
Tom Brokaw 2014 Network Television Journalist [70]
James Chaney 2014 † Civil Rights Activist [70]
John Dingell 2014 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Mildred Dresselhaus 2014 Nanotechnologist & Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Andrew Goodman 2014 † Civil Rights Activist [70]
Ethel Kennedy 2014 Human Rights Activist & Founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights [70]
Abner Mikva 2014 Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Patsy Mink 2014 † Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Edward Roybal 2014 † Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Michael Schwerner 2014 † Civil Rights Activist [70]
Suzan Shown Harjo 2014 President of the National Council of American Indians [70]
Charlie Sifford 2014 Professional Golfer & the First African-American to play on the PGA Tour [70]
Robert Solow 2014 Economist & Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [71]
Meryl Streep 2014 Actress [70]
Marlo Thomas 2014 Actress, Producer & Social Activist [70]
Stevie Wonder 2014 Singer-Songwriter [70]
Steven Spielberg 2015 Director, Producer & Screenwriter [72]
Emilio Estefan 2015 Musician & Producer [72]
Gloria Estefan 2015 Singer & Actress [72]
Itzhak Perlman 2015 Violinist & Conductor [72]
Stephen Sondheim 2015 Composer & Lyricist of Musical Theater [72]
Barbra Streisand 2015 Singer & Actress [72]
James Taylor 2015 Singer-Songwriter [72]
Minoru Yasui 2015 † Lawyer & Plaintiff in Yasui v. United States [72]
Billy Frank Jr. 2015 † Environmental Leader & Treaty Rights Activist [72]
Shirley Chisholm 2015 † Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & First African-American Woman Elected to Congress [72]
Lee H. Hamilton 2015 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [72]
Barbara Mikulski 2015 United States Senator from Maryland [72]
William Ruckelshaus 2015 1st & 5th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency [72]
Katherine Johnson 2015 Mathematician whose calculations helped with the First successful U.S. Crewed Spaceflight [72]
Yogi Berra 2015 † Professional Baseball Player [72]
Bonnie Carroll 2015 Founder and President of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors [72]
Willie Mays 2015 Professional Baseball Player [72]
Frank Gehry 2016 Architect [73]
Richard Garwin 2016 Physicist & Author of the First Hydrogen Bomb Design [73]
Maya Lin 2016 Designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. [73]
Robert Redford 2016 Actor & Filmmaker [73]
Robert De Niro 2016 Actor & Producer [73]
Tom Hanks 2016 Actor [73]
Cicely Tyson 2016 Actress [73]
Diana Ross 2016 Singer & Actress [73]
Bruce Springsteen 2016 Singer-Songwriter [74]
Grace Hopper 2016 † Computer Scientist & Developer of the FLOW-MATIC programming language [73]
Margaret Hamilton 2016 Director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory [73]
Eduardo J. Padrón 2016 President of Miami Dade College [73]
Newton N. Minow 2016 Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission [73]
Lorne Michaels 2016 Comedian & Film and Television Producer [73]
Ellen DeGeneres 2016 Comedian, Television Host & Gay Rights Activist [73]
Bill Gates 2016 Philanthropist & Co-founder of Microsoft [73]
Melinda French Gates 2016 Philanthropist & Co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [73]
Elouise P. Cobell 2016 † Tribal Elder, Activist & Lead Plaintiff in Cobell v. Salazar [73]
Vin Scully 2016 Sportscaster [73]
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 2016 Basketball Player [73]
Michael Jordan 2016 Olympic Basketball Player [73]
Joe Biden 2017 WD 47th Vice President of the United States [75][76]

Awarded by Donald Trump

Donald Trump awarded 24 medals between 2017 and 2021.

Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Miriam Adelson 2018 Publisher of the Israel Hayom, Physician & Political Donor [77]
Orrin Hatch 2018 United States Senator from Utah [77]
Alan Page 2018 Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court and Football Player [77]
Elvis Presley 2018 † Singer & Actor [77]
Babe Ruth 2018 † Professional Baseball Player [77]
Antonin Scalia 2018 † Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States [77]
Roger Staubach 2018 Professional Football Player [77]
Bob Cousy 2019 Professional Basketball Player [78]
Arthur Laffer 2019 Political Economist [79]
Edwin Meese 2019 75th United States Attorney General [80]
Roger Penske 2019 Professional Auto Racing Team Owner, Driver, & Businessman [81]
Mariano Rivera 2019 Professional Baseball Player [82]
Jerry West 2019 Basketball Executive & Olympic Professional Basketball Player [83]
Tiger Woods 2019 Professional Golfer [84]
Dan Gable 2020 Olympic Wrestler [85]
Lou Holtz 2020 Professional Football Coach [86]
Jack Keane 2020 Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army [87]
Rush Limbaugh 2020 [b] Political Commentator [89]
Jim Ryun 2020 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Olympic athlete [90]
Babe Didrikson Zaharias 2021 † Olympic Athlete [91]
Devin Nunes 2021 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [92]
Jim Jordan 2021 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives [93]
Gary Player 2021 Professional Golfer [91]
Annika Sörenstam 2021 Professional Golfer [91]

Awarded by Joe Biden

Joe Biden has awarded 17 medals since 2022.

Recipient Year Notes Notable as Ref.
Simone Biles 2022 Olympic Gymnast & Human Rights Activist [94]
Simone Campbell 2022 Roman Catholic Religious Sister & Member of the Sisters of Social Service [94]
Julieta García 2022 President of Texas Southmost College [94]
Gabrielle Giffords 2022 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & Gun Control Activist [94]
Fred Gray 2022 Civil Rights Attorney & President of the Alabama State Bar [94]
Steve Jobs 2022 † Entrepreneur & Co-founder and CEO of Apple [94]
Alexander Karloutsos 2022 Protopresbyter in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America [94]
Khizr Khan 2022 Member of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom & Activist [94]
Sandra Lindsay 2022 Critical Care Nurse & First American to receive the COVID-19 Vaccine [94]
John McCain 2022 † United States Senator from Arizona & Purple Heart Recipient [94]
Diane Nash 2022 Civil Rights Activist & Co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee [94]
Megan Rapinoe 2022 Olympic Professional Soccer Player & Human Rights Activist [94]
Alan Simpson 2022 United States Senator from Wyoming [94]
Richard Trumka 2022 † President of the United Mine Workers & Secretary-General of the AFL-CIO [94]
Wilma Vaught 2022 Brigadier General [94]
Denzel Washington 2022 Actor, Producer & National Spokesperson for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America [94]
Raul Yzaguirre 2022 U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic & President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza [94]

Notes

  1. ^ Lehman died the day before the ceremony.[15]
  2. ^ Awarded during 2020 State of the Union Address.[88]

Bibliography

References

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