Presidential Medal of
Freedom

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award in the United States. It was started in 1945 by President Harry Truman but it wasn't until President John F. Kennedy revived the medal in 1963 that it began to be awarded annually, on or about July 4. The Presidential Medal of Freedom recognizes Americans and citizens of other nations who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, or to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." Some winners are pictured here. For the complete list and to find out more about this award: www.whitehouse.gov/medal-of-freedom

(BetterWorld Heroes is not associated with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. BetterWorld Hero portraits are provided for illustration purposes only - no endorsement is implied)

Muhammad Ali (2005)	Maya Angelou (2011)	George Nash Baldwin (1981)
Norman Borlaug (1977)	Ralph Bunche (1963)	Rachel Carson (1980)
Jimmy Carter (1999)	Rosalynn Carter (1999)	Pablo Casals (1963)
Cesar Chavez (1994)	Bill Cosby (2002)	Jacques Cousteau (1985)
Walter Cronkite (1981)	Doris Day (2004)	Peter Drucker (2002)
Bob Dylan (2012)	Marian Wright Edelman (2000)	James Farmer (1998)
Millard Fuller (1996)	R. Buckminster Fuller (1983)	Gilbert Grosvenor (2004)
Vaclav Havel (2003)	Dorothy Height (1994)	Audrey Hepburn (1992)
Rev. Theodore Hesburgh (1964)	Dolores Huerta (2012)	Hubert Humphrey (1980)
Jesse Jackson (2000)	Barbara Jordan (1994)	Helen Keller (1964)
John F. Kennedy (2003)	Martin Luther King, Jr. (1977)	C. Everett Koop (1995)
Fred Korematsu (1998)	John L. Lewis (1964)	John R. Lewis (2011)
Yo-Yo Ma (2011)	Nelson Mandela (2002)	Wilma Mankiller (1998)
Thurgood Marshall (1993)	George McGovern (2000)	Margaret Mead (1979)
George Meany (1963)	Jean Monnet (1963)	Edward R. Murrow (1964)
Mardy Murie (1998)	Gaylord Nelson (1995)
Rosa Parks (1996)	Gregory Peck (1969)	Shimon Peres (2012)
Javier Perez de Cuellar (1991)	Esther Peterson (1981)	Roger Tory Peterson (1980)
A. Philip Randolph (1964)	Mary Robinson (2009)	Paul Rusesabagina (2005)
Anwar Sadat (1984)	Ginetta Sagan (1996)	Jonas Salk (1977)
Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1984)	Sargent Shriver (1994)	Margaret Chase Smith (1989)
Leon Sullivan (1991)	Aung San Suu Kyi (2000)	Mother Teresa (1985)
Desmond Tutu (2009)	Álvaro Uribe (2009)	Lech Walesa (1989)
E. B. White (1963)	Elie Wiesel (1992)	Simon Wiesenthal (2000)
Roy Wilkins (1969)	Andrew Young (1981)	Whitney Young (1969)
Muhammad Yunus (2009)

© The EMILY Fund. May be distributed for non-commercial uses only.
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