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 to “any person recommended to the President for award of the Medal or any person selected by the President upon his own initiative." [1] Before 1970, honorees were either selected by the president or recommended to them by the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board. [2]
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. [3]
President Barack Obama awarded 118 medals, the most of any president, followed by President Bill Clinton with 89 medal recipients. [4] 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, [5] 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. [6] After being awarded the medal, Cosby was convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault, though the convictions were later overturned. [7]
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. [8]
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 January 6 United States Capitol attack. [9]
Country musician Dolly Parton turned down the medal twice from Donald Trump. Parton said she turned it down the first time because her husband was ill, and the second time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. [10]
John F. Kennedy selected 31 recipients to be awarded in 1963. After his assassination they were officially awarded by Lyndon B. Johnson.
Lyndon B. Johnson awarded 58 medals between 1963 and 1969, excluding 31 which were selected by John F. Kennedy.
Richard Nixon awarded 28 medals between 1969 and 1974.
Gerald Ford awarded 28 medals between 1974 and 1977.
Jimmy Carter awarded 34 medals between 1977 and 1981.
Ronald Reagan awarded 86 medals between 1981 and 1989.
George H. W. Bush awarded 38 medals between 1989 and 1993.
Bill Clinton awarded 89 medals between 1993 and 2001.
George W. Bush awarded 82 medals between 2001 and 2009.
Barack Obama awarded 118 medals between 2009 and 2017.
Donald Trump awarded 24 medals between 2017 and 2021.
Recipient | Year | Notes | Notable as | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Miriam Adelson | 2018 | Physician and philanthropist | [77] | |
Orrin Hatch | United States Senator from Utah | [77] | ||
Alan Page | Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court and football player | [77] | ||
Elvis Presley | † | Singer and actor known as the "King of Rock and Roll" | [77] | |
Babe Ruth | † | Professional baseball player | [77] | |
Antonin Scalia | † | Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | [77] | |
Roger Staubach | Professional football player | [77] | ||
Bob Cousy | 2019 | Professional basketball player | [78] | |
Arthur Laffer | Economist, best known for the Laffer curve | [79] | ||
Remy LaMartina | 75th Professional Soccer Player for Bayern Munich. | [80] | ||
Roger Penske | Professional auto racing team owner, driver, and businessman | [81] | ||
Mariano Rivera | Professional baseball player | [82] | ||
Jerry West | Basketball executive and Olympic professional basketball player | [83] | ||
Tiger Woods | Professional golfer | [84] | ||
Dan Gable | 2020 | Olympic wrestler | [85] | |
Lou Holtz | University football coach | [86] | ||
Jack Keane | Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army | [87] | ||
Rush Limbaugh | [lower-alpha 2] | Political commentator | [89] | |
Jim Ryun | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Olympic athlete | [90] | ||
Babe Didrikson Zaharias | 2021 | † | Olympic athlete | [91] |
Devin Nunes | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California | [92] | ||
Jim Jordan | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio | [93] | ||
Gary Player | Professional golfer | [91] | ||
Annika Sörenstam | Professional golfer | [91] |
Joe Biden has awarded 37 medals since 2022.
James Earl Carter Jr. is an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975, and a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967. Carter is the longest-lived president in U.S. history and the first to live to 100 years of age.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President for award of the Medal or any person selected by the President upon his own initiative," and was created to recognize people who have made "an 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." The award is not limited to U.S. citizens, and, while it is a civilian award, it can also be awarded to military personnel and worn on the uniform. It was established in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy, superseding the Medal of Freedom that was initially established by President Harry S. Truman in 1945 to honor civilian service.
The State of the Union Address is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of most calendar years on the current condition of the nation. The State of the Union Address generally includes reports on the nation's budget, economy, news, agenda, progress, achievements and the president's priorities and legislative proposals.
The Presidential Citizens Medal is an award bestowed by the president of the United States. It is the second-highest civilian award in the United States and is second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Established by executive order on November 13, 1969, by President Richard Nixon, it recognizes an individual "who has performed exemplary deeds or services for his or her country or fellow citizens." Only United States citizens are eligible for the medal, which may be awarded posthumously.
In the United States, presidential job approval ratings were first conducted by George Gallup to gauge public support for the president of the United States during their term. An approval rating is a percentage determined by polling which indicates the percentage of respondents to an opinion poll who approve of a particular person or program. Typically, an approval rating is given to a politician based on responses to a poll in which a sample of people are asked whether they approve or disapprove of that particular political figure. A question might ask: "Do you approve or disapprove of the way that the current president is handling their job as president?".
Counselor to the President is a title used by high-ranking political advisors to the president of the United States and senior members of the White House Office.
The Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978, 44 U.S.C. §§ 2201–2209, is an Act of the United States Congress governing the official records of Presidents and Vice Presidents created or received after January 20, 1981, and mandating the preservation of all presidential records. Enacted November 4, 1978, the PRA changed the legal ownership of the President's official records from private to public, and established a new statutory structure under which Presidents must manage their records. The PRA was amended in 2014, to include the prohibition of sending electronic records through non-official accounts unless an official account is copied on the transmission, or a copy is forwarded to an official account shortly after creation.
whitehouse.gov is the official website of the White House and is managed by the Office of Digital Strategy. It was launched in 1994 by the Clinton administration. The content of the website is in the public domain or licensed under Creative Commons Attribution license.
The following is a timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama, from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. For his time as president-elect, see the presidential transition of Barack Obama; for a detailed account of his first months in office, see first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency; for a complete itinerary of his travels, see list of presidential trips made by Barack Obama.
The following is a timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama, from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. For his time as president-elect, see the presidential transition of Barack Obama; for a detailed account of his first months in office, see first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency; for a complete itinerary of his travels, see list of presidential trips made by Barack Obama.
The Medal of Freedom was a decoration established by President Harry S. Truman to honor civilians whose actions aided in the war efforts of the United States and its allies during and beyond World War II. It was intended to be awarded by the secretary of state, the secretary of war, or the secretary of the navy, but presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy also authorized awards. The first woman and American citizen to receive it was Anna M. Rosenberg by Robert P. Patterson on the recommendation of Eisenhower.
The following is a timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama, from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2012. For his time as president-elect, see the presidential transition of Barack Obama; for a detailed account of his first months in office, see first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency; for a complete itinerary of his travels, see list of presidential trips made by Barack Obama.
The following is a timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama, from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. For his time as president-elect, see the presidential transition of Barack Obama; for a detailed account of his first months in office, see first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency; for a complete itinerary of his travels, see list of presidential trips made by Barack Obama.
The following is a timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama, from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. For his time as president-elect, see the presidential transition of Barack Obama; for a detailed account of his first months in office, see first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency; for a complete itinerary of his travels, see list of presidential trips made by Barack Obama.
The following is a timeline of the presidency of Barack Obama, from January 1 to December 31, 2015. For his time as president-elect, see the presidential transition of Barack Obama; for a detailed account of his first months in office, see first 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency; for a complete itinerary of his travels, see list of presidential trips made by Barack Obama.
The following is a timeline of the presidency of Donald Trump during the first quarter of 2017, beginning from his inauguration as the 45th president of the United States on January 20, 2017, to March 31, 2017. To navigate between quarters, see timeline of the Donald Trump presidency. For the Q2 timeline see timeline of the Donald Trump presidency.
Marian Anderson (1897–1993)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received December 6, 1963
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Annie Wauneka (1910–1997)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received December 6, 1963
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Lady Bird Johnson (1912–2007)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received January 10, 1977
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received January 10, 1977
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Dr. Margaret Mead (1901–1978)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received January 19, 1979
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)Betty Ford (1918 – )...Presidential Medal of Freedom received November 18, 1991
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Chief,Wilma Mankiller (1945–2010)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received January 15, 1998
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Marian Wright Edelman (1939 – )...Presidential Medal of Freedom received August 9, 2000
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (1930 – )...Presidential Medal of Freedom received August 12, 2009
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