Presidential Medal of Freedom – History, meaning, recipients, & facts

Presidential Medal of Freedom
In 1963, 35th U.S. President John F. Kennedy established our nation’s highest civilian honor: The Presidential Medal of Freedom. And since its establishment, the honor has been bestowed upon individuals that have excelled tremendously well in their chosen profession in a manner that brings benefits to the American people or to the world at large, say in the area of world peace and economic progress. What it means is that, the Medal of Freedom has been bestowed upon some non-Americans, including the likes of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, anti-apartheid icons Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, and Mother Theresa.
Honorees of this prestigious award have come from diverse disciplines, including arts, music, public service, business, education, engineering, and medicine. Notable recipients include the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., U.S. President Ronald Reagan, Muhammad Ali, Oprah Winfrey, Stephen Hawking, Maya Angelou, and Walt Disney.
How did the Presidential Medal of Freedom come to be? And how are the honorees selected? Below is a brief history of our nation’s highest civilian honor. The article also includes a complete list of all the recipients from 1963 to 2020.
History of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
The history of the Presidential Medal of Freedom began in 1963, when then-U.S. President John F. Kennedy used Executive Order 11085 to establish the award. The award became higher in precedence to the Medal for Merit. It was intended to be awarded annually on or around July 4 or other times chosen by the U.S. president. However, in some years, the award was not given; for example in the years 2001 and 2010.
By the executive order, the President of the United States is the one that selects the honorees; although he does so with recommendations from the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom can be awarded to an individual more than once. For example, former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell received the award on two occasions, in 1991 (from George H.W. Bush) and in 1993 (from President Bill Clinton).
The Presidential Medal of Freedom can also be posthumously awarded; notable posthumous honorees are Pope John XXIII, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Elvis Presley, and Babe Ruth.

Presidential Medal of Freedom
Interesting facts about the Presidential Medal of Freedom
- Our nation’s two highest civilian awards are the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal.
- The awards are not confined to civilians (both American citizens and non-citizens); military men and women are eligible for the award as well.
- Prior to the Presidential Medal of Freedom, there was the Medal of Freedom, which was established by Harry S. Truman in 1945. That award was presented to individuals that served in civilian capacity during the Second World War. The Medal of Freedom was outranked by the Medal of Merit.
Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
The total number of recipients of the award since its inception is a bit difficult to track; however, World History Edu has compiled a list of most of the honorees according to their nationality, the year of receipt, and the U.S. president that awarded the medal.
*with distinction
**posthumously awarded
Presidential Medal of Freedom Honorees during the Presidency John F. Kennedy
Honoree | Year | Profession | Nationality |
Marian Anderson | 1963 | Opera Singer | American |
Ralph Bunche * | 1963 | Political scientist | American |
Ellsworth Bunker* | 1963 | Businessman | American |
Pablo Casals | 1963 | Cellist and music composer | Catalan |
Genevieve Caulfield | 1963 | Teacher | American |
James B. Conant* | 1963 | Chemist | American |
John Franklin Enders | 1963 | Biomedical scientist | American |
Felix Frankfurter* | 1963 | Lawyer | Austrian-American |
Robert J. H. Kiphuth | 1963 | College sports coach | American |
Edwin H. Land | 1963 | Scientist and inventor | American |
Herbert H. Lehman | 1963 | Politician (45th Governor of New York) | American |
Robert A. Lovett* | 1963 | Politician and secretary of defense | American |
J. Clifford MacDonald | 1963 | Businessman | American |
John J. McCloy* | 1963 | Lawyer and diplomat | American |
George Meany | 1963 | Labor union leader | American |
Alexander Meiklejohn | 1963 | Philosopher | English |
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe | 1963 | Architect | German-American |
Jean Monnet* | 1963 | Entrepreneur | French |
Luis Muñoz Marín* | 1963 | Journalist and first elected governor of Puerto Rico | Puerto Rican |
Clarence B. Randall | 1963 | Lawyer | American |
Rudolf Serkin | 1963 | Pianist | American |
Edward Steichen | 1963 | Photographer and painter | Luxembourgish American |
George W. Taylor | 1963 | Professor | American |
Alan Tower Waterman | 1963 | Physicist | American |
Annie Dodge Wauneka | 1963 | Member of the Navajo Nation Council | Navajo Nation |
E. B. White | 1963 | Writer | American |
Thornton Wilder | 1963 | Novelist and playwright | American |
Edmund Wilson | 1963 | Writer | American |
Andrew Wyeth | 1963 | Visual artist | American |
Presidential Medal of Freedom Honorees during the Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson

President Lyndon B. Johnson presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to A. Philip Randolph, 1964
Honoree | Year | Profession | Nationality |
Karl Holton | 1963 | Probation officer | American |
John XXIII** | 1963 | Bishop of Rome/head of the Catholic Church | |
John F. Kennedy** | 1963 | American president and politician | American |
Ellsworth Bunker* | 1963 | Businessman | American |
Mark S. Watson | 1963 | Editor | American |
Dean Acheson* | 1964 | Statesman and lawyer | American |
Detlev Bronk | 1964 | Scientist | American |
Aaron Copland | 1964 | Composer | American |
Willem de Kooning | 1964 | Expressionist artist | Dutch-American |
Walt Disney | 1964 | Entrepreneur and film producer | American |
J. Frank Dobie | 1964 | Writer and newspaper columnist | American |
Lena Frances Edwards | 1964 | Physician | American |
T. S. Eliot | 1964 | Poet and playwright | British |
Lynn Fontanne | 1964 | Actress | British |
John W. Gardner | 1964 | Secretary of Health | American |
Theodore Hesburgh | 1964 | Reverend | American |
Clarence Johnson | 1964 | Aeronautical engineer | American |
Frederick Kappel | 1964 | Businessman | American |
Helen Keller | 1964 | Author and activist | American |
John L. Lewis | 1964 | Labor unionist | American |
Walter Lippmann | 1964 | Writer and poet | American |
Alfred Lunt | 1964 | Stage director and actor | American |
Ralph McGill | 1964 | Journalist | American |
Samuel Eliot Morison | 1964 | Historian | American |
Lewis Mumford | 1964 | Historian and philosopher | American |
Edward R. Murrow* | 1964 | War correspondent and journalist | American |
Reinhold Niebuhr | 1964 | Theologian and ethicist | American |
Leontyne Price | 1964 | Opera star | American |
A. Philip Randolph | 1964 | Labor unionist | American |
Carl Sandburg | 1964 | Poet and journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner | Swedish-American |
John Steinbeck | 1964 | Author and Nobel Prize winner in literature | American |
Helen B. Taussig | 1964 | Cardiologist | American |
Carl Vinson | 1964 | Politician (U.S. House of Representative) | American |
Thomas Watson Jr. | 1964 | Businessman and philanthropist | American |
Paul Dudley White | 1964 | Cardiologist | American |
Robert Komer | 1967 | National security adviser | American |
Eugene M. Locke | 1967 | Lawyer and diplomat | American |
Robert McNamara | 1968 | Secretary of Defence | American |
James E. Webb | 1968 | Government official | American |
Clark Clifford* | 1969 | Lawyer | American |
Ralph Ellison | 1969 | Novelist | American |
Bob Hope | 1969 | Comedian and actor | British-American |
Gregory Peck | 1969 | Actor | American |
Dean Rusk | 1969 | U.S. Secretary of State | American |
Merriman Smith | 1969 | Reporter | American |
William S. White | 1969 | Journalist | American |
Roy Wilkins | 1969 | Civil rights activist | American |
Recipients of the Medal of Freedom from President Richard Nixon
Honoree | Year | Profession | Nationality |
Buzz Aldrin* | 1969 | Fighter pilot and engineer | American |
Neil Armstrong* | 1969 | Astronaut and aeronautical engineer | American |
Eugene R. Black Sr. | 1969 | President of the World Bank | American |
Michael Collins* | 1969 | Astronaut | American |
McGeorge Bundy | 1969 | National security advisor | American |
Michael DeBakey | 1969 | Surgeon | Lebanese-American |
David Dubinsky | 1969 | Labor unionist | American |
Duke Ellington | 1969 | Pianist | American |
Henry Ford II | 1969 | Businessman | American |
W. Averell Harriman* | 1969 | Politician and diplomat | American |
Edgar Kaiser | 1969 | Industrialist | American |
Mary Lasker | 1969 | Activist | American |
John Macy | 1969 | Government official | American |
Laurance Rockefeller | 1969 | Businessman | American |
Walt Whitman Rostow | 1969 | Economics professor | American |
Cyrus Vance | 1969 | Lawyer and Secretary of State under Jimmy Carter | American |
Whitney Young | 1969 | Civil rights activist | American |
Earl Charles Behrens | 1970 | Newspaper editor | American |
Fred Haise | 1970 | Astronaut and engineer | American |
William Henry | 1970 | Writer and reporter | American |
Arthur Krock | 1970 | Journalist | American |
David Lawrence | 1970 | Journalist | American |
G. Gould Lincoln | 1970 | Reporter | American |
Jim Lovell | 1970 | Astronaut and engineer | American |
Mission Operations Team | 1970 | ||
Raymond Moley | 1970 | Economist | American |
Eugene Ormandy | 1970 | Violinist and conductor | Hungarian-American |
Adela Rogers St. Johns | 1970 | Journalist and screenwriter | American |
Jack Swigert | 1970 | Astronaut and aerospace engineer | American |
Manlio Brosio | 1971 | Diplomat and 4th Secretary General of NATO | Italian |
Samuel Goldwyn | 1971 | Film producer | Polish-American |
William J. Hopkins | 1971 | Civil servant | American |
John Paul Vann** | 1972 | Lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army | American |
Lila Acheson Wallace | 1972 | Publisher and philanthropist | American |
DeWitt Wallace | 1972 | Magazine publisher | American |
John Ford | 1973 | Film director | American |
William P. Rogers | 1973 | Politician and Attorney General under Dwight D. Eisenhower | American |
Charles Lowman | 1974 | Orthopedic surgeon | American |

President Richard Nixon presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Duke Ellington, 1969
Presidential Medal of Freedom Honorees during the Presidency of Gerald Ford
Honoree | Year | Profession/job | nationality |
Paul G. Hoffman | 1974 | Business executive and statesman | American |
Melvin Laird | 1974 | Politician | American |
David K. E. Bruce* | 1976 | Diplomat | American |
Martha Graham* | 1976 | Dancer and choreographer | American |
Jesse Owens | 1976 | Track and field athlete | American |
Arthur Rubinstein* | 1976 | Pianist | Polish-American |
Iorwith Wilbur Abel | 1977 | Labor unionist | American |
John Bardeen | 1977 | Physicist | American |
Irving Berlin | 1977 | Music Composer | American |
Norman Borlaug | 1977 | Agronomist | American |
Omar Bradley | 1977 | Military officer | American |
Arleigh Burke | 1977 | Military officer | American |
Alexander Calder** | 1977 | Sculptor | American |
Bruce Catton | 1977 | Historian and journalist | American |
Joe DiMaggio | 1977 | Baseball player | American |
Ariel Durant | 1977 | Researcher | American |
Will Durant | 1977 | Writer and historian | American |
Arthur Fiedler | 1977 | Symphony conductor | American |
Henry Friendly | 1977 | Lawyer and jurist | American |
Lady Bird Johnson | 1977 | First Lady of the United States | American |
Henry Kissinger | 1977 | Secretary of State under Richard Nixon | American |
Archibald MacLeish | 1977 | Poet and writer | American |
James A. Michener | 1977 | Author | American |
Georgia O’Keeffe | 1977 | Artist | American |
Nelson Rockefeller | 1977 | Businessman | American |
Norman Rockwell | 1977 | Painter | American |
Donald Rumsfeld* | 1977 | Secretary of Defense of the U.S. | American |
Catherine Filene Shouse | 1977 | Researcher | American |
Lowell Thomas | 1977 | Writer and actor | American |
James Watson | 1977 | Biologist | American |
Presidential Medal of Freedom Honorees during the Presidency of Jimmy Carter
Honoree | Year | Profession/job | Nationality |
Martin Luther King Jr.** | 1977 | Civil rights activist | American |
Jonas Salk | 1977 | Medical researcher and virologist | American |
Arthur Goldberg | 1978 | Statesman and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court | American |
Margaret Mead** | 1979 | Cultural anthropologist | American |
Ansel Adams | 1980 | Photographer and environmentalist | American |
Horace M. Albright | 1980 | Conservationist | American |
Rachel Carson** | 1980 | Marine biologist and author | American |
Lucia Chase | 1980 | Dancer and actress | American |
Hubert Humphrey** | 1980 | Politician – 38th vice president of the United States | American |
Iakovos | 1980 | Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America | |
Lyndon B. Johnson** | 1980 | 37th President of the United States | American |
Clarence Mitchell Jr. | 1980 | Civil rights activist | American |
Roger Tory Peterson | 1980 | Illustrator and ornithologist | American |
Hyman G. Rickover | 1980 | Admiral in the U.S. Navy | American |
Beverly Sills | 1980 | Operatic soprano | American |
Robert Penn Warren | 1980 | Novelist and poet | American |
John Wayne** | 1980 | Actor and filmmaker | American |
Eudora Welty | 1980 | Writer and photographer | American |
Tennessee Williams | 1980 | Playwright | American |
Roger Nash Baldwin | 1981 | 1st Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union | American |
Walter Cronkite | 1981 | Broadcast journalist | American |
Kirk Douglas | 1981 | Actor and director | American |
Margaret McNamara | 1981 | Wife of Robert McNamara | American |
Esther Peterson | 1981 | Women’s rights advocate | American |
Gerard C. Smith | 1981 | Attorney | American |
Robert S. Strauss | 1981 | Diplomat and politician | American |
Elbert Tuttle | 1981 | U.S. Circuit Judge | American |
Andrew Young | 1981 | Diplomat and activist | American |
Recipients of the Medal of Freedom from President Ronald Reagan

President Reagan presents Roman Catholic nun Mother Teresa with the Medal of Freedom | Image (from left to right): Ronald Reagan, Mother Teresa, and Nancy Reagan
Recipient | Year | Profession | Nationality |
Eubie Blake | 1981 | Pianist and music composer | American |
Harold Brown | 1981 | Nuclear physicist | American |
Zbigniew Brzezinski | 1981 | Diplomat | Polish-American |
Warren Christopher | 1981 | Lawyer and diplomat | American |
Ella Grasso** | 1981 | Politician | American |
Bryce Harlow | 1981 | Government official | American |
Walter Judd | 1981 | Politician and physician | American |
Morris I. Leibman | 1981 | Attorney | American |
Karl Menninger | 1981 | Psychiatrist | American |
Edmund Sixtus Muskie | 1981 | Statesman and politician | American |
Charles Bates Thornton | 1981 | Business executive | American |
Earl Warren | 1981 | Politician and jurist | American |
Philip Habib | 1982 | Diplomat | American |
Eric Hoffer | 1982 | Philosopher | American |
Kathryn Elizabeth Smith | 1982 | Singer | American |
George Balanchine | 1983 | Ballet choreographer | American |
Ann Clare Boothe Luce | 1983 | Author and politician | American |
Paul Bear Bryant | 1983 | College football coach | American |
James Burnham | 1983 | Philosopher | American |
James Edward Cheek | 1983 | President of Howard University | American |
Buckminster Fuller | 1983 | Architect and author | American |
Billy Graham | 1983 | Evangelist | American |
Jacob Javits | 1983 | Politician | American |
Dumas Malone | 1983 | Historian | American |
Mabel Mercer | 1983 | Singer | American |
Simon Ramo | 1983 | Engineer and businessman | American |
Howard Baker | 1984 | Politician and diplomat | American |
James Cagney | 1984 | Actor and dancer | American |
Whittaker Chambers** | 1984 | Writer | American |
Leo Cherne | 1984 | Economist | American |
Terence Cooke** | 1984 | Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church | American |
Denton Cooley | 1984 | Heart surgeon | American |
Tennessee Ernie Ford | 1984 | Singer and TV host | American |
Hector Garcia | 1984 | Physician | American |
Andrew Jackson Goodpaster | 1984 | Army general | American |
Henry M. Jackson** | 1984 | Politician | American |
Lincoln Kirstein | 1984 | Writer and philanthropist | American |
Louis L’Amour | 1984 | Novelist | American |
Joseph Luns | 1984 | Politician | Dutch |
Norman Vincent Peale | 1984 | Author | American |
Jackie Robinson** | 1984 | Baseball player | American |
Carlos P. Romulo | 1984 | Diplomat and soldier | American |
Anwar el-Sadat** | 1984 | Egyptian politician | Egyptian |
Eunice Kennedy Shriver | 1984 | Philanthropist | American |
Count Basie** | 1985 | Jazz pianist and composer | American |
Albert Coady Wedemeyer | 1985 | Army commander | American |
Jacques Cousteau | 1985 | Naval officer and filmmaker | French |
Jerome H. Holland** | 1985 | Diplomat | American |
Sidney Hook | 1985 | Philosopher | American |
Jeane Duane Kirkpatrick | 1985 | Diplomat and political scientist | American |
George Low** | 1985 | NASA administrator | American |
Paul Nitze | 1985 | Politician | American |
Frank James Reynolds** | 1985 | Television journalist | American |
Frank Sinatra | 1985 | Singer and actor | American |
James Stewart | 1985 | Actor and singer | American |
Mother Teresa | 1985 | Roman Catholic nun and missionary | Albanian |
Juan Tery Trippe** | 1985 | Entrepreneur | American |
Albert James Wohlstetter | 1985 | Political scientist | American |
Roberta Wohlstetter | 1985 | Historian | American |
Chuck Yeager | 1985 | Air Force officer | American |
Walter Hubert Annenberg | 1986 | Businessman | American |
Earl Blaik | 1986 | Football player and coach | American |
Barry Goldwater | 1986 | Politician and businessman | American |
Helen Hayes MacArthur | 1986 | Actress | American |
Vladimir Horowitz | 1986 | Classical composer and pianist | American |
Matthew Ridgway | 1986 | Senior Army officer | American |
Joseph John Rochefort** | 1986 | Naval officer | American |
Vermont C. Royster | 1986 | Editor | American |
Albert Bruce Sabin | 1986 | Medical researcher | American |
An Wang | 1986 | Computer engineer | American |
Anne Armstrong | 1987 | Diplomat and politician | American |
Justin Whitlock Dart Sr.** | 1987 | Businessman | American |
Irving Kaufman | 1987 | Circuit Judge | American |
Danny Kaye | 1987 | Singer and actor | American |
Lyman Louis Lemnitzer | 1987 | Army general | American |
John A. McCone | 1987 | Businessman and politician | American |
Frederick Patterson | 1987 | Former president of Tuskegee University | American |
Mstislav Rostropovich | 1987 | Cellist and conductor | Russian |
William B. Walsh | 1987 | Physician | American |
Caspar Weinberger* | 1987 | Politician and businessman | American |
Meredith Reiniger Willson** | 1987 | Conductor and playwright | American |
Pearl Bailey | 1988 | Actress and singer | American |
Malcolm Baldrige Jr. ** | 1988 | Businessman and Secretary of Commerce | American |
Irving Brown | 1988 | Labor unionist | American |
Warren E. Burger | 1988 | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court | American |
Peter Carington | 1988 | Politician | British |
Edward DeBartolo | 1988 | Businessman | American |
Milton Friedman | 1988 | Economist and Nobel Prize winner in Economics | American |
Jean MacArthur | 1988 | Army general | American |
J. Willard Marriott ** | 1988 | Businessman | American |
David Packard | 1988 | Electrical engineer and co-founder of Hewlett-Packard | American |
Roger L. Stevens | 1988 | Arts administrator and executive | American |
Presidential Medal of Freedom Honorees during the Presidency of George H.W. Bush (1989-1993)
Honoree | Year | Profession | Nationality |
Lucille Ball** | 1989 | Actress and comedian | American |
C. Douglas Dillon | 1989 | Diplomat and politician | American |
Jimmy Doolittle | 1989 | Military general | American |
George F. Kennan | 1989 | Diplomat and historian | American |
Mike Mansfield | 1989 | Politician | American |
Claude Pepper | 1989 | Politician | American |
George Shultz | 1989 | Economist and politician | American |
Margaret Madeline Chase Smith | 1989 | Politician | American |
Lech Wałęsa | 1989 | Statesman | Polish |
Walker Hancock | 1990 | Sculptor and teacher | American |
James Baker | 1991 | Attorney | American |
William F. Buckley Jr. | 1991 | Author | American |
Dick Bruce Cheney | 1991 | Politician | American |
Luis A. Ferré | 1991 | Engineer and politician | Puerto Rican |
Betty Ford | 1991 | First Lady of the United States | American |
Hanna Holborn Gray | 1991 | Historian | American |
Friedrich Hayek | 1991 | Economist and philosopher | British |
Tip O’Neill | 1991 | Politician | American |
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar | 1991 | Diplomat and politician | Peruvian |
Colin Powell | 1991 | Politician and diplomat | American |
Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. | 1991 | Army general | American |
Brent Scowcroft | 1991 | U.S. Air Force officer | American |
Leon Sullivan | 1991 | Civil rights leader | American |
Margaret Thatcher | 1991 | Politician | British |
Russell E. Train | 1991 | Government official | American |
Vernon A. Walters | 1991 | Army officer and diplomat | American |
William Webster | 1991 | Attorney | American |
Ted Williams | 1991 | Baseball player | American |
David Brinkley | 1992 | Newscaster | American |
Johnny Carson | 1992 | Comedian and T.V. host | American |
Ella Fitzgerald | 1992 | Jazz singer | American |
Audrey Hepburn | 1992 | Actress and humanitarian | British |
Richard Petty | 1992 | Race driver | American |
Harry W. Shlaudeman | 1992 | Diplomat | American |
Isaac Stern | 1992 | Violinist | American |
John W. Vessey | 1992 | Army officer | American |
Sam Walton | 1992 | Businessman and entrepreneur | American |
Elie Wiesel | 1992 | Writer and professor | American |
I. M. Pei | 1993 | Architect | American |
Ronald Reagan* | 1993 | Politician | American |
Strom Thurmond | 1993 | Judge and politician | American |
Individuals that received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Bill Clinton (1993-2001)

Rosa Parks receives the award from President Bill Clinton, 1996
Honoree | Year | Profession | Nationality |
Arthur Ashe** | 1993 | Tennis player | American |
William J. Brennan Jr. | 1993 | Associate Justice of the Supreme Court | American |
Marjory Stoneman Douglas | 1993 | Journalist and author | American |
J. William Fulbright | 1993 | Politician | American |
Thurgood Marshall** | 1993 | Associate Justice of the Supreme Court | American |
Colin Powell* | 1993 | Politician | American |
Joseph L. Rauh Jr. ** | 1993 | Civil rights lawyer | American |
Martha Raye | 1993 | Actress and singer | American |
John Minor Wisdom | 1993 | Politician | American |
Herbert L. Block | 1994 | Cartoonist | American |
Cesar Chavez** | 1994 | Labor unionist | American |
Arthur Sherwood Flemming | 1994 | Government official | American |
James P. Grant | 1994 | Diplomat | American |
Dorothy Height | 1994 | Civil rights activist | American |
Barbara Jordan | 1994 | Educator and lawyer | American |
Lane Kirkland | 1994 | Labor unionist | American |
Robert H. Michel | 1994 | Politician | American |
Sargent Shriver | 1994 | Diplomat and politician | American |
Peggy Sundelle Charren | 1995 | Activist | American |
William T. Coleman Jr. | 1995 | Attorney and judge | American |
John Hope Franklin | 1995 | Historian | American |
Joan Ganz Cooney | 1995 | Television producer | American |
A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. | 1995 | Author and civil rights activist | American |
Frank Minis Johnson | 1995 | U.S. Judge | American |
C. Everett Koop | 1995 | Surgeon | American |
Gaylord Nelson | 1995 | Politician | American |
Walter Philip Reuther ** | 1995 | Labor unionist and civil rights activist | American |
James Rouse | 1995 | Businessman | American |
Willie Velasquez ** | 1995 | Social activist | American |
Lew Wasserman | 1995 | Talent agent | American |
Joseph Louis Bernardin | 1996 | Archbishop of Cincinnati | American |
James Brady | 1996 | White House Press Secretary | American |
Millard Fuller | 1996 | Humanitarian | American |
David A. Hamburg | 1996 | Psychiatrist | American |
John H. Johnson | 1996 | Businessman and publisher | American |
Eugene Lang | 1996 | Philanthropist | American |
Jan Nowak-Jeziorański | 1996 | Journalist | Polish |
Antonia Pantoja | 1996 | Social worker and civil rights activist | American |
Rosa Parks | 1996 | Civil rights activist | American |
Ginetta Sagan | 1996 | Human rights activist | American |
Mo Udall | 1996 | Attorney | American |
Bob Dole | 1997 | Politician | American |
William Perry | 1997 | Mathematician | American |
John Shalikashvili | 1997 | Military commander | American |
Arnold Aronson | 1998 | Civil rights activist | American |
Brooke Astor | 1998 | Philanthropist and writer | American |
Robert Coles | 1998 | Author and child psychiatrist | American |
Justin Dart Jr. | 1998 | Activist | American |
James Farmer | 1998 | Civil rights activist | American |
Dante Fascell | 1998 | Politician | American |
Zachary Fisher | 1998 | Businessman | American |
Frances Hesselbein | 1998 | Writer and management consultant | American |
Fred Korematsu | 1998 | Civil rights activist | American |
Sol Linowitz | 1998 | Businessman and lawyer | American |
Wilma Mankiller | 1998 | Activist and social worker | American |
Margaret Murie | 1998 | Author and conservationist | American |
Mario G. Obledo | 1998 | Civil rights activist | American |
Elliot Richardson | 1998 | Lawyer | American |
David Rockefeller | 1998 | Banker | American |
Albert Shanker ** | 1998 | Educator and labor unionist | American |
Elmo Zumwalt | 1998 | U.S. Navy officer | American |
Lloyd Millard Bentsen | 1999 | Politician | American |
Edgar Bronfman Sr. | 1999 | Businessman | American |
Jimmy Carter | 1999 | Politician and 39th President of the United States | American |
Rosalynn Carter | 1999 | First Lady of the United States | American |
Evelyn Dubrow | 1999 | Labor lobbyist | American |
Isolina Ferré | 1999 | Religious sister | Puerto Rico |
Gerald Ford | 1999 | Politician and 38th president of the United States | American |
Oliver Hill | 1999 | Civil rights lawyer | American |
Max Kampelman | 1999 | Diplomat | American |
Helmut Kohl | 1999 | Statesman | German |
George J. Mitchell | 1999 | Lawyer and businessman | American |
Edgar Wayburn | 1999 | Environmentalist | American |
James E. Burke | 2000 | Business executive | American |
John Chafee** | 2000 | Politician | American |
Wesley Clark | 2000 | Army officer | American |
William J. Crowe | 2000 | Navy admiral | American |
Marian Wright Edelman | 2000 | Activists | American |
John Kenneth Galbraith | 2000 | Economist and diplomat | American |
George G. Higgins | 2000 | Labor activist | American |
Jesse Jackson | 2000 | Civil rights activist | American |
Mildred Jeffrey | 2000 | Political and social activist | American |
Mathilde Krim | 2000 | Medical researcher | American |
George McGovern | 2000 | Politician and historian | American |
Daniel Patrick Moynihan | 2000 | Politician and sociologist | American |
Cruz Reynoso | 2000 | Civil rights lawyer and jurist | American |
Aung San Suu Kyi | 2000 | Diplomat and politician | Burmese |
Gardner C. Taylor | 2000 | Baptist preacher | American |
Simon Wiesenthal | 2000 | Writer | Austrian |
Presidential Medal of Freedom Honorees during the Presidency of George W. Bush (2001-2009)

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali recieves the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush on November 9, 2005 | Image (from left to right): Mrs. Lonnie Ali, Muhammad Ali, and President George W. Bush
Honoree | Year | Profession | Nationality |
Hank Aaron | 2002 | Baseball player | American |
Bill Cosby | 2002 | Actor, comedian and author | American |
Plácido Domingo | 2002 | Opera singer | Spanish |
Peter Drucker | 2002 | Management consultant, author and educator | American |
Katharine Graham ** | 2002 | Publisher | American |
Donald Henderson | 2002 | Medical doctor | American |
Irving Kristol | 2002 | Journalist | American |
Nelson Mandela | 2002 | Political leader | South African |
Gordon Moore | 2002 | Businessman and engineer | American |
Nancy Reagan | 2002 | First Lady of the United States | American |
Fred Rogers | 2002 | T.V. host and producer | American |
A. M. Rosenthal | 2002 | Journalist | American |
Robert Bartley | 2003 | Editor | American |
Jacques Barzun | 2003 | Historian | American |
Julia Child | 2003 | Author | American |
Roberto Clemente ** | 2003 | Baseball player | Puerto Rican |
Van Cliburn | 2003 | Pianist | American |
Václav Havel | 2003 | Writer and statesman | Czech |
Charlton Heston | 2003 | Actor and political activist | American |
George Robertson | 2003 | Politician | British |
Edward Teller | 2003 | Physicist | American |
Rex Dave Thomas ** | 2003 | Businessman and philanthropist | American |
Byron White ** | 2003 | Lawyer and football player | American |
James Q. Wilson | 2003 | Academic and political scientist | American |
John Wooden | 2003 | Basketball player | American |
Paul Bremer | 2004 | Diplomat | American |
Edward Brooke | 2004 | Politician | American |
Doris Day | 2004 | Actress and singer | American |
Tommy Franks | 2004 | Army general | American |
Vartan Gregorian | 2004 | Academic and educator | American |
Gilbert Melville Grosvenor | 2004 | Editor | American |
Gordon B. Hinckley | 2004 | Religious leader and author | American |
John Paul II * | 2004 | Roman Catholic Pope | Polish |
Estée Lauder | 2004 | businesswoman | American |
Rita Moreno | 2004 | Actress and dancer | Puerto Rican |
Arnold Palmer | 2004 | Golfer | American |
Arnall Patz | 2004 | Medical doctor and research professor | American |
Norman Podhoretz | 2004 | Writer | American |
George Tenet | 2004 | Professor and security expert | American |
Walter Bigelow Wriston | 2004 | Banker and business executive | American |
Muhammad Ali | 2005 | Boxer | American |
Carol Burnett | 2005 | Actress, singer and writer | American |
Vinton Gray Cerf | 2005 | Internet expert | American |
Robert Conquest | 2005 | Historian and poet | British |
Aretha Franklin | 2005 | Singer, songwriter and civil rights activist | American |
Alan Greenspan | 2005 | Economist | American |
Andy Griffith | 2005 | Comedian and actor | American |
Paul Harvey | 2005 | Radio broadcaster | American |
Bob Kahn | 2005 | Electrical engineer | American |
Sonny Montgomery | 2005 | Army officer | American |
Richard Myers | 2005 | Army general | American |
Jack Nicklaus | 2005 | Golfer | American |
Frank Robinson | 2005 | Baseball player | American |
Paul Rusesabagina | 2005 | Activist and humanitarian | Rwandan |
Ruth Johnson Colvin | 2006 | Educator | American |
Norman Christopher Francis | 2006 | Lawyer and educator | American |
Paul Johnson | 2006 | Journalist and author | English |
B.B. King | 2006 | Singer, songwriter and guitarist | American |
Joshua Lederberg | 2006 | Molecular biologist | American |
David Gaub McCullough | 2006 | Author and historian | American |
Norman Mineta | 2006 | Politician | American |
Buck O’Neil** | 2006 | Baseball player and manager | American |
William Lewis Safire | 2006 | Author and journalist | American |
Natan Sharansky | 2006 | Politician | Israeli |
Gary Becker | 2007 | Economist | American |
Óscar Elías Biscet | 2007 | Physician and human rights activist | Cuban |
Francis Collins | 2007 | Physician and geneticist | American |
Benjamin Hooks | 2007 | Civil rights leader | American |
Henry Hyde | 2007 | Politician | American |
Brian Patrick Lamb | 2007 | Journalist and business executive | American |
Nelle Harper Lee | 2007 | Novelist | American |
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf | 2007 | Politician | Liberian |
Benjamin Solomon Carson | 2008 | Politician and neurosurgeon | American |
Anthony Fauci | 2008 | Physician and immunologist | American |
Tom Peter Lantos | 2008 | Politician | American |
Peter Pace | 2008 | Marine Corps general | American |
Donna Edna Shalala | 2008 | Politician | American |
Laurence Hirsch Silberman | 2008 | Lawyer and jurist | American |
Tony Blair | 2009 | Politician | British |
Ryan Clark Crocker | 2009 | Diplomat | American |
John Howard | 2009 | Politician | Australian |
Álvaro Uribe | 2009 | Politician | Colombian |
Individuals that received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama (2009-2017)

President Barack Obama awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction to then-Vice President Joe Biden, 2017
Recipient | Year | Profession | Nationality |
Nancy Brinker | 2009 | Diplomat | American |
Joe Medicine Crow | 2009 | Chief and historian of the Crow Nation | Indigenous American (Crow Nation) |
Pedro José Greer | 2009 | Physician | American |
Stephen Hawking | 2009 | Theoretical physicist | English |
Jack Kemp ** | 2009 | Politician | American |
Ted Kennedy ** | 2009 | Politician | American |
Billie Jean King | 2009 | Tennis player | American |
Joseph Echols Lowery | 2009 | Methodist Church minister | American |
Harvey Bernard Milk | 2009 | Politician | American |
Sandra Day O’Connor | 2009 | Associate Justice of the Supreme Court | American |
Sidney Poitier | 2009 | Actor and film director | American |
Chita Rivera | 2009 | Actress and dancer | American |
Mary Therese Robinson | 2009 | Politician | Irish |
Janet Davison Rowley | 2009 | Human geneticist | American |
Desmond Tutu | 2009 | Anglican archbishop | South African |
Muhammad Yunus | 2009 | Social entrepreneur, banker and economist | Bangladeshi |
John H. Adams | 2011 | Activist and lawyer | American |
Maya Angelou | 2011 | Poet and civil rights activist | American |
Warren Buffett | 2011 | Investor and philanthropist | American |
George H. W. Bush | 2011 | 41st President of the United States | American |
Robert Gates | 2011 | Intelligence analyst | American |
Jasper Johns | 2011 | Painter and printmaker | American |
John Lewis | 2011 | Statesman and civil rights activist | American |
Tom Little ** | 2011 | Optometrist | American |
Yo-Yo Ma | 2011 | Cellist | American |
Sylvia Mendez | 2011 | Civil rights activist | American |
Angela Merkel | 2011 | Politician | German |
Stan Musial | 2011 | Baseball player | American |
Bill Russell | 2011 | Basketball player | American |
Jean Kennedy Smith | 2011 | Diplomat and activist | American |
John J. Sweeney | 2011 | Labor leader | American |
Gerda Weissmann Klein | 2011 | Writer and human rights activist | American |
Madeleine Albright | 2012 | Politician and diplomat | American |
Bob Dylan | 2012 | Singer-songwriter and author | American |
William Foege | 2012 | Physician and epidemiologist | American |
John Glenn | 2012 | Engineer and astronaut | American |
Juliette Gordon Low ** | 2012 | Women’s activist | American |
Gordon Hirabayashi ** | 2012 | Sociologist | American |
Dolores Huerta | 2012 | Labor leader and civil rights activist | American |
Jan Karski ** | 2012 | Soldier and diplomat | Polish |
Toni Morrison | 2012 | Novelist and professor | American |
Shimon Peres | 2012 | Politician | Israeli |
John Paul Stevens | 2012 | Lawyer and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court | American |
Pat Summitt | 2012 | Basketball coach | American |
Patricia Wald | 2012 | Judge | American |
Ernie Banks | 2013 | Baseball player | American |
Ben Bradlee | 2013 | Journalist | American |
Bill Clinton | 2013 | 42nd President of the United States | American |
John Doar | 2013 | Lawyer | American |
Daniel Inouye ** | 2013 | Politician | American |
Daniel Kahneman | 2013 | Economist and psychologist | Israeli |
Richard Lugar | 2013 | Politician | American |
Loretta Lynn | 2013 | Singer and songwriter | American |
Mario J. Molina | 2013 | Chemist | Mexican |
Sally Ride ** | 2013 | Astronaut and physicist | American |
Bayard Rustin ** | 2013 | Civil rights activist | American |
Arturo Sandoval | 2013 | Jazz pianist and trumpeter | American |
Dean Smith | 2013 | College basketball coach | American |
Gloria Steinem | 2013 | Journalist | American |
Cordy Tindell Vivian | 2013 | Author and minister | American |
Oprah Winfrey | 2013 | T.V. show host, actress, author and philanthropist | American |
Alvin Ailey ** | 2014 | Dancer | American |
Isabel Allende | 2014 | Writer | Chilean |
Thomas John Brokaw | 2014 | Journalist and author | American |
James Chaney ** | 2014 | Social worker | American |
John David Dingell | 2014 | Politician | American |
Mildred Dresselhaus | 2014 | Nanotechnologist | American |
Andrew Goodman ** | 2014 | Social worker | American |
Ethel Kennedy | 2014 | Human rights advocate | American |
Abner Joseph Mikva | 2014 | Politician | American |
Patsy Mink | 2014 | Attorney | American |
Edward Roybal ** | 2014 | Politician | American |
Michael Schwerner ** | 2014 | Social worker | American |
Suzan Shown Harjo | 2014 | Rights activist, poet and writer | American |
Charlie Sifford | 2014 | Golfer | American |
Robert Solow | 2014 | Economist | American |
Meryl Streep | 2014 | Actress | American |
Marlo Thomas | 2014 | Actress and author | American |
Stevie Wonder | 2014 | Singer and songwriter | American |
Steven Spielberg | 2015 | Film director and screenwriter | American |
Emilio Estefan | 2015 | Musician | Cuban |
Gloria Estefan | 2015 | Singer, songwriter | American |
Itzhak Perlman | 2015 | Violinist, music teacher | American |
Stephen Sondheim | 2015 | Composer and lyricist | American |
Barbra Streisand | 2015 | Singer, actress | American |
James Taylor | 2015 | Singer, songwriter | American |
Minoru Yasui ** | 2015 | Lawyer | American |
Billy Frank Jr. ** | 2015 | Environmentalist | American |
Shirley Chisholm ** | 2015 | Educator, politician | American |
Lee H. Hamilton | 2015 | Politician, lawyer | American |
Barbara Mikulski | 2015 | Politician, social worker | American |
William Ruckelshaus | 2015 | Attorney | American |
Katherine Johnson | 2015 | Mathematician | American |
Yogi Berra ** | 2015 | Baseball player | American |
Bonnie Carroll | 2015 | Social worker | American |
Willie Mays | 2015 | Baseball player | American |
Frank Gehry | 2016 | Architect | American |
Richard Garwin | 2016 | Physicist | American |
Maya Lin | 2016 | Architect, sculptor | American |
Robert Redford | 2016 | Actor and director | American |
Robert De Niro | 2016 | Actor, film producer and director | American |
Tom Hanks | 2016 | Actor, producer | American |
Cicely Tyson | 2016 | Actress, model | American |
Diana Ross | 2016 | Singer, actress | American |
Bruce Springsteen | 2016 | Singer, songwriter | American |
Grace Hopper ** | 2016 | Computer scientist, Navy rear admiral | American |
Margaret Heafield Hamilton | 2016 | Computer scientist | American |
Eduardo J. Padrón | 2016 | Professor, economist, educator | Cuban |
Newton N. Minow | 2016 | Attorney | American |
Lorne Michaels | 2016 | Television producer | Canadian |
Ellen DeGeneres | 2016 | Actress, T.V. show host, writer, actress | American |
Bill Gates | 2016 | Software developer, philanthropist | American |
Melinda Gates | 2016 | Philanthropist | American |
Elouise Pepion Cobell ** | 2016 | Activist, rancher | |
Vin Scully | 2016 | Sportscaster | American |
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar | 2016 | Basketball player | American |
Michael Jordan | 2016 | Basketball player | American |
Joe Biden* | 2017 | 47th vice president of the United States | American |
Honorees during the Presidency of Donald Trump (2017-2021)

In 2019, President Donald Trump presented the award to golf legend Tiger Woods
Honoree | Year | Profession/job | Nationality |
Elvis Presley ** | 2018 | Singer, actor | American |
Alan Page | 2018 | Jurist and football player | American |
Antonin Scalia ** | 2018 | Associate Justice of the Supreme Court | American |
Miriam Adelson | 2018 | Philanthropist | American |
Orrin Hatch | 2018 | Politician and attorney | American |
Babe Ruth ** | 2018 | Baseball player | American |
Roger Staubach | 2018 | Football player | American |
Arthur Laffer | 2019 | Economist and author | American |
Edwin Meese | 2019 | Law professor, author, attorney | American |
Tiger Woods | 2019 | Golfer | American |
Bob Cousy | 2019 | Basketball player | American |
Jerry West | 2019 | Basketball player | American |
Mariano Rivera | 2019 | Baseball player | American |
Roger Penske | 2019 | Businessman | American |
Jack Keane | 2020 | Army general | American |
Rush Limbaugh | 2020 | Author, political commentator | American |
Jim Ryun | 2020 | Politician | American |
Lou Holtz | 2020 | Football player, coach | American |
Dan Gable | 2020 | Wrestler, coach | American |
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