Category: Presidential Medal of Freedom

Categories: United States of America, Civil Decorations

This category contains profiles of recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with the comparable Congressional Gold Medal, bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award of the United States. It recognizes those individuals who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, 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 and replaced the earlier Medal of Freedom that was established by President Harry S. Truman in 1945 to honor civilian service during World War II.

See Wikipedia:Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom

A

Henry Aaron 05 Feb 1934 Mobile, Mobile, Alabama, United States - 22 Jan 2021

Ansel Adams 20 Feb 1902 San Francisco, California, United States - 22 Apr 1984

Alvin Ailey 05 Jan 1931 Rogers, Bell, Texas, United States - 01 Dec 1989

Lew (Alcindor) Abdul-Jabbar 1940s

Rita (Alverío) Moreno 1930s

Marian Anderson 27 Feb 1897 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States - 08 Apr 1993

Arthur Ashe 10 Jul 1943 Richmond, Virginia, United States - 06 Feb 1993

B

Pearl Bailey 29 Mar 1918 Newport News, Warwick, Virginia, United States - 17 Aug 1990

Ernest Banks 31 Jan 1931 Dallas, Dallas, Texas, United States - 23 Jan 2015

William Basie 21 Aug 1904 Red Bank, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States - 26 Apr 1984

Morris Berg 02 Mar 1902 Harlem, New York City, New York, United States - 29 May 1972

Simone Biles 1990s

James Blake 07 Feb 1887 Baltimore, Maryland, United States - 12 Feb 1983

Elizabeth (Bloomer) Ford 08 Apr 1918 Chicago, Illinois, United States - 08 Jul 2011

Anjeze Bojaxhiu 26 Aug 1910 Skopje, Ottoman Empire - 05 Sep 1997

Ann (Boothe) Luce 10 Mar 1903 New York City, New York, United States - 09 Oct 1987

James Brady 29 Aug 1940 Centralia, Marion County, Illinois, USA - 04 Aug 2014

David Brinkley 10 Jul 1920 Wilmington, New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States - 11 Jun 2003

Edward Brooke 26 Oct 1919 Washington, District of Columbia, United States - 03 Jan 2015

Helen (Brown) MacArthur 10 Oct 1900 Washington, District of Columbia, United States - 17 Mar 1993

Ralph Bunche 07 Aug 1904 Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, United States - 09 Dec 1971

James Burnham 22 Nov 1905 Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States - 28 Jul 1987

Jesse (Burns) Jackson 1940s

C

James Cagney 17 Jul 1899 Lower East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA - 30 Mar 1986

John Carson 23 Oct 1925 Corning, Quincy Township, Adams County, Iowa, United States - 23 Jan 2005

Rachel Carson 27 May 1907 Springdale, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States - 14 Apr 1964

John (Carter) Heston 04 Oct 1923 Evanston, Cook, Illinois, United States - 05 Apr 2008

Pau Casals i Defilló 29 Dec 1876 El Vendrell, Tarragona, Catalunya, Espanya - 22 Oct 1973

Charles Catton 09 Oct 1899 Petoskey, Emmet County, Michigan, USA - 28 Aug 1978

James Chaney 30 May 1943 Meridian, Lauderdale, Mississippi, United States - 21 Jun 1964

Margaret (Chase) Smith 14 Dec 1897 Skowhegan, Somerset, Maine, United States - 29 May 1995

Cesario Chavez 31 Mar 1927 Gila Valley, Yuma, Arizona, United States - 23 Apr 1993

Cassius (Clay) Ali 17 Jan 1942 Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky, United States - 03 Jun 2016

Roberto Clemente 18 Aug 1934 Carolina, Puerto Rico - 31 Dec 1972

Creola (Coleman) Johnson 26 Aug 1918 White Sulphur Springs, Greenbrier, West Virginia, United States - 24 Feb 2020

William Coleman 07 Jul 1920 Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States - 31 Mar 2017

Bob Cousy 1920s

D

Janet (Davison) Rowley 05 Apr 1925 New York City, New York, United States - 13 Dec 2013

John Dingell 08 Jul 1926 Colorado Springs, El Paso, Colorado, United States - 07 Feb 2019

Walter Disney 05 Dec 1901 Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States - 15 Dec 1966

Annie (Dodge) Wauneka 11 Apr 1910 Deer Spring, Arizona USA - 10 Nov 1997

E

Lena Edwards 17 Sep 1900 District of Columbia, United States - 03 Dec 1986

Esther (Eggertsen) Peterson 09 Dec 1906 Provo, Utah, Utah, United States - 20 Dec 1997

Edward Ellington 29 Apr 1899 Washington, District of Columbia, United States - 24 May 1974

Ralph Waldo Ellison 01 Mar 1914 Oklahoma, United States - 16 Apr 1994

F

James Farmer 12 Jan 1920 Marshall, Harrison County, Texas, United States - 09 Jul 1999

Anthony Fauci 1940s

John Feeney 01 Feb 1894 Cape Elizabeth, Cumberland, Maine, United States - 31 Aug 1973

Living Fernandez

Dolores Conchita (Figueroa del Rivero) Rivera 23 Jan 1933 Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America - 30 Jan 2024

Catherine (Filene) Shouse 09 Jun 1896 Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States - 14 Dec 1994

Ella Fitzgerald 25 Apr 1917 Warwick, Virginia, United States - 15 Jun 1996

Ernest Ford 13 Feb 1919 Bristol, Sullivan, Tennessee, USA - 17 Oct 1991

Aretha Franklin 25 Mar 1942 Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee, United States - 16 Aug 2018

John Franklin 02 Jan 1915 Rentiesville, Oklahoma, United States - 25 Mar 2009

Endre Friedmann 22 Oct 1913 Budapest, Pest-Pilis-Solt-Kiskun, Hungary - 24 May 1954

G

Schmuel (Gelbfisz) Goldwyn 17 Aug 1879 Warsaw, Poland - 31 Jan 1974

John Glenn 18 Jul 1921 Cambridge, Guernsey, Ohio, United States - 08 Dec 2016

G cont.

Andrew Goodman 23 Nov 1943 New York City, New York, USA - 21 Jun 1964

Juliette (Gordon) Low 31 Oct 1860 Savannah, Chatham, Georgia, United States - 17 Jan 1927

H

Fred Haise 1930s

Dorothy Height 24 Mar 1912 Richmond, Virginia, United States of America - 20 Apr 2010

Jerome Holland 09 Jan 1916 Auburn, Cayuga, New York, United States - 13 Jan 1985

Benjamin Hooks 31 Jan 1925 Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee, United States - 15 Apr 2010

Leslie Hope 29 May 1903 Eltham, London, England - 27 Jul 2003

Vladimir Horowitz 1903 Kiev, Kiev, Russian Empire - 05 Nov 1989

John Howard 1930s

Hubert Humphrey 27 May 1911 Wallace, Codington, South Dakota, United States - 13 Jan 1978

I

Daniel Inouye 07 Sep 1924 Honolulu, Oahu, Honolulu, Hawaii Territory, United States - 17 Dec 2012

J

Marlo (Jacobs) Thomas 1930s

Clarence Johnson 27 Feb 1910 Ishpeming, Marquette, Michigan, United States - 21 Dec 1990

John Johnson 19 Jan 1918 Arkansas City, Desha, Arkansas, United States of America - 08 Aug 2005

Lyndon Johnson 27 Aug 1908 Stonewall, Gillespie, Texas, United States - 22 Jan 1973

Marguerite (Johnson) Angelou 04 Apr 1928 St. Louis, Missouri, United States - 28 May 2014

Barbara Jordan 21 Feb 1936 Houston, Texas, United States - 17 Jan 1996

Michael Jordan 1960s

Stevie Judkins 1950s

K

David (Kaminsky) Kaye 18 Jan 1911 Brooklyn, Kings, New York, United States - 03 Mar 1987

Doris (Kappelhoff) Day 03 Apr 1922 Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, United States - 13 May 2019

Eunice (Kennedy) Shriver 10 Jul 1921 Brookline, Massachusetts, United States of America - 11 Aug 2009

Martin King 15 Jan 1929 501 Auburn Ave NE, Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States - 04 Apr 1968

Riley King 16 Sep 1925 Berclair, Leflore County, Mississippi, United States - 14 May 2015

Marguerite (Knight) Smith 19 Apr 1920 Paris, France - 2004

Marie (Korbelová) Albright 15 May 1937 Smíchov, Prague, Czech Republic - 23 Mar 2022

Fred Korematsu 30 Jan 1919 Oakland, Alameda, California, United States - 30 Mar 2005

L

Nelle Lee 28 Apr 1926 Monroeville, Monroe, Alabama, United States - 19 Feb 2016

John Lewis 21 Feb 1940 Troy, Pike, Alabama, United States - 17 Jul 2020

Rush Limbaugh 12 Jan 1951 Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States - 17 Feb 2021

Maya Ying Lin 1950s

Jim Lovell 1920s

Joseph Lowery 06 Oct 1921 Huntsville, Madison, Alabama, United States - 27 Mar 2020

M

Dumas Malone 10 Jan 1892 Coldwater, Tate, Mississippi, United States - 27 Dec 1986

Rolihlahla Nelson Mandela 18 Jul 1918 Mvezo, Umtata, Union of South Africa - 05 Dec 2013

Wilma Mankiller 18 Nov 1945 Tahlequah, Oklahoma, United States - 06 Apr 2010

Thoroughgood Marshall 02 Jul 1908 Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, United States - 24 Jan 1993

Willie Mays 1930s

Rosa (McCauley) Parks 04 Feb 1913 Tuskegee, Macon, Alabama, United States - 24 Oct 2005

David McCullough 07 Jul 1933 Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States - 07 Aug 2022

Joseph Medicine Crow 27 Oct 1913 Lodge Grass, Montana, United States - 03 Apr 2016

Katharine (Meyer) Graham 16 Jun 1917 New York City, New York, United States - 17 Jul 2001

Maria Ludwig Michael (Mies) Mies van der Rohe 27 Mar 1886 Aachen, Rheinprovinz, Preußen, Deutsches Reich - 17 Aug 1969

Edgar Mitchell 17 Sep 1930 Hereford, Deaf Smith, Texas, USA - 04 Feb 2016

Billie Jean (Moffitt) King 1940s

Gillespie Montgomery 05 Aug 1920 Meridian, Lauderdale, Mississippi, United States - 12 May 2006

Marion (Morrison) Wayne 26 May 1907 Winterset, Madison County, Iowa, United States - 11 Jun 1979

N

Diane Nash 1930s

Karl Niebuhr bef 21 Jun 1892 Wright City, Warren, Missouri, United States - aft 01 Jun 1971

O

John O'Neil 13 Nov 1911 Carrabelle, Franklin, Florida, United States - 06 Oct 2006

James Owens 12 Sep 1913 Oakville, Lawrence, Alabama, United States - 31 Mar 1980

P

Arnold Palmer 10 Sep 1929 Latrobe, Westmoreland, Pennsylvania, United States - 25 Sep 2016

Antonia Pantoja 13 Sep 1922 San Juan, Puerto Rico - 24 May 2002

Frederick Patterson 10 Oct 1901 Washington, District of Columbia, United States - 26 Apr 1988

Eldred Peck 05 Apr 1916 San Diego, San Diego, California, United States - 12 Jun 2003

Ieoh Ming Pei 26 Apr 1917 Suzhou, China - 16 May 2019

Sidney Poitier 20 Feb 1927 Miami, Dade, Florida, USA - 06 Jan 2022

P cont.

Colin Powell 05 Apr 1937 Harlem, New York County, New York, USA - 18 Oct 2021

Leontyne Price 1920s

R

Asa Philip Randolph 15 Apr 1889 Crescent City, Putnam County, Florida, United States - 16 May 1979

Robert Redford 1930s

Margaret (Reed) Raye 27 Aug 1916 Butte, Silver Bow, Montana, United States - 19 Oct 1994

Francis Reynolds 29 Nov 1923 East Chicago, Lake, Indiana, USA - 20 Jul 1983

Frances (Richards) Hesselbein 01 Nov 1915 Johnstown, Pennsylvania - 11 Dec 2022

Sally Ride 26 May 1951 Encino, Los Angeles County, California, United States - 23 Jul 2012

Matthew Ridgway 03 Mar 1895 Fort Monroe, Elizabeth City, Virginia, United States - 26 Jul 1993

Sidney Ripley 20 Sep 1913 Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States - 12 Mar 2001

Frank Robinson 31 Aug 1935 Beaumont, Jefferson, Texas, United States - 07 Feb 2019

Jack Robinson 31 Jan 1919 Cairo, Grady, Georgia, United States - 24 Oct 1972

Joseph Rochefort 12 May 1900 Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, United States - 20 Jul 1976

Joachim Rønneberg 30 Aug 1919 Ålesund, Møre og Romsdal, Norge - 21 Oct 2018

Diana Ross 1940s

William Russell 12 Feb 1934 Monroe, Ouachita, Louisiana, USA - 31 Jul 2022

Bayard Rustin 17 Mar 1912 West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States - 24 Aug 1987

Audrey (Ruston) Hepburn 04 May 1929 Ixelles, Brabant, Belgique - 20 Jan 1993

S

Michael Schwerner 06 Nov 1939 New York, United States - 21 Jun 1964

Brent Scowcroft 19 Mar 1925 Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States - 06 Aug 2020

Victor Secombe 09 Jan 1898 Glen Wills, Victoria (Australia) - 03 Feb 1962

Charles Sifford 02 Jun 1922 Charlotte, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, United States - 03 Feb 2015

Eleanor (Smith) Carter 18 Aug 1927 Plains, Sumter, Georgia, United States - 19 Nov 2023

Mildred (Spiewak) Dresselhaus 11 Nov 1930 Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States - 20 Feb 2017

Thomas Stafford 17 Sep 1930 Weatherford, Custer, Oklahoma, United States - 18 Mar 2024

Eduard Steichen 27 Mar 1879 Bivange, Luxembourg, Luxembourg - 25 Mar 1973

James Stewart 20 May 1908 Indiana, Pennsylvania, United States - 02 Jul 1997

Shirley (St. Hill) Chisholm 30 Nov 1924 Brooklyn, New York, United States - 01 Jan 2005

Marjory (Stoneman) Douglas 07 Apr 1890 Minneapolis, Hennepin, Minnesota, United States - 14 May 1998

Leon Sullivan 16 Oct 1922 Charleston, Kanawha, West Virginia, United States - 24 Apr 2001

John Swigert 30 Aug 1931 Denver, Colorado, United States - 27 Dec 1982

T

Patsy (Takemoto) Mink 06 Dec 1927 Paia, Maui, Hawaii Territory, United States - 28 Sep 2002

Helen Taussig 24 May 1898 Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts - 20 May 1986

Ede Teller 15 Jan 1908 Budapest, Austria-Hungary - 09 Sep 2003

Lowell Thomas 06 Apr 1892 Greenville or Woodington, Darke, Ohio - 29 Aug 1981

Desmond Mpilo Tutu 07 Oct 1931 Klerksdorp, Transvaal, Union of South Africa - 26 Dec 2021

Cicely Tyson 19 Dec 1924 New York City, New York, USA - 28 Jan 2021

V

Cyrus Vance 27 Mar 1917 Clarksburg, Harrison, West Virginia, USA - 12 Jan 2002

Cordy Vivian 30 Jul 1924 Boonville, Cooper, Missouri, United States - 17 Jul 2020

W

Samuel Walton 29 Mar 1918 Kingfisher, Kingfisher, Oklahoma, United States - 05 Apr 1992

Denzel Washington 1950s

Edgar (Waxelbaum) Wayburn 17 Sep 1906 Macon, Georgia, United States - 05 Mar 2010

Loretta (Webb) Lynn 14 Apr 1932 Butcher Hollow, Van Lear, Johnson, Kentucky, United States - 04 Oct 2022

Albert Wedemeyer 09 Jul 1896 Omaha, Douglas, Nebraska, United States - 17 Dec 1989

Jerry West 1930s

Oliver (White) Hill 01 May 1907 Richmond, Virginia, United States - 05 Aug 2007

Eliezer Wiesel 30 Sep 1928 Sighet, Maramureș, Kingdom of Romania - 02 Jul 2016

Roy Wilkins 30 Aug 1901 St. Louis, Missouri, United States - 08 Sep 1981

Oprah Winfrey 1950s

Chloe (Wofford) Morrison 18 Feb 1931 Lorain, Lorain, Ohio, United States - 05 Aug 2019

Tiger Woods 1970s

Y

Minoru Yasui 19 Oct 1916 Hood River, Hood River, Oregon, United States - 12 Nov 1986

Whitney Young 31 Jul 1921 Lincoln Ridge, Shelby, Kentucky, United States - 11 Mar 1971

Z

Bob (Zimmerman) Dylan 1940s

Elmo Zumwalt 29 Nov 1920 City and County of San Francisco, California, USA - 02 Jan 2000

This page was last modified 23:25, 31 March 2023. This page has been accessed 2,008 times.