List of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients#Computing

File:PresMedalFreedom.jpg]]

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."{{Cite web |title=Executive Order 11515—Terminating Certain Bodies Established by the President {{!}} The American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-11515-terminating-certain-bodies-established-the-president |access-date=2024-06-09 |website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu}} Before 1970, honorees were either selected by the president or recommended to them by the Distinguished Civilian Service Awards Board.[http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/jfkeo/eo/11085.htm Executive Order 11085 The Presidential Medal of Freedom], retrieved July 30, 2009 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090530235618/http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/jfkeo/eo/11085.htm |date=May 30, 2009 }}

History

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/239293 |title=Remarks With Under Secretary of State George W. Ball at the Presentation of the Medal of Freedom Awards, December 6, 1963 |access-date=December 2, 2020 |last1=Woolley |first1=John T |last2=Peters |first2=Gerhard |work=The American Presidency Project |publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara |language=en |archive-date=March 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307103020/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-with-under-secretary-state-george-w-ball-the-presentation-the-medal-freedom-awards |url-status=live }}

President Barack Obama awarded 118 medals, the most of any president, followed by President Bill Clinton with 89 medal recipients.{{cite report |url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47639 |title=Presidential Medal of Freedom |author=Leubsdorf |first=Ben |date=2024-05-03 |publisher=Congressional Research Service |issue=R47639 |page=5 |docket= |quote= |author-link= |access-date=2024-06-09}} 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,{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=47138 |title=Remarks on the Retirement of General Colin Powell in Arlington, Virginia |date=September 30, 1993 |access-date=September 18, 2016 |last=Clinton |first=W. J. |author-link=Bill Clinton |publisher=The American Presidency Project |location=University of California, Santa Barbara |archive-date=September 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919002830/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=47138 |url-status=dead }} 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:

John F. Kennedy (1963, posthumously)
Lyndon B. Johnson (1980, posthumously)
Ronald Reagan (1993, with Distinction)
Gerald Ford (1999)
Jimmy Carter (1999)
George H. W. Bush (2011)
Bill Clinton (2013)
Joe Biden (2017, as Vice President; with Distinction)

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bu7sq5qZQVU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/bu7sq5qZQVU |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title=Obama asked if Bill Cosby's Medal of Freedom will be revoked|website=PBS NewsHour|date=July 15, 2015 }}{{cbignore}} After being awarded the medal, Cosby was convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault, though the convictions were later overturned.{{cite news|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/bill-cosby-s-sex-assault-conviction-overturned-by-court-1.5491693|title=Bill Cosby's sex assault conviction overturned by court|date=June 30, 2021|access-date=June 30, 2021|website=CTV News|agency=The Associated Press|archive-date=June 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630165323/https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/bill-cosby-s-sex-assault-conviction-overturned-by-court-1.5491693|url-status=live}}

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.

In 2022 at the age of 25, athlete and activist Simone Biles became the youngest person to receive the award.{{cite web |last1=Kindelan |first1=Katie |title=Simone Biles awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom |url=https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/simone-biles-awarded-presidential-medal-freedom-86370058 |website=Good Morning America |access-date=10 July 2022 |language=en |archive-date=July 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708195737/https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/simone-biles-awarded-presidential-medal-freedom-86370058 |url-status=live }}

= 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 January 6 United States Capitol attack.{{cite news|last1=Ruiz-Grossman|first1=Sarah|date=11 January 2021|title=New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick Refuses Medal Of Freedom|language=en|work=HuffPost|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/patriots-bill-belichick-medal-freedom-trump_n_5ffcf165c5b66f3f796085a1?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063|access-date=January 11, 2021|archive-date=August 26, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826051758/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/patriots-bill-belichick-medal-freedom-trump_n_5ffcf165c5b66f3f796085a1?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite news|last=Pengelly|first=Martin|date=2 February 2021|title=Dolly Parton turned down presidential medal of freedom twice from Trump|language=en|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/feb/02/dolly-parton-turned-down-presidential-medal-of-freedom-twice-trump|access-date=February 2, 2021|archive-date=February 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202194019/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/feb/02/dolly-parton-turned-down-presidential-medal-of-freedom-twice-trump|url-status=live}}

= Awarded with Distinction =

class="wikitable"

{{hidden|headercss = background:white; |contentcss = |header = The Presidential Medal of Freedom (with Distinction) |content =

As of January 21, 2025, 27 individuals (Ellsworth Bunker twice, which is a total of 28 WDs) have been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (with Distinction):{{cite |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/slideshows/these-are-the-known-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom-with-distinction |title=These Are the Known Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom With Distinction |author=Dicker |first=Rachel |date=January 18, 2017|website=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=January 21, 2025}}

;John F. Kennedy – 8

;Lyndon B. Johnson – 6

;Richard Nixon – 4

;Gerald Ford – 4

;Jimmy Carter – 0

: {{space}} 0 – (none)

;Ronald Reagan – 1

Caspar Weinberger

;George H. W. Bush – 1

Ronald Reagan

;Bill Clinton – 1

Colin Powell

;George W. Bush – 1

Pope John Paul II

;Barack Obama – 1

Joe Biden

;Donald Trump – 0

: {{space}} 0 – (none)

;Joe Biden – 1

Pope Francis

;Donald Trump – ?

: {{space}} 0 – (so far)

}}

List

† – Awarded posthumously
WD – Awarded "with Distinction"

= 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.

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col" \|Recipient ! scope="col" \|Year ! scope="col" \|Notes ! scope="col" \|Notable as ! class="unsortable" scope="col" \|{{Abbr\|Ref.\|Reference}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Marian\|Anderson}} \| rowspan="31" \|1963 \| \|Classical Contralto & First African-American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera \|{{cite book\|last1=The National First Ladies Library\|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom\|date=November 16, 2010\|location=Canton Ohio\|page=3\|quote=Marian Anderson (1897–1993)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received December 6, 1963\|access-date=February 11, 2011\|archive-date=February 14, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|url-status=dead}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ralph\|Bunche}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|Political Scientist, Mediator in Israel & First person of African descent to receive a Nobel Prize \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ellsworth\|Bunker}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|U.S. Ambassador to Argentina, Italy and India \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Pablo\|Casals}} \| \|Cellist \|{{Cite web\|title=Distinguished Cellists in the White House\|url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/distinguished-cellists-in-the-white-house\|access-date=2020-03-20\|website=WHHA (en-US)\|language=en\|archive-date=April 9, 2020\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409150728/https://www.whitehousehistory.org/distinguished-cellists-in-the-white-house\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Genevieve\|Caulfield}} \| \|Founder of the Bangkok School for the Blind in Thailand \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James B.\|Conant}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|Chemist, 23rd President of Harvard University & 1st U.S. Ambassador to West Germany \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John Franklin\|Enders}} \| \|Biomedical Scientist & Developer of the Measles Vaccine \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Felix\|Frankfurter}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Karl\|Holton}} \| \|Head of the Los Angeles County Probation Department & Director of the California Youth Authority \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Robert J. H.\|Kiphuth}} \| \|Head Coach for Men's Swimming at Yale University \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Edwin H.\|Land}} \| \|Co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation & Inventor of the Polaroid Instant Camera \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Herbert H.\|Lehman}} \|{{efn\|Lehman died the day before the ceremony.{{cite web \|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=26165 \|title=Remarks With Under Secretary of State George W. Ball at the Presentation of the Medal of Freedom Awards, December 6, 1963 \|access-date=February 9, 2011 \|last=Woolley \|first=John T \|author2=Gerhard Peters \|work=The American Presidency Project \|publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara \|archive-date=September 27, 2012 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927164709/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=26165 \|url-status=live }}}} \|United States Senator from New York & 45th Governor of New York \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Robert A.\|Lovett}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|4th United States Secretary of Defense \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|J. Clifford\|MacDonald}} \| \|Philanthropist & President of the Arc of the United States \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John J.\|McCloy}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|United States Assistant Secretary of War & U.S. High Commissioner For Occupied Germany \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|George\|Meany}} \| \|1st President of AFL-CIO \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Alexander\|Meiklejohn}} \| \|Philosopher & President of Amherst College \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ludwig\|Mies van der Rohe}} \| \|Architect \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jean\|Monnet}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|Entrepreneur & Founding Father of the European Union \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Luis\|Muñoz Marín}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|1st Elected Governor of Puerto Rico \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Clarence B.\|Randall}} \| \|Chairman of The Board of Inland Steel Company & Presidential Advisor \|{{cite web\|date=August 6, 1967\|title=Clarence B. Randall, 76, Dies\|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1967/08/06/page/3/article/clarence-b-randall-76-dies\|access-date=January 13, 2017\|work=Chicago Tribune\|archive-date=March 7, 2021\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307103031/https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Rudolf\|Serkin}} \| \|Pianist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Edward\|Steichen}} \| \|Photographer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|George W.\|Taylor\|George W. Taylor (professor)}} \| \|Professor of Industrial Relations at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Alan Tower\|Waterman}} \| \|1st Director of the National Science Foundation \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Mark S.\|Watson}} \| \|Editor and Correspondent for The Baltimore Sun \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Annie Dodge\|Wauneka}} \| \|Member of the Navajo Nation Council \|{{cite book\|last1=The National First Ladies Library\|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom\|date=November 16, 2010\|location=Canton Ohio\|page=3\|quote=Annie Wauneka (1910–1997)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received December 6, 1963\|access-date=February 11, 2011\|archive-date=February 14, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|url-status=dead}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|E. B.\|White}} \| \|Writer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Thornton\|Wilder}} \| \|3x Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright & Novelist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Edmund\|Wilson}} \| \|Writer & Literary Critic \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Andrew\|Wyeth}} \| \|Realist and Regionalist Painter & Visual Artist \|

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

! scope="col" |Recipient

! scope="col" |Year

! scope="col" |Notes

! scope="col" |Notable as

! class="unsortable" scope="col" |{{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Marian|Anderson}}

| rowspan="31" |1963

|Classical Contralto & First African-American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera

|{{cite book|last1=The National First Ladies Library|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom|date=November 16, 2010|location=Canton Ohio|page=3|quote=Marian Anderson (1897–1993)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received December 6, 1963|access-date=February 11, 2011|archive-date=February 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|url-status=dead}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ralph|Bunche}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|Political Scientist, Mediator in Israel & First person of African descent to receive a Nobel Prize

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ellsworth|Bunker}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|U.S. Ambassador to Argentina, Italy and India

scope="row"|{{sortname|Pablo|Casals}}

|Cellist

|{{Cite web|title=Distinguished Cellists in the White House|url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/distinguished-cellists-in-the-white-house|access-date=2020-03-20|website=WHHA (en-US)|language=en|archive-date=April 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409150728/https://www.whitehousehistory.org/distinguished-cellists-in-the-white-house|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Genevieve|Caulfield}}

|Founder of the Bangkok School for the Blind in Thailand

scope="row"|{{sortname|James B.|Conant}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|Chemist, 23rd President of Harvard University & 1st U.S. Ambassador to West Germany

scope="row"|{{sortname|John Franklin|Enders}}

|Biomedical Scientist & Developer of the Measles Vaccine

scope="row"|{{sortname|Felix|Frankfurter}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

scope="row"|{{sortname|Karl|Holton}}

|Head of the Los Angeles County Probation Department & Director of the California Youth Authority

scope="row"|{{sortname|Robert J. H.|Kiphuth}}

|Head Coach for Men's Swimming at Yale University

scope="row"|{{sortname|Edwin H.|Land}}

|Co-founder of the Polaroid Corporation & Inventor of the Polaroid Instant Camera

scope="row"|{{sortname|Herbert H.|Lehman}}

|{{efn|Lehman died the day before the ceremony.{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=26165 |title=Remarks With Under Secretary of State George W. Ball at the Presentation of the Medal of Freedom Awards, December 6, 1963 |access-date=February 9, 2011 |last=Woolley |first=John T |author2=Gerhard Peters |work=The American Presidency Project |publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara |archive-date=September 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927164709/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=26165 |url-status=live }}}}

|United States Senator from New York & 45th Governor of New York

scope="row"|{{sortname|Robert A.|Lovett}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|4th United States Secretary of Defense

scope="row"|{{sortname|J. Clifford|MacDonald}}

|Philanthropist & President of the Arc of the United States

scope="row"|{{sortname|John J.|McCloy}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|United States Assistant Secretary of War & U.S. High Commissioner For Occupied Germany

scope="row"|{{sortname|George|Meany}}

|1st President of AFL-CIO

scope="row"|{{sortname|Alexander|Meiklejohn}}

|Philosopher & President of Amherst College

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ludwig|Mies van der Rohe}}

|Architect

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jean|Monnet}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|Entrepreneur & Founding Father of the European Union

scope="row"|{{sortname|Luis|Muñoz Marín}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|1st Elected Governor of Puerto Rico

scope="row"|{{sortname|Clarence B.|Randall}}

|Chairman of The Board of Inland Steel Company & Presidential Advisor

|{{cite web|date=August 6, 1967|title=Clarence B. Randall, 76, Dies|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1967/08/06/page/3/article/clarence-b-randall-76-dies|access-date=January 13, 2017|work=Chicago Tribune|archive-date=March 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307103031/https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Rudolf|Serkin}}

|Pianist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Edward|Steichen}}

|Photographer

scope="row"|{{sortname|George W.|Taylor|George W. Taylor (professor)}}

|Professor of Industrial Relations at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

scope="row"|{{sortname|Alan Tower|Waterman}}

|1st Director of the National Science Foundation

scope="row"|{{sortname|Mark S.|Watson}}

|Editor and Correspondent for The Baltimore Sun

scope="row"|{{sortname|Annie Dodge|Wauneka}}

|Member of the Navajo Nation Council

|{{cite book|last1=The National First Ladies Library|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom|date=November 16, 2010|location=Canton Ohio|page=3|quote=Annie Wauneka (1910–1997)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received December 6, 1963|access-date=February 11, 2011|archive-date=February 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|url-status=dead}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|E. B.|White}}

|Writer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Thornton|Wilder}}

|3x Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwright & Novelist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Edmund|Wilson}}

|Writer & Literary Critic

scope="row"|{{sortname|Andrew|Wyeth}}

|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.

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" !Recipient !Year !Notes !Notable as ! class="unsortable" \| {{Abbr\|Ref.\|Reference}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|\|John XXIII\|Pope John XXIII}} \| rowspan="2" \|1963 \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Pope \|{{cite web\|last=Woolley\|first=John T\|author2=Gerhard Peters\|title=Remarks With Under Secretary of State George W. Ball at the Presentation of the Medal of Freedom Awards, December 6, 1963\|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/239293\|access-date=December 2, 2020\|work=The American Presidency Project\|publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara\|archive-date=March 7, 2021\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307103020/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-with-under-secretary-state-george-w-ball-the-presentation-the-medal-freedom-awards\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John F.\|Kennedy}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|35th President of the United States \|{{cite web\|date=December 6, 1963\|title=Presidential Medal of Freedom – John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum\|url=http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Presidential+Medal+of+Freedom.htm\|access-date=January 5, 2011\|publisher=Jfklibrary.org\|archive-date=August 16, 2009\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090816212455/http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Presidential+Medal+of+Freedom.htm\|url-status=dead}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Dean\|Acheson}} \| rowspan="30" \|1964 \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|51st United States Secretary of State \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Detlev\|Bronk}} \| \|6th President of Johns Hopkins University, 16th President of the National Academy of Sciences & 3rd President of Rockefeller University \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Aaron\|Copland}} \| \|Classical Composer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Willem\|de Kooning}} \| \|Abstract Expressionist Artist \|{{cite news\|title=30 Receive Freedom Medal at the White House\|website=www.nytimes.com\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/08/30/specials/keller-medal.html\|access-date=2017-11-21\|archive-date=December 1, 2017\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201041801/http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/08/30/specials/keller-medal.html\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Walt\|Disney}} \| \|Co-founder and President of The Walt Disney Company \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|J. Frank\|Dobie}} \| \|Folklorist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lena Frances\|Edwards}} \| \|Physician & Medical Advisor to the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|T. S.\|Eliot}} \| \|Modernist Poet \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lynn\|Fontanne}} \| \|Actress \|{{cite web\|last=Woolley\|first=John T\|author2=Gerhard Peters\|title=Lyndon B. Johnson, XXXVI President of the United States: 1963–1969, Remarks at the Presentation of the 1964 Presidential Medal of Freedom Awards, March 26, 1964\|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=26496&st=Lynn+Fontainne&st1=#axzz1N7flz5Ld\|access-date=May 22, 2011\|work=The American Presidency Project\|publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara\|archive-date=February 21, 2015\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221122854/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=26496&st=Lynn+Fontainne&st1=#axzz1N7flz5Ld\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John W.\|Gardner}} \| \|6th United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Theodore\|Hesburgh}} \| \|Ordained Priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross & 15th President of University of Notre Dame \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Clarence\|Johnson\|Kelly Johnson (engineer)}} \| \|Aeronautical and Systems Engineer & Contributing Designer to the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Frederick\|Kappel}} \| \|9th President of Western Electric & Chairman of AT&T \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Helen\|Keller}} \| \|Disability Rights Advocate, Human Rights Activist & Member of the American Foundation for the Blind \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John L.\|Lewis}} \| \|9th President of the United Mine Workers & 1st President of the Congress of Industrial Organizations \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Walter\|Lippmann}} \| \|Founding Editor of New Republic & Political Commentator \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Alfred\|Lunt}} \| \|Actor & Director \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ralph\|McGill}} \| \|Editor of the Atlanta Constitution & Anti-Segregationist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Samuel Eliot\|Morison}} \| \|Maritime Historian \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lewis\|Mumford}} \| \|Historian, Sociologist & Philosopher of Technology \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Edward R.\|Murrow}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|Broadcast Journalist & WWII War Correspondent \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Reinhold\|Niebuhr}} \| \|Reformed Theologian, Ethicist & Professor at Union Theological Seminary \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Leontyne\|Price}} \| \|Soprano & First African-American Soprano to Achieve International Acclaim \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|A. Philip\|Randolph}} \| \|Founder and President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Carl\|Sandburg}} \| \|3x Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John\|Steinbeck}} \| \|Nobel Prize Winning Writer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Helen B.\|Taussig}} \| \|Cardiologist, Founder of Pediatric Cardiology & Co-developer of the Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt Surgical Procedure \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Carl\|Vinson}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & Father of the Two-Ocean Navy \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Thomas\|Watson Jr.}} \| \|President of the International Business Machines Corporation \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Paul Dudley\|White}} \| \|Presidential Physician to Dwight D. Eisenhower & Co-founder of the American Heart Association \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ellsworth\|Bunker}} \| rowspan="3" \|1967 \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States and South Vietnam \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Robert\|Komer}} \| \|3rd Deputy National Security Advisor & U.S. Ambassador to Turkey \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Eugene M.\|Locke}} \| \|U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan & South Vietnam \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Robert\|McNamara}} \| rowspan="2" \|1968 \| \|8th United States Secretary of Defense \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James E.\|Webb}} \| \|2nd Administrator of NASA \|{{cite web\|date=March 14, 2016\|title=Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1968, James Webb\|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/presidential-medal-freedom-1968-james-webb\|access-date=December 10, 2017\|archive-date=February 23, 2020\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223201316/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/presidential-medal-freedom-1968-james-webb\|url-status=dead}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Eugene R.\|Black Sr.}} \| rowspan="20" \|1969 \| \|3rd President of the World Bank Group \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|McGeorge\|Bundy}} \| \|5th United States National Security Advisor \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Clark\|Clifford}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|9th United States Secretary of Defense & Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Michael\|DeBakey}} \| \|Chairman of the Department of Surgery, President, and Chancellor of Baylor College of Medicine at the Texas Medical Center \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|David\|Dubinsky}} \| \|President of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ralph\|Ellison}} \| \|Writer & Literary Critic \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Henry\|Ford II}} \| \|President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of the Ford Motor Company \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Bob\|Hope}} \| \|Comedian & Vaudevillian \|{{cite web\|date=2000-05-10\|title=Public Service – Bob Hope and American Variety {{!}} Exhibitions (Library of Congress)\|url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/bobhope/pubserv.html\|access-date=2017-11-21\|website=www.loc.gov\|language=en\|archive-date=September 25, 2017\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925044815/http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/bobhope/pubserv.html\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Edgar\|Kaiser\|Edgar Kaiser Sr.}} \| \|Member of the Committee on Urban Housing & General Manager of the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Mary\|Lasker}} \| \|Philanthropist & Founder of the Lasker Foundation \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John\|Macy}} \| \|President of the United States Civil Service Commission \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Gregory\|Peck}} \| \|Actor & Humanitarian \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Laurance\|Rockefeller}} \| \|Conservationist & Philanthropist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Dean\|Rusk}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|54th United States Secretary of State \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Walt Whitman\|Rostow}} \| \|6th United States National Security Advisor \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Merriman\|Smith}} \| \|White House Correspondent for United Press International & Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist \|{{cite web\|first=Judy\|last=Muhlberg\|date=June 14, 1976\|title=Medal of Freedom\|url=https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0067/7773889.pdf\|access-date=May 11, 2020\|publisher=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum\|page=43\|archive-date=October 16, 2020\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016133206/https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0067/7773889.pdf\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Cyrus\|Vance}} \| \|7th United States Secretary of the Army & 11th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|William S.\|White}} \| \|Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist for the United Feature Syndicate \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Roy\|Wilkins}} \| \|Executive Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Whitney\|Young}} \| \|Civil Rights Leader & Member of the National Urban League \|

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

!Recipient

!Year

!Notes

!Notable as

! class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

scope="row"|{{sortname||John XXIII|Pope John XXIII}}

| rowspan="2" |1963

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Pope

|{{cite web|last=Woolley|first=John T|author2=Gerhard Peters|title=Remarks With Under Secretary of State George W. Ball at the Presentation of the Medal of Freedom Awards, December 6, 1963|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/239293|access-date=December 2, 2020|work=The American Presidency Project|publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara|archive-date=March 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307103020/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-with-under-secretary-state-george-w-ball-the-presentation-the-medal-freedom-awards|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|John F.|Kennedy}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|35th President of the United States

|{{cite web|date=December 6, 1963|title=Presidential Medal of Freedom – John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum|url=http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Presidential+Medal+of+Freedom.htm|access-date=January 5, 2011|publisher=Jfklibrary.org|archive-date=August 16, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090816212455/http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Reference+Desk/Presidential+Medal+of+Freedom.htm|url-status=dead}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Dean|Acheson}}

| rowspan="30" |1964

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|51st United States Secretary of State

scope="row"|{{sortname|Detlev|Bronk}}

|6th President of Johns Hopkins University, 16th President of the National Academy of Sciences & 3rd President of Rockefeller University

scope="row"|{{sortname|Aaron|Copland}}

|Classical Composer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Willem|de Kooning}}

|Abstract Expressionist Artist

|{{cite news|title=30 Receive Freedom Medal at the White House|website=www.nytimes.com|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/08/30/specials/keller-medal.html|access-date=2017-11-21|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201041801/http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/08/30/specials/keller-medal.html|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Walt|Disney}}

|Co-founder and President of The Walt Disney Company

scope="row"|{{sortname|J. Frank|Dobie}}

|Folklorist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lena Frances|Edwards}}

|Physician & Medical Advisor to the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs

scope="row"|{{sortname|T. S.|Eliot}}

|Modernist Poet

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lynn|Fontanne}}

|Actress

|{{cite web|last=Woolley|first=John T|author2=Gerhard Peters|title=Lyndon B. Johnson, XXXVI President of the United States: 1963–1969, Remarks at the Presentation of the 1964 Presidential Medal of Freedom Awards, March 26, 1964|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=26496&st=Lynn+Fontainne&st1=#axzz1N7flz5Ld|access-date=May 22, 2011|work=The American Presidency Project|publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara|archive-date=February 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221122854/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=26496&st=Lynn+Fontainne&st1=#axzz1N7flz5Ld|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|John W.|Gardner}}

|6th United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare

scope="row"|{{sortname|Theodore|Hesburgh}}

|Ordained Priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross & 15th President of University of Notre Dame

scope="row"|{{sortname|Clarence|Johnson|Kelly Johnson (engineer)}}

|Aeronautical and Systems Engineer & Contributing Designer to the Lockheed U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird

scope="row"|{{sortname|Frederick|Kappel}}

|9th President of Western Electric & Chairman of AT&T

scope="row"|{{sortname|Helen|Keller}}

|Disability Rights Advocate, Human Rights Activist & Member of the American Foundation for the Blind

scope="row"|{{sortname|John L.|Lewis}}

|9th President of the United Mine Workers & 1st President of the Congress of Industrial Organizations

scope="row"|{{sortname|Walter|Lippmann}}

|Founding Editor of New Republic & Political Commentator

scope="row"|{{sortname|Alfred|Lunt}}

|Actor & Director

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ralph|McGill}}

|Editor of the Atlanta Constitution & Anti-Segregationist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Samuel Eliot|Morison}}

|Maritime Historian

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lewis|Mumford}}

|Historian, Sociologist & Philosopher of Technology

scope="row"|{{sortname|Edward R.|Murrow}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|Broadcast Journalist & WWII War Correspondent

scope="row"|{{sortname|Reinhold|Niebuhr}}

|Reformed Theologian, Ethicist & Professor at Union Theological Seminary

scope="row"|{{sortname|Leontyne|Price}}

|Soprano & First African-American Soprano to Achieve International Acclaim

scope="row"|{{sortname|A. Philip|Randolph}}

|Founder and President of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters

scope="row"|{{sortname|Carl|Sandburg}}

|3x Pulitzer Prize Winning Poet

scope="row"|{{sortname|John|Steinbeck}}

|Nobel Prize Winning Writer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Helen B.|Taussig}}

|Cardiologist, Founder of Pediatric Cardiology & Co-developer of the Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt Surgical Procedure

scope="row"|{{sortname|Carl|Vinson}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & Father of the Two-Ocean Navy

scope="row"|{{sortname|Thomas|Watson Jr.}}

|President of the International Business Machines Corporation

scope="row"|{{sortname|Paul Dudley|White}}

|Presidential Physician to Dwight D. Eisenhower & Co-founder of the American Heart Association

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ellsworth|Bunker}}

| rowspan="3" |1967

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|U.S. Ambassador to the Organization of American States and South Vietnam

scope="row"|{{sortname|Robert|Komer}}

|3rd Deputy National Security Advisor & U.S. Ambassador to Turkey

scope="row"|{{sortname|Eugene M.|Locke}}

|U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan & South Vietnam

scope="row"|{{sortname|Robert|McNamara}}

| rowspan="2" |1968

|8th United States Secretary of Defense

scope="row"|{{sortname|James E.|Webb}}

|2nd Administrator of NASA

|{{cite web|date=March 14, 2016|title=Presidential Medal of Freedom, 1968, James Webb|url=https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/presidential-medal-freedom-1968-james-webb|access-date=December 10, 2017|archive-date=February 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223201316/https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/presidential-medal-freedom-1968-james-webb|url-status=dead}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Eugene R.|Black Sr.}}

| rowspan="20" |1969

|3rd President of the World Bank Group

scope="row"|{{sortname|McGeorge|Bundy}}

|5th United States National Security Advisor

scope="row"|{{sortname|Clark|Clifford}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|9th United States Secretary of Defense & Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board

scope="row"|{{sortname|Michael|DeBakey}}

|Chairman of the Department of Surgery, President, and Chancellor of Baylor College of Medicine at the Texas Medical Center

scope="row"|{{sortname|David|Dubinsky}}

|President of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ralph|Ellison}}

|Writer & Literary Critic

scope="row"|{{sortname|Henry|Ford II}}

|President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of the Ford Motor Company

scope="row"|{{sortname|Bob|Hope}}

|Comedian & Vaudevillian

|{{cite web|date=2000-05-10|title=Public Service – Bob Hope and American Variety {{!}} Exhibitions (Library of Congress)|url=https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/bobhope/pubserv.html|access-date=2017-11-21|website=www.loc.gov|language=en|archive-date=September 25, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170925044815/http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/bobhope/pubserv.html|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Edgar|Kaiser|Edgar Kaiser Sr.}}

|Member of the Committee on Urban Housing & General Manager of the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation

scope="row"|{{sortname|Mary|Lasker}}

|Philanthropist & Founder of the Lasker Foundation

scope="row"|{{sortname|John|Macy}}

|President of the United States Civil Service Commission

scope="row"|{{sortname|Gregory|Peck}}

|Actor & Humanitarian

scope="row"|{{sortname|Laurance|Rockefeller}}

|Conservationist & Philanthropist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Dean|Rusk}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|54th United States Secretary of State

scope="row"|{{sortname|Walt Whitman|Rostow}}

|6th United States National Security Advisor

scope="row"|{{sortname|Merriman|Smith}}

|White House Correspondent for United Press International & Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist

|{{cite web|first=Judy|last=Muhlberg|date=June 14, 1976|title=Medal of Freedom|url=https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0067/7773889.pdf|access-date=May 11, 2020|publisher=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum|page=43|archive-date=October 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016133206/https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0067/7773889.pdf|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Cyrus|Vance}}

|7th United States Secretary of the Army & 11th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense

scope="row"|{{sortname|William S.|White}}

|Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist for the United Feature Syndicate

scope="row"|{{sortname|Roy|Wilkins}}

|Executive Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

scope="row"|{{sortname|Whitney|Young}}

|Civil Rights Leader & Member of the National Urban League

= Awarded by Richard Nixon =

Richard Nixon awarded 28 medals between 1969 and 1974.

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" !Recipient !Year !Notes !Notable as ! class="unsortable" \| {{Abbr\|Ref.\|Reference}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Buzz\|Aldrin}} \| rowspan="5" \|1969 \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 11 Crew Member \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Neil\|Armstrong}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|Astronaut, Aeronautical Engineer & Apollo 11 Crew Member \|{{cite web\|date=August 13, 1969\|title=Richard Nixon: Remarks at a Dinner in Los Angeles Honoring the Apollo 11 Astronauts\|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-dinner-los-angeles-honoring-the-apollo-11-astronauts\|access-date=November 20, 2018\|publisher=The American Presidency Project\|archive-date=May 14, 2020\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514120049/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-dinner-los-angeles-honoring-the-apollo-11-astronauts\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Michael\|Collins\|Michael Collins (astronaut)}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 11 Crew Member \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Duke\|Ellington}} \| \|Jazz Pianist & Composer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|W. Averell\|Harriman}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|48th Governor of New York & 11th United States Secretary of Commerce \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Earl Charles\|Behrens}} \| rowspan="13" \|1970 \| \|Political Editor for the San Francisco Chronicle \|{{cite web\|last=Nixon\|first=Richard\|date=April 22, 1970\|title=Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Eight Journalists\|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=2482\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001194923/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=2482\|archive-date=October 1, 2011\|url-status=live\|access-date=December 25, 2011\|publisher=Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Edward T.\|Folliard}} \| \|Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist for The Washington Post \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Fred\|Haise}} \| \|Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 13 Crew Member \|{{cite news\|date=April 19, 1970\|title=3 Astronauts get Heroes' Welcome to Hawaii\|page=14\|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer\|agency=Associated Press\|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33112752/the_philadelphia_inquirer/\|via=Newspapers.com\|access-date=June 21, 2019\|archive-date=June 21, 2019\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621233741/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33112752/the_philadelphia_inquirer/\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|William\|Henry\|Bill Henry (journalist)}} \| \|Journalist & Daily Columnist for the Los Angeles Times \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Arthur\|Krock}} \| \|3x Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist for The New York Times \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|David\|Lawrence\|David Lawrence (publisher)}} \| \|Founder of U.S. News & World Report \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|G. Gould\|Lincoln}} \| \|Political Reporter for The Washington Evening Star \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jim\|Lovell}} \| \|Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 8 Crew Member \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\| \|Mission Operations Team\|Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center\|Mission Operations Team}} \| \| \|{{cite speech\|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-presenting-the-presidential-medal-freedom-apollo-13-mission-operations-team\|title=Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Apollo 13 Mission Operations Team in Houston.\|last=Nixon\|first=Richard\|date=April 18, 1970\|location=Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas\|publisher=The American Presidency Project}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Raymond\|Moley}} \| \|Political Economist, Presidential Advisor to Franklin D. Roosevelt & Columnist for Newsweek & National Review \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Eugene\|Ormandy}} \| \|Violinist, Conductor & Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Adela Rogers\|St. Johns}} \| \|Journalist for Photoplay Magazine \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jack\|Swigert}} \| \|Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 13 Crew Member \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Manlio\|Brosio}} \| rowspan="3" \|1971 \| \|4th Secretary General of NATO \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Samuel\|Goldwyn}} \| \|Film Producer & Founder of Goldwyn Pictures & Samuel Goldwyn Productions \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|William J.\|Hopkins\|dab=civil servant}} \| \|Executive Clerk of the White House \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John Paul\|Vann}} \| rowspan="3" \|1972 \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Lieutenant Colonel of the United States Army & Member of the United States Agency for International Development \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lila Acheson\|Wallace}} \| \|Philanthropist & Co-founder of Reader's Digest \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|DeWitt\|Wallace}} \| \|Co-founder of Reader's Digest \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John\|Ford}} \| rowspan="2" \|1973 \| \|Film Director, Naval Officer & Head of the Photography Unit of the Office of Strategic Services \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|William P.\|Rogers}} \| \|63rd United States Attorney General & 55th United States Secretary of State \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Paul G.\|Hoffman}} \| rowspan="3" \|1974 \| \|1st Administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration & 1st Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Melvin\|Laird}} \| \|10th United States Secretary of Defense & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Charles\|Lowman}} \| \|Orthopedic Surgeon & Founder of California's First Orthopedic Hospital \|{{cite book\|last=M\|first=Nixon, Richard\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ocHcAwAAQBAJ&q=%22Charles+LeRoy+Lowman%22+medal+of+freedom&pg=PA615\|title=Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Richard M. Nixon, 1974\|date=1975-01-01\|publisher=Best Books on\|isbn=978-1-62376-923-9\|language=en\|access-date=October 21, 2020\|archive-date=September 7, 2023\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907205426/https://books.google.com/books?id=ocHcAwAAQBAJ&q=%22Charles+LeRoy+Lowman%22+medal+of+freedom&pg=PA615\|url-status=live}}

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

!Recipient

!Year

!Notes

!Notable as

! class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Buzz|Aldrin}}

| rowspan="5" |1969

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 11 Crew Member

scope="row"|{{sortname|Neil|Armstrong}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|Astronaut, Aeronautical Engineer & Apollo 11 Crew Member

|{{cite web|date=August 13, 1969|title=Richard Nixon: Remarks at a Dinner in Los Angeles Honoring the Apollo 11 Astronauts|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-dinner-los-angeles-honoring-the-apollo-11-astronauts|access-date=November 20, 2018|publisher=The American Presidency Project|archive-date=May 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514120049/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-dinner-los-angeles-honoring-the-apollo-11-astronauts|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Michael|Collins|Michael Collins (astronaut)}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 11 Crew Member

scope="row"|{{sortname|Duke|Ellington}}

|Jazz Pianist & Composer

scope="row"|{{sortname|W. Averell|Harriman}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|48th Governor of New York & 11th United States Secretary of Commerce

scope="row"|{{sortname|Earl Charles|Behrens}}

| rowspan="13" |1970

|Political Editor for the San Francisco Chronicle

|{{cite web|last=Nixon|first=Richard|date=April 22, 1970|title=Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Eight Journalists|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=2482|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001194923/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=2482|archive-date=October 1, 2011|url-status=live|access-date=December 25, 2011|publisher=Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Edward T.|Folliard}}

|Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist for The Washington Post

scope="row"|{{sortname|Fred|Haise}}

|Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 13 Crew Member

|{{cite news|date=April 19, 1970|title=3 Astronauts get Heroes' Welcome to Hawaii|page=14|newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33112752/the_philadelphia_inquirer/|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=June 21, 2019|archive-date=June 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621233741/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33112752/the_philadelphia_inquirer/|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|William|Henry|Bill Henry (journalist)}}

|Journalist & Daily Columnist for the Los Angeles Times

scope="row"|{{sortname|Arthur|Krock}}

|3x Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist for The New York Times

scope="row"|{{sortname|David|Lawrence|David Lawrence (publisher)}}

|Founder of U.S. News & World Report

scope="row"|{{sortname|G. Gould|Lincoln}}

|Political Reporter for The Washington Evening Star

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jim|Lovell}}

|Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 8 Crew Member

scope="row"|{{sortname| |Mission Operations Team|Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center|Mission Operations Team}}

|{{cite speech|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-presenting-the-presidential-medal-freedom-apollo-13-mission-operations-team|title=Remarks on Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Apollo 13 Mission Operations Team in Houston.|last=Nixon|first=Richard|date=April 18, 1970|location=Manned Spacecraft Center, Houston, Texas|publisher=The American Presidency Project}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Raymond|Moley}}

|Political Economist, Presidential Advisor to Franklin D. Roosevelt & Columnist for Newsweek & National Review

scope="row"|{{sortname|Eugene|Ormandy}}

|Violinist, Conductor & Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra

scope="row"|{{sortname|Adela Rogers|St. Johns}}

|Journalist for Photoplay Magazine

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jack|Swigert}}

|Astronaut, Pilot & Apollo 13 Crew Member

scope="row"|{{sortname|Manlio|Brosio}}

| rowspan="3" |1971

|4th Secretary General of NATO

scope="row"|{{sortname|Samuel|Goldwyn}}

|Film Producer & Founder of Goldwyn Pictures & Samuel Goldwyn Productions

scope="row"|{{sortname|William J.|Hopkins|dab=civil servant}}

|Executive Clerk of the White House

scope="row"|{{sortname|John Paul|Vann}}

| rowspan="3" |1972

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Lieutenant Colonel of the United States Army & Member of the United States Agency for International Development

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lila Acheson|Wallace}}

|Philanthropist & Co-founder of Reader's Digest

scope="row"|{{sortname|DeWitt|Wallace}}

|Co-founder of Reader's Digest

scope="row"|{{sortname|John|Ford}}

| rowspan="2" |1973

|Film Director, Naval Officer & Head of the Photography Unit of the Office of Strategic Services

scope="row"|{{sortname|William P.|Rogers}}

|63rd United States Attorney General & 55th United States Secretary of State

scope="row"|{{sortname|Paul G.|Hoffman}}

| rowspan="3" |1974

|1st Administrator of the Economic Cooperation Administration & 1st Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme

scope="row"|{{sortname|Melvin|Laird}}

|10th United States Secretary of Defense & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Charles|Lowman}}

|Orthopedic Surgeon & Founder of California's First Orthopedic Hospital

|{{cite book|last=M|first=Nixon, Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ocHcAwAAQBAJ&q=%22Charles+LeRoy+Lowman%22+medal+of+freedom&pg=PA615|title=Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Richard M. Nixon, 1974|date=1975-01-01|publisher=Best Books on|isbn=978-1-62376-923-9|language=en|access-date=October 21, 2020|archive-date=September 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907205426/https://books.google.com/books?id=ocHcAwAAQBAJ&q=%22Charles+LeRoy+Lowman%22+medal+of+freedom&pg=PA615|url-status=live}}

= Awarded by Gerald Ford =

Gerald Ford awarded 28 medals between 1974 and 1977.

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" !Recipient !Year !Notes !Notable as ! class="unsortable" \| {{Abbr\|Ref.\|Reference}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|David K. E.\|Bruce}} \| rowspan="4" \|1976 \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|U.S. Ambassador to France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the People's Republic of China & NATO \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Martha\|Graham}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|Modern Dancer, Choreographer & Inventor of the Graham Technique \|{{cite web\|last=Woolley\|first=John T\|author2=Gerhard Peters\|title=Gerald R. Ford, XXXVIII President of the United States: 1974–1977, Remarks Upon Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Martha Graham, October 14, 1976\|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=6466&st=&st1=\|access-date=February 9, 2011\|work=The American Presidency Project\|publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara\|archive-date=July 20, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720074917/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=6466&st=&st1=\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jesse\|Owens}} \| \|Olympic Track and Field Athlete \|{{cite web\|last=Koren\|first=Marina\|date=September 29, 2016\|title=White House Finally Honors the African-American Athletes of the 1936 Olympics\|website=The Atlantic\|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/09/white-house-olympics-berlin/502325/\|access-date=September 7, 2023\|archive-date=July 24, 2023\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724103852/https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/09/white-house-olympics-berlin/502325/\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Arthur\|Rubinstein}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|Classical Pianist \|{{cite web\|last=Nordlinger\|first=Jay\|date=2007-12-17\|title=Medals of Freedom\|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/443562/medals-freedom\|access-date=2019-10-14\|work=National Review\|archive-date=January 16, 2017\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116151859/http://www.nationalreview.com/article/443562/medals-freedom\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Iorwith Wilbur\|Abel}} \| rowspan="24" \|1977 \| \|3rd President of the United Steelworkers \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John\|Bardeen}} \| \|2x Nobel Prize Winning Physicist & Engineer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Irving\|Berlin}} \| \|Composer & Songwriter \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Norman\|Borlaug}} \| \|Nobel Prize Winning Agronomist & Leader of the Green Revolution \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Omar\|Bradley}} \| \|Senior Officer of the United States Army & 1st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Arleigh\|Burke}} \| \|Admiral of the United States Navy & Chief of Naval Operations \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Alexander\|Calder}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Mobiles Sculptor \|{{cite web\|last=Wolley\|first=John T.\|author2=Gerhard Peters\|date=January 10, 1977\|title=Gerald R. Ford, 38th President of the United States: 1974 - 1977, Remarks Upon Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom\|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-upon-presenting-the-presidential-medal-freedom\|access-date=March 29, 2020\|work=The American Presidency Project\|publisher=www.presidency.ucsb.edu\|archive-date=February 11, 2020\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211232541/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-upon-presenting-the-presidential-medal-freedom\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Bruce\|Catton}} \| \|Pulitzer Prize Winning Popular Historian of the American Civil War \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Joe\|DiMaggio}} \| \|Professional Baseball Player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ariel\|Durant}} \| \|Pulitzer Prize Winning Researcher & Writer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Will\|Durant}} \| \|Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian & Philosopher \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Arthur\|Fiedler}} \| \|Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops Orchestra \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Henry\|Friendly}} \| \|Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lady Bird\|Johnson}} \| \|First Lady of the United States \|{{cite web\|title=Lady Bird Johnson Biography\|url=http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/biographys.hom/ladybird_bio.asp\|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205080540/http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/biographys.hom/ladybird_bio.asp\|archive-date=December 5, 2010\|access-date=January 5, 2011\|publisher=Lbjlib.utexas.edu}}, for date of award see {{cite book\|last1=The National First Ladies Library\|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom\|date=November 16, 2010\|location=Canton Ohio\|page=3\|quote=Lady Bird Johnson (1912–2007)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received January 10, 1977\|access-date=February 11, 2011\|archive-date=February 14, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|url-status=dead}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Henry\|Kissinger}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|56th United States Secretary of State & 7th United States National Security Advisor \|{{cite web \|last1=Ford \|first1=Gerald R. \|title=The original documents are located in Box 20, folder “Medal of Freedom - Citations for Recipients” of the John Marsh Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. \|url=https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/sites/default/files/pdf_documents/library/document/0067/1563058.pdf \|access-date=29 January 2025 \|page=22 \|date=January 1997}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Archibald\|MacLeish}} \| \|Modernist Poet, 9th Librarian of Congress & 1st Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James A.\|Michener}} \| \|Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer & Philanthropist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Georgia\|O'Keeffe}} \| \|Modernist Artist & Painter \|{{cite book\|last1=The National First Ladies Library\|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom\|date=November 16, 2010\|location=Canton Ohio\|page=3\|quote=Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received January 10, 1977\|access-date=February 11, 2011\|archive-date=February 14, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|url-status=dead}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Nelson\|Rockefeller}} \| \|41st Vice President of the United States & 49th Governor of New York \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Norman\|Rockwell}} \| \|Painter & Illustrator \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Donald\|Rumsfeld}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|13th United States Secretary of Defense & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Catherine Filene\|Shouse}} \| \|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 \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lowell\|Thomas}} \| \|Writer, Broadcaster & Leading Investor of Capital Cities Television Corporation \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James\|Watson}} \| \|Nobel Prize Winning Molecular Biologist & Geneticist who Co-developed the Double Helix Structure Theory for the DNA Molecule \|

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

!Recipient

!Year

!Notes

!Notable as

! class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|David K. E.|Bruce}}

| rowspan="4" |1976

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|U.S. Ambassador to France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the People's Republic of China & NATO

scope="row"|{{sortname|Martha|Graham}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|Modern Dancer, Choreographer & Inventor of the Graham Technique

|{{cite web|last=Woolley|first=John T|author2=Gerhard Peters|title=Gerald R. Ford, XXXVIII President of the United States: 1974–1977, Remarks Upon Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Martha Graham, October 14, 1976|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=6466&st=&st1=|access-date=February 9, 2011|work=The American Presidency Project|publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara|archive-date=July 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720074917/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=6466&st=&st1=|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jesse|Owens}}

|Olympic Track and Field Athlete

|{{cite web|last=Koren|first=Marina|date=September 29, 2016|title=White House Finally Honors the African-American Athletes of the 1936 Olympics|website=The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/09/white-house-olympics-berlin/502325/|access-date=September 7, 2023|archive-date=July 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724103852/https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/09/white-house-olympics-berlin/502325/|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Arthur|Rubinstein}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|Classical Pianist

|{{cite web|last=Nordlinger|first=Jay|date=2007-12-17|title=Medals of Freedom|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/443562/medals-freedom|access-date=2019-10-14|work=National Review|archive-date=January 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116151859/http://www.nationalreview.com/article/443562/medals-freedom|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Iorwith Wilbur|Abel}}

| rowspan="24" |1977

|3rd President of the United Steelworkers

scope="row"|{{sortname|John|Bardeen}}

|2x Nobel Prize Winning Physicist & Engineer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Irving|Berlin}}

|Composer & Songwriter

scope="row"|{{sortname|Norman|Borlaug}}

|Nobel Prize Winning Agronomist & Leader of the Green Revolution

scope="row"|{{sortname|Omar|Bradley}}

|Senior Officer of the United States Army & 1st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

scope="row"|{{sortname|Arleigh|Burke}}

|Admiral of the United States Navy & Chief of Naval Operations

scope="row"|{{sortname|Alexander|Calder}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Mobiles Sculptor

|{{cite web|last=Wolley|first=John T.|author2=Gerhard Peters|date=January 10, 1977|title=Gerald R. Ford, 38th President of the United States: 1974 - 1977, Remarks Upon Presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-upon-presenting-the-presidential-medal-freedom|access-date=March 29, 2020|work=The American Presidency Project|publisher=www.presidency.ucsb.edu|archive-date=February 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211232541/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-upon-presenting-the-presidential-medal-freedom|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Bruce|Catton}}

|Pulitzer Prize Winning Popular Historian of the American Civil War

scope="row"|{{sortname|Joe|DiMaggio}}

|Professional Baseball Player

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ariel|Durant}}

|Pulitzer Prize Winning Researcher & Writer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Will|Durant}}

|Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian & Philosopher

scope="row"|{{sortname|Arthur|Fiedler}}

|Conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops Orchestra

scope="row"|{{sortname|Henry|Friendly}}

|Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lady Bird|Johnson}}

|First Lady of the United States

|{{cite web|title=Lady Bird Johnson Biography|url=http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/biographys.hom/ladybird_bio.asp|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205080540/http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/biographys.hom/ladybird_bio.asp|archive-date=December 5, 2010|access-date=January 5, 2011|publisher=Lbjlib.utexas.edu}}, for date of award see {{cite book|last1=The National First Ladies Library|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom|date=November 16, 2010|location=Canton Ohio|page=3|quote=Lady Bird Johnson (1912–2007)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received January 10, 1977|access-date=February 11, 2011|archive-date=February 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|url-status=dead}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Henry|Kissinger}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|56th United States Secretary of State & 7th United States National Security Advisor

|{{cite web |last1=Ford |first1=Gerald R. |title=The original documents are located in Box 20, folder “Medal of Freedom - Citations for Recipients” of the John Marsh Files at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. |url=https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/sites/default/files/pdf_documents/library/document/0067/1563058.pdf |access-date=29 January 2025 |page=22 |date=January 1997}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Archibald|MacLeish}}

|Modernist Poet, 9th Librarian of Congress & 1st Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs

scope="row"|{{sortname|James A.|Michener}}

|Pulitzer Prize Winning Writer & Philanthropist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Georgia|O'Keeffe}}

|Modernist Artist & Painter

|{{cite book|last1=The National First Ladies Library|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom|date=November 16, 2010|location=Canton Ohio|page=3|quote=Georgia O'Keeffe (1887–1986)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received January 10, 1977|access-date=February 11, 2011|archive-date=February 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|url-status=dead}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Nelson|Rockefeller}}

|41st Vice President of the United States & 49th Governor of New York

scope="row"|{{sortname|Norman|Rockwell}}

|Painter & Illustrator

scope="row"|{{sortname|Donald|Rumsfeld}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|13th United States Secretary of Defense & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Catherine Filene|Shouse}}

|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

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lowell|Thomas}}

|Writer, Broadcaster & Leading Investor of Capital Cities Television Corporation

scope="row"|{{sortname|James|Watson}}

|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.

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" !Recipient !Year !Notes !Notable as ! class="unsortable" \| {{Abbr\|Ref.\|Reference}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Martin Luther\|King Jr.}} \| rowspan="2" \|1977 \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Baptist Minister, Prominent Leader in the Civil Rights Movement & 1st President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jonas\|Salk}} \| \|Virologist & Developer of the Polio Vaccine \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|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 \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Margaret\|Mead}} \|1979 \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Cultural Anthropologist & President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science \|{{cite book\|last1=The National First Ladies Library\|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom\|date=November 16, 2010\|location=Canton Ohio\|page=3\|quote=Dr. Margaret Mead (1901–1978)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received January 19, 1979\|access-date=February 11, 2011\|archive-date=February 14, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|url-status=dead}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ansel\|Adams}} \| rowspan="15" \|1980 \| \|Landscape Photographer & Environmentalist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Horace M.\|Albright}} \| \|2nd Director of the National Park Service & Conservationist \|{{cite web \|url=https://nature.berkeley.edu/albright/lecture-archive \|title=About Horace M. Albright \|website=UC Berkeley Rausser College of Natural Resources \|access-date=2020-12-02 \|archive-date=January 10, 2021 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110000344/https://nature.berkeley.edu/albright/lecture-archive \|url-status=live }}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Rachel\|Carson}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Marine Biologist, Conservationist & Leader in the Global Environmental Movement \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lucia\|Chase}} \| \|Ballet Director, Dancer & Co-founder of the American Ballet Theatre \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Hubert\|Humphrey}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|38th Vice President of the United States & United States Senator from Minnesota \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|\|Iakovos\|Archbishop Iakovos of America}} \| \|Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America & Civil Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lyndon B.\|Johnson}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|36th President of the United States \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Clarence\|Mitchell Jr.}} \| \|Civil Rights Activist & Chief Lobbyist and National Director for NAACP \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Roger Tory\|Peterson}} \| \|Naturalist, Ornithologist & One of the Founding Inspiration of the Environmental Movement \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Hyman G.\|Rickover}} \| \|Admiral in the U.S. Navy & Director of the U.S. Naval Reactors Office \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Beverly\|Sills}} \| \|Operatic Soprano \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Robert Penn\|Warren}} \| \|Poet, Literary Critic, Co-founder of New Criticism & Charter Member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John\|Wayne}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Actor \|{{cite web \|last=Wolley \|first=John T. \|author2=Gerhard Peters \|date=June 9, 1980 \|title=Jimmy Carter, XXXIX President of the United States: 1977–1981, Presidential Medal of Freedom Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony, June 9, 1980 \|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/251767 \|access-date=December 2, 2020 \|work=The American Presidency Project \|publisher=www.presidency.ucsb.edu \|archive-date=March 7, 2021 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307103100/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/presidential-medal-freedom-remarks-the-presentation-ceremony \|url-status=live }}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Eudora\|Welty}} \| \|Pulitzer Prize Winning Novelist & Short Story Writer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Tennessee\|Williams}} \| \|Playwright & Screenwriter \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Roger Nash\|Baldwin}} \| rowspan="15" \|1981 \| \|Co-founder and 1st Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Harold\|Brown\|Harold Brown (Secretary of Defense)}} \| \|14th United States Secretary of Defense \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Zbigniew\|Brzezinski}} \| \|9th United States National Security Advisor \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Warren\|Christopher}} \| \|5th United States Deputy Secretary of State & 9th United States Deputy Attorney General \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Walter\|Cronkite}} \| \|Broadcast Journalist & Anchorman for CBS Evening News \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Kirk\|Douglas}} \| \|Actor & Philanthropist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Margaret\|McNamara}} \| \|Founder of Reading Is Fundamental \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Karl\|Menninger}} \| \|Psychiatrist & Co-founder of the Menninger Foundation and Menninger Clinic \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Edmund\|Muskie}} \| \|58th United States Secretary of State & United States Senator from Maine \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Esther\|Peterson}} \| \|2nd Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs & 4th Director of the United States Women's Bureau \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Gerard C.\|Smith}} \| \|Chief U.S. Delegate to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks & 1st U.S. Chairman of the Trilateral Commission \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Robert S.\|Strauss}} \| \|6th United States Trade Representative & United States Special Envoy for the Middle East \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Elbert\|Tuttle}} \| \|Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit \|{{cite web \|last=Wolley \|first=John T. \|author2=Gerhard Peters \|date=January 16, 1981 \|title=Jimmy Carter: Presidential Medal of Freedom Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony, January 16, 1981. \|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/250755 \|work=The American Presidency Project \|publisher=www.presidency.ucsb.edu \|access-date=December 2, 2020 \|archive-date=March 7, 2021 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307103052/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/presidential-medal-freedom-remarks-the-presentation-ceremony-0 \|url-status=live }}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Earl\|Warren}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|14th Chief Justice of the United States \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Andrew\|Young}} \| \|Executive Director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

!Recipient

!Year

!Notes

!Notable as

! class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Martin Luther|King Jr.}}

| rowspan="2" |1977

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Baptist Minister, Prominent Leader in the Civil Rights Movement & 1st President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jonas|Salk}}

|Virologist & Developer of the Polio Vaccine

scope="row"|{{sortname|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

scope="row"|{{sortname|Margaret|Mead}}

|1979

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Cultural Anthropologist & President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

|{{cite book|last1=The National First Ladies Library|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom|date=November 16, 2010|location=Canton Ohio|page=3|quote=Dr. Margaret Mead (1901–1978)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received January 19, 1979|access-date=February 11, 2011|archive-date=February 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|url-status=dead}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ansel|Adams}}

| rowspan="15" |1980

|Landscape Photographer & Environmentalist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Horace M.|Albright}}

|2nd Director of the National Park Service & Conservationist

|{{cite web |url=https://nature.berkeley.edu/albright/lecture-archive |title=About Horace M. Albright |website=UC Berkeley Rausser College of Natural Resources |access-date=2020-12-02 |archive-date=January 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110000344/https://nature.berkeley.edu/albright/lecture-archive |url-status=live }}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Rachel|Carson}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Marine Biologist, Conservationist & Leader in the Global Environmental Movement

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lucia|Chase}}

|Ballet Director, Dancer & Co-founder of the American Ballet Theatre

scope="row"|{{sortname|Hubert|Humphrey}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|38th Vice President of the United States & United States Senator from Minnesota

scope="row"|{{sortname||Iakovos|Archbishop Iakovos of America}}

|Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America & Civil Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lyndon B.|Johnson}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|36th President of the United States

scope="row"|{{sortname|Clarence|Mitchell Jr.}}

|Civil Rights Activist & Chief Lobbyist and National Director for NAACP

scope="row"|{{sortname|Roger Tory|Peterson}}

|Naturalist, Ornithologist & One of the Founding Inspiration of the Environmental Movement

scope="row"|{{sortname|Hyman G.|Rickover}}

|Admiral in the U.S. Navy & Director of the U.S. Naval Reactors Office

scope="row"|{{sortname|Beverly|Sills}}

|Operatic Soprano

scope="row"|{{sortname|Robert Penn|Warren}}

|Poet, Literary Critic, Co-founder of New Criticism & Charter Member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers

scope="row"|{{sortname|John|Wayne}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Actor

|{{cite web |last=Wolley |first=John T. |author2=Gerhard Peters |date=June 9, 1980 |title=Jimmy Carter, XXXIX President of the United States: 1977–1981, Presidential Medal of Freedom Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony, June 9, 1980 |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/251767 |access-date=December 2, 2020 |work=The American Presidency Project |publisher=www.presidency.ucsb.edu |archive-date=March 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307103100/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/presidential-medal-freedom-remarks-the-presentation-ceremony |url-status=live }}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Eudora|Welty}}

|Pulitzer Prize Winning Novelist & Short Story Writer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Tennessee|Williams}}

|Playwright & Screenwriter

scope="row"|{{sortname|Roger Nash|Baldwin}}

| rowspan="15" |1981

|Co-founder and 1st Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union

scope="row"|{{sortname|Harold|Brown|Harold Brown (Secretary of Defense)}}

|14th United States Secretary of Defense

scope="row"|{{sortname|Zbigniew|Brzezinski}}

|9th United States National Security Advisor

scope="row"|{{sortname|Warren|Christopher}}

|5th United States Deputy Secretary of State & 9th United States Deputy Attorney General

scope="row"|{{sortname|Walter|Cronkite}}

|Broadcast Journalist & Anchorman for CBS Evening News

scope="row"|{{sortname|Kirk|Douglas}}

|Actor & Philanthropist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Margaret|McNamara}}

|Founder of Reading Is Fundamental

scope="row"|{{sortname|Karl|Menninger}}

|Psychiatrist & Co-founder of the Menninger Foundation and Menninger Clinic

scope="row"|{{sortname|Edmund|Muskie}}

|58th United States Secretary of State & United States Senator from Maine

scope="row"|{{sortname|Esther|Peterson}}

|2nd Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs & 4th Director of the United States Women's Bureau

scope="row"|{{sortname|Gerard C.|Smith}}

|Chief U.S. Delegate to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks & 1st U.S. Chairman of the Trilateral Commission

scope="row"|{{sortname|Robert S.|Strauss}}

|6th United States Trade Representative & United States Special Envoy for the Middle East

scope="row"|{{sortname|Elbert|Tuttle}}

|Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

|{{cite web |last=Wolley |first=John T. |author2=Gerhard Peters |date=January 16, 1981 |title=Jimmy Carter: Presidential Medal of Freedom Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony, January 16, 1981. |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/250755 |work=The American Presidency Project |publisher=www.presidency.ucsb.edu |access-date=December 2, 2020 |archive-date=March 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307103052/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/presidential-medal-freedom-remarks-the-presentation-ceremony-0 |url-status=live }}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Earl|Warren}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|14th Chief Justice of the United States

scope="row"|{{sortname|Andrew|Young}}

|Executive Director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

= Awarded by Ronald Reagan =

Ronald Reagan awarded 86 medals between 1981 and 1989.

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" !Recipient !Year !Notes !Notable as ! class="unsortable" \| {{Abbr\|Ref.\|Reference}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Eubie\|Blake}} \| rowspan="6" \|1981 \| \|Jazz Pianist & Composer \|{{cite web\|title=Reagan Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient List\|url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/reagan-administration/recipients-presidential-medal-freedom-1981-1989\|access-date=February 28, 2023\|website=www.reaganlibrary.gov\|archive-date=February 28, 2023\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228145456/https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/reagan-administration/recipients-presidential-medal-freedom-1981-1989\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ella\|Grasso}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|83rd Governor of Connecticut & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Bryce\|Harlow}} \| \|Counselor to the President \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Walter\|Judd\|Walter Judd (politician)}} \| \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Morris I.\|Leibman}} \| \|Civilian Aide-At-Large to the United States Army & Partner at Sidley Austin \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Tex\|Thornton}} \| \|Founder of Litton Industries \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Philip\|Habib}} \| rowspan="2" \|1982 \| \|9th Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs & 9th U.S. Ambassador to Korea \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Kate\|Smith}} \| \|Classical Contralto \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|George\|Balanchine}} \| rowspan="12" \|1983 \| \|Ballet Choreographer & Co-founder of the New York City Ballet \|{{cite web\|title=Ronald Reagan: Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Medal of Freedom\|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=40963\|access-date=2017-11-21\|website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu\|archive-date=December 1, 2017\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201040718/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=40963\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Clare\|Boothe Luce}} \| \|U.S. Ambassador to Italy & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Bear\|Bryant}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|College Football Player & Head Coach of the University of Alabama Football Team \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James\|Burnham}} \| \|Political Theorist, Philosopher, Chair of the Philosophy Department at New York University & Leader of the American Conservative Movement \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James E.\|Cheek}} \| \|President of Howard University \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Buckminster\|Fuller}} \| \|Architect, Systems Theorist, Inventor, Philosopher & Futurist \|{{cite news\|date=2016-11-17\|title=Frank Gehry and Maya Lin Awarded Obama's Presidential Medal of Freedom\|language=en-US\|work=ArchDaily\|url=https://www.archdaily.com/799643/frank-gehry-and-maya-lin-awarded-obamas-presidential-medal-of-freedom\|access-date=2017-11-21\|archive-date=December 1, 2017\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201033447/https://www.archdaily.com/799643/frank-gehry-and-maya-lin-awarded-obamas-presidential-medal-of-freedom\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Billy\|Graham}} \| \|Evangelist, Ordained Southern Baptist Minister & President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Eric\|Hoffer}} \| \|Moral and Social Philosopher \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jacob\|Javits}} \| \|United States Senator from New York & 58th Attorney General of New York \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Dumas\|Malone}} \| \|Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian & Biographer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Mabel\|Mercer}} \| \|Cabaret Singer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Simon\|Ramo}} \| \|Engineer considered to be the Father of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Howard\|Baker}} \| rowspan="18" \|1984 \| \|United States Senator from Tennessee \|{{cite web\|last=Woolley\|first=John T\|author2=Gerhard Peters\|title=Ronald Reagan, XL President of the United States: 1981–1989, Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, March 26, 1984\|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=39687&st=&st1=\|access-date=February 11, 2011\|work=The American Presidency Project\|publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara\|archive-date=July 20, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720074926/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=39687&st=&st1=\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James\|Cagney}} \| \|Actor, Dancer & 6th President of the Screen Actors Guild \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Whittaker\|Chambers}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Journalist for Time Magazine, Senior Editor at National Review & Key Witness against the Ware Group during the Hiss Case for Perjury \|{{cite news\|date=February 22, 1984\|title=White House Freedom Medal Set for Whittaker Chambers\|work=The New York Times\|url=http://www3.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/reviews/chambers-medal.html\|url-status=dead\|access-date=January 16, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410083629/http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/reviews/chambers-medal.html\|archive-date=April 10, 2009\|df=mdy-all}}{{cite news\|last=Sterling\|first=Dorothy\|date=March 9, 1984\|title=Whittaker Chambers: Odd Choice for the Medal of Freedom\|work=The New York Times\|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/reviews/chambers-letter.html\|access-date=January 16, 2011\|archive-date=March 4, 2016\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304050625/http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/reviews/chambers-letter.html\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Leo\|Cherne}} \| \|Head of the International Rescue Committee & Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Terence\|Cooke}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church & Archbishop of New York \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Denton\|Cooley}} \| \|Heart and Cardiothoracic Surgeon & Founder and Surgeon-In-Chief of The Texas Heart Institute who performed the first Artificial Heart Implantation \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Tennessee Ernie\|Ford}} \| \|Country and Western Singer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Héctor\|García\|Héctor P. García}} \| \|Physician, World War II Veteran, Civil Rights Advocate & Founder of the American GI Forum \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Andrew\|Goodpaster}} \| \|United States Army General, Supreme Allied Commander Europe & Commander in Chief of the United States European Command \|{{cite web\|title=Archived copy\|url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1984/22184b.htm\|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604012727/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1984/22184b.htm\|archive-date=June 4, 2011\|access-date=March 9, 2011}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Henry M.\|Jackson}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|United States Senator from Washington & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lincoln\|Kirstein}} \| \|Writer, Impresario, Philanthropist & Co-founder of the New York City Ballet \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Louis\|L'Amour}} \| \|Novelist & Short Story Writer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Joseph\|Luns}} \| \|5th Secretary General of NATO & Minister of Foreign Affairs \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Norman Vincent\|Peale}} \| \|Protestant Clergyman, Pastor of Marble Collegiate Church, New York & Author who popularized the concept of Positive Thinking \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jackie\|Robinson}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Professional Baseball Player & Civil Rights Advocate \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Carlos P.\|Romulo}} \| \|President of the United Nations General Assembly & Co-founder of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Anwar\|el-Sadat\|Anwar Sadat}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|3rd President of Egypt \|{{cite web\|last=Woolley\|first=John T\|author2=Gerhard Peters\|title=Ronald Reagan, XL President of the United States: 1981–1989, Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, March 26, 1984\|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=39687&st=&st1=\|access-date=February 11, 2011\|work=The American Presidency Project\|publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara\|archive-date=July 20, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720074926/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=39687&st=&st1=\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Eunice Kennedy\|Shriver}} \| \|Philanthropist & Founder of the Special Olympics \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Count\|Basie}} \| rowspan="15" \|1985 \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Jazz Pianist, Composer & Bandleader of the Count Basie Orchestra \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Albert Coady\|Wedemeyer}} \| \|United States Army Commander, General & Member of the War Planning Board which formulated plans for the Invasion of Normandy during World War II \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jacques\|Cousteau}} \| \|French Naval Officer, Oceanographer & Co-Inventor of the Aqua-Lung \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jerome H.\|Holland}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|President of Delaware State College, 9th President of Hampton University & U.S. Ambassador to Sweden \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Sidney\|Hook}} \| \|Philosopher of the Pragmatist School \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jeane\|Kirkpatrick}} \| \|16th U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|George\|Low}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|14th President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute & 4th Deputy Administrator of NASA \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Paul\|Nitze}} \| \|12th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense & 58th United States Secretary of the Navy \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Frank\|Reynolds}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Television Journalist for CBS and ABC News \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Frank\|Sinatra}} \| \|Singer & Actor \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James\|Stewart}} \| \|Actor & Brigadier General \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Mother\|Teresa}} \| \|Catholic Nun, Humanitarian & Founder of the Missionaries of Charity \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Albert\|Wohlstetter}} \| \|Political Scientist influential to the U.S. Nuclear Strategy during the Cold War \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Roberta\|Wohlstetter}} \| \|Historian of American Military Intelligence \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Chuck\|Yeager}} \| \|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 \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Walter\|Annenberg}} \| rowspan="8" \|1986 \| \|Businessman, Philanthropist, Owner of Triangle Publications & U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Earl\|Blaik}} \| \|American Football Player & Head Coach at Dartmouth College and the United States Military Academy \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Barry\|Goldwater}} \| \|United States Senator from Arizona & United States Air Force Officer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Helen\|Hayes}} \| \|Actress \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Vladimir\|Horowitz}} \| \|Classical Pianist & Composer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Matthew\|Ridgway}} \| \|United States Army Senior Officer, Supreme Allied Commander of Europe & 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Vermont C.\|Royster}} \| \|Editor of The Wall Street Journal \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Albert\|Sabin}} \| \|Medical Researcher, President of the Weizmann Institute of Science & Developer of the Oral Polio Vaccine \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Anne\|Armstrong}} \| rowspan="12" \|1987 \| \|First Female Counselor to the President, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom & Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Justin Whitlock\|Dart Sr.}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|President of Dart Industries & Executive Director of Store Industries for Walgreens \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Irving\|Kaufman}} \| \|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 \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Danny\|Kaye}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Actor, Comedian & Singer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lyman\|Lemnitzer}} \| \|United States Army General, 4th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John A.\|McCone}} \| \|6th Director of Central Intelligence \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Frederick\|Patterson\|Frederick D. Patterson}} \| \|President of Tuskegee University & Founder of the United Negro College Fund \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Nathan\|Perlmutter\|Nathan Perlmutter}} \| \|4th Director of the Anti-Defamation League \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Mstislav\|Rostropovich}} \| \|Cellist, Conductor & Human Rights Advocate \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|William B.\|Walsh}} \| \|Founder of Project HOPE (USA) \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Caspar\|Weinberger}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|15th United States Secretary of Defense & 10th United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Meredith\|Willson}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Flutist, Bandleader, Composer, Conductor & Playwright \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Pearl\|Bailey}} \| rowspan="11" \|1988 \| \|Broadway Actress & Singer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Malcolm\|Baldrige Jr.}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|25th United States Secretary of Commerce \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Irving\|Brown}} \| \|Trade Unionist & Leader of the American Federation of Labor and the AFL-CIO \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Warren E.\|Burger}} \| \|15th Chief Justice of the United States \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Peter\|Carington\|Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington}} \| \|6th Secretary General of NATO & Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Edward\|DeBartolo\|Edward J. DeBartolo Sr.}} \| \|Businessman & Real-Estate Developer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Milton\|Friedman}} \| \|Economist & Statistician \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jean\|MacArthur}} \| \|Philanthropist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|J. Willard\|Marriott}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Entrepreneur & Founder of the Marriott Corporation \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|David\|Packard}} \| \|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 \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Roger L.\|Stevens}} \| \|Founding Chairman of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Mike\|Mansfield}} \| rowspan="2" \|1989 \| \|United States Senator from Montana \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|George\|Shultz}} \| \|60th United States Secretary of State \|

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

!Recipient

!Year

!Notes

!Notable as

! class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Eubie|Blake}}

| rowspan="6" |1981

|Jazz Pianist & Composer

|{{cite web|title=Reagan Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient List|url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/reagan-administration/recipients-presidential-medal-freedom-1981-1989|access-date=February 28, 2023|website=www.reaganlibrary.gov|archive-date=February 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228145456/https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/reagans/reagan-administration/recipients-presidential-medal-freedom-1981-1989|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ella|Grasso}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|83rd Governor of Connecticut & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Bryce|Harlow}}

|Counselor to the President

scope="row"|{{sortname|Walter|Judd|Walter Judd (politician)}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Morris I.|Leibman}}

|Civilian Aide-At-Large to the United States Army & Partner at Sidley Austin

scope="row"|{{sortname|Tex|Thornton}}

|Founder of Litton Industries

scope="row"|{{sortname|Philip|Habib}}

| rowspan="2" |1982

|9th Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs & 9th U.S. Ambassador to Korea

scope="row"|{{sortname|Kate|Smith}}

|Classical Contralto

scope="row"|{{sortname|George|Balanchine}}

| rowspan="12" |1983

|Ballet Choreographer & Co-founder of the New York City Ballet

|{{cite web|title=Ronald Reagan: Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Medal of Freedom|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=40963|access-date=2017-11-21|website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201040718/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=40963|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Clare|Boothe Luce}}

|U.S. Ambassador to Italy & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Bear|Bryant}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|College Football Player & Head Coach of the University of Alabama Football Team

scope="row"|{{sortname|James|Burnham}}

|Political Theorist, Philosopher, Chair of the Philosophy Department at New York University & Leader of the American Conservative Movement

scope="row"|{{sortname|James E.|Cheek}}

|President of Howard University

scope="row"|{{sortname|Buckminster|Fuller}}

|Architect, Systems Theorist, Inventor, Philosopher & Futurist

|{{cite news|date=2016-11-17|title=Frank Gehry and Maya Lin Awarded Obama's Presidential Medal of Freedom|language=en-US|work=ArchDaily|url=https://www.archdaily.com/799643/frank-gehry-and-maya-lin-awarded-obamas-presidential-medal-of-freedom|access-date=2017-11-21|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201033447/https://www.archdaily.com/799643/frank-gehry-and-maya-lin-awarded-obamas-presidential-medal-of-freedom|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Billy|Graham}}

|Evangelist, Ordained Southern Baptist Minister & President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

scope="row"|{{sortname|Eric|Hoffer}}

|Moral and Social Philosopher

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jacob|Javits}}

|United States Senator from New York & 58th Attorney General of New York

scope="row"|{{sortname|Dumas|Malone}}

|Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian & Biographer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Mabel|Mercer}}

|Cabaret Singer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Simon|Ramo}}

|Engineer considered to be the Father of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

scope="row"|{{sortname|Howard|Baker}}

| rowspan="18" |1984

|United States Senator from Tennessee

|{{cite web|last=Woolley|first=John T|author2=Gerhard Peters|title=Ronald Reagan, XL President of the United States: 1981–1989, Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, March 26, 1984|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=39687&st=&st1=|access-date=February 11, 2011|work=The American Presidency Project|publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara|archive-date=July 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720074926/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=39687&st=&st1=|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|James|Cagney}}

|Actor, Dancer & 6th President of the Screen Actors Guild

scope="row"|{{sortname|Whittaker|Chambers}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Journalist for Time Magazine, Senior Editor at National Review & Key Witness against the Ware Group during the Hiss Case for Perjury

|{{cite news|date=February 22, 1984|title=White House Freedom Medal Set for Whittaker Chambers|work=The New York Times|url=http://www3.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/reviews/chambers-medal.html|url-status=dead|access-date=January 16, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410083629/http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/reviews/chambers-medal.html|archive-date=April 10, 2009|df=mdy-all}}{{cite news|last=Sterling|first=Dorothy|date=March 9, 1984|title=Whittaker Chambers: Odd Choice for the Medal of Freedom|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/reviews/chambers-letter.html|access-date=January 16, 2011|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304050625/http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/reviews/chambers-letter.html|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Leo|Cherne}}

|Head of the International Rescue Committee & Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board

scope="row"|{{sortname|Terence|Cooke}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church & Archbishop of New York

scope="row"|{{sortname|Denton|Cooley}}

|Heart and Cardiothoracic Surgeon & Founder and Surgeon-In-Chief of The Texas Heart Institute who performed the first Artificial Heart Implantation

scope="row"|{{sortname|Tennessee Ernie|Ford}}

|Country and Western Singer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Héctor|García|Héctor P. García}}

|Physician, World War II Veteran, Civil Rights Advocate & Founder of the American GI Forum

scope="row"|{{sortname|Andrew|Goodpaster}}

|United States Army General, Supreme Allied Commander Europe & Commander in Chief of the United States European Command

|{{cite web|title=Archived copy|url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1984/22184b.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604012727/http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1984/22184b.htm|archive-date=June 4, 2011|access-date=March 9, 2011}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Henry M.|Jackson}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|United States Senator from Washington & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lincoln|Kirstein}}

|Writer, Impresario, Philanthropist & Co-founder of the New York City Ballet

scope="row"|{{sortname|Louis|L'Amour}}

|Novelist & Short Story Writer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Joseph|Luns}}

|5th Secretary General of NATO & Minister of Foreign Affairs

scope="row"|{{sortname|Norman Vincent|Peale}}

|Protestant Clergyman, Pastor of Marble Collegiate Church, New York & Author who popularized the concept of Positive Thinking

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jackie|Robinson}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Professional Baseball Player & Civil Rights Advocate

scope="row"|{{sortname|Carlos P.|Romulo}}

|President of the United Nations General Assembly & Co-founder of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines

scope="row"|{{sortname|Anwar|el-Sadat|Anwar Sadat}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|3rd President of Egypt

scope="row"|{{sortname|Eunice Kennedy|Shriver}}

|Philanthropist & Founder of the Special Olympics

scope="row"|{{sortname|Count|Basie}}

| rowspan="15" |1985

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Jazz Pianist, Composer & Bandleader of the Count Basie Orchestra

scope="row"|{{sortname|Albert Coady|Wedemeyer}}

|United States Army Commander, General & Member of the War Planning Board which formulated plans for the Invasion of Normandy during World War II

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jacques|Cousteau}}

|French Naval Officer, Oceanographer & Co-Inventor of the Aqua-Lung

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jerome H.|Holland}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|President of Delaware State College, 9th President of Hampton University & U.S. Ambassador to Sweden

scope="row"|{{sortname|Sidney|Hook}}

|Philosopher of the Pragmatist School

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jeane|Kirkpatrick}}

|16th U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations

scope="row"|{{sortname|George|Low}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|14th President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute & 4th Deputy Administrator of NASA

scope="row"|{{sortname|Paul|Nitze}}

|12th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense & 58th United States Secretary of the Navy

scope="row"|{{sortname|Frank|Reynolds}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Television Journalist for CBS and ABC News

scope="row"|{{sortname|Frank|Sinatra}}

|Singer & Actor

scope="row"|{{sortname|James|Stewart}}

|Actor & Brigadier General

scope="row"|{{sortname|Mother|Teresa}}

|Catholic Nun, Humanitarian & Founder of the Missionaries of Charity

scope="row"|{{sortname|Albert|Wohlstetter}}

|Political Scientist influential to the U.S. Nuclear Strategy during the Cold War

scope="row"|{{sortname|Roberta|Wohlstetter}}

|Historian of American Military Intelligence

scope="row"|{{sortname|Chuck|Yeager}}

|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

scope="row"|{{sortname|Walter|Annenberg}}

| rowspan="8" |1986

|Businessman, Philanthropist, Owner of Triangle Publications & U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom

scope="row"|{{sortname|Earl|Blaik}}

|American Football Player & Head Coach at Dartmouth College and the United States Military Academy

scope="row"|{{sortname|Barry|Goldwater}}

|United States Senator from Arizona & United States Air Force Officer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Helen|Hayes}}

|Actress

scope="row"|{{sortname|Vladimir|Horowitz}}

|Classical Pianist & Composer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Matthew|Ridgway}}

|United States Army Senior Officer, Supreme Allied Commander of Europe & 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army

scope="row"|{{sortname|Vermont C.|Royster}}

|Editor of The Wall Street Journal

scope="row"|{{sortname|Albert|Sabin}}

|Medical Researcher, President of the Weizmann Institute of Science & Developer of the Oral Polio Vaccine

scope="row"|{{sortname|Anne|Armstrong}}

| rowspan="12" |1987

|First Female Counselor to the President, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom & Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board

scope="row"|{{sortname|Justin Whitlock|Dart Sr.}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|President of Dart Industries & Executive Director of Store Industries for Walgreens

scope="row"|{{sortname|Irving|Kaufman}}

|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

scope="row"|{{sortname|Danny|Kaye}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Actor, Comedian & Singer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lyman|Lemnitzer}}

|United States Army General, 4th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO

scope="row"|{{sortname|John A.|McCone}}

|6th Director of Central Intelligence

scope="row"|{{sortname|Frederick|Patterson|Frederick D. Patterson}}

|President of Tuskegee University & Founder of the United Negro College Fund

scope="row"|{{sortname|Nathan|Perlmutter|Nathan Perlmutter}}

|4th Director of the Anti-Defamation League

scope="row"|{{sortname|Mstislav|Rostropovich}}

|Cellist, Conductor & Human Rights Advocate

scope="row"|{{sortname|William B.|Walsh}}

|Founder of Project HOPE (USA)

scope="row"|{{sortname|Caspar|Weinberger}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|15th United States Secretary of Defense & 10th United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare

scope="row"|{{sortname|Meredith|Willson}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Flutist, Bandleader, Composer, Conductor & Playwright

scope="row"|{{sortname|Pearl|Bailey}}

| rowspan="11" |1988

|Broadway Actress & Singer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Malcolm|Baldrige Jr.}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|25th United States Secretary of Commerce

scope="row"|{{sortname|Irving|Brown}}

|Trade Unionist & Leader of the American Federation of Labor and the AFL-CIO

scope="row"|{{sortname|Warren E.|Burger}}

|15th Chief Justice of the United States

scope="row"|{{sortname|Peter|Carington|Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington}}

|6th Secretary General of NATO & Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

scope="row"|{{sortname|Edward|DeBartolo|Edward J. DeBartolo Sr.}}

|Businessman & Real-Estate Developer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Milton|Friedman}}

|Economist & Statistician

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jean|MacArthur}}

|Philanthropist

scope="row"|{{sortname|J. Willard|Marriott}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Entrepreneur & Founder of the Marriott Corporation

scope="row"|{{sortname|David|Packard}}

|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

scope="row"|{{sortname|Roger L.|Stevens}}

|Founding Chairman of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts

scope="row"|{{sortname|Mike|Mansfield}}

| rowspan="2" |1989

|United States Senator from Montana

scope="row"|{{sortname|George|Shultz}}

|60th United States Secretary of State

= Awarded by George H. W. Bush =

George H. W. Bush awarded 38 medals between 1989 and 1993.

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" !Recipient !Year !Notes !Notable as ! class="unsortable" \| {{Abbr\|Ref.\|Reference}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lucille\|Ball}} \| rowspan="7" \|1989 \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Actress, Comedian & Producer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|C. Douglas\|Dillon}} \| \|57th United States Secretary of the Treasury & the U.S. Ambassador to France \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jimmy\|Doolittle}} \| \|Military General & Commander of the Doolittle Raid \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|George F.\|Kennan}} \| \|1st Director of Policy Planning & the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union & Yugoslavia \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Claude\|Pepper}} \| \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & United States Senator from Florida \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Margaret Chase\|Smith}} \| \|United States Senator from Maine \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lech\|Wałęsa}} \| \|Chairman of the Solidarity \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James\|Baker}} \| rowspan="18" \|1991 \| \|10th and 16th White House Chief of Staff \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|William F.\|Buckley Jr.}} \| \|Founder of the National Review Magazine \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Dick\|Cheney}} \| \|17th United States Secretary of Defense, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & future 46th Vice president of the United States \|{{cite web\|last=Woolley\|first=John T\|author2=Gerhard Peters\|title=George Bush, XLI President of the United States: 1989–1993, Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Medals of Freedom and Presidential Citizen's Medals, July 3, 1991\|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29655\|access-date=February 11, 2011\|work=The American Presidency Project\|publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara\|archive-date=July 20, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720074946/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29655\|url-status=dead}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Luis A.\|Ferré}} \| \|Governor of Puerto Rico \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Betty\|Ford}} \| \|First Lady of the United States \|{{cite book\|last1=The National First Ladies Library\|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom\|date=November 16, 2010\|location=Canton Ohio\|page=3\|quote=Betty Ford (1918 – )...Presidential Medal of Freedom received November 18, 1991\|access-date=February 11, 2011\|archive-date=February 14, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|url-status=dead}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Hanna Holborn\|Gray}} \| \|9th President of the University of Chicago \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Friedrich\|Hayek}} \| \|Economist & Legal Theorist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Tip\|O'Neill}} \| \|47th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Javier\|Pérez de Cuéllar}} \| \|Secretary General of the United Nations \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Colin\|Powell}} \| \|12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Norman\|Schwarzkopf Jr.}} \| \|Commander of the United States Central Command \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Brent\|Scowcroft}} \| \|8th and 16th United States National Security Advisor \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Leon\|Sullivan}} \| \|Baptist Minister & Civil Rights and Social Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Margaret\|Thatcher}} \| \|Prime Minister of the United Kingdom \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Russell E.\|Train}} \| \|2nd Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Vernon A.\|Walters}} \| \|10th Deputy Director of Central Intelligence & the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, West Germany and Germany \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|William\|Webster\|William H. Webster}} \| \|14th Director of Central Intelligence & the 3rd Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ted\|Williams}} \| \|Professional Baseball Player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|David\|Brinkley}} \| rowspan="11" \|1992 \| \|Newscaster for NBC and ABC \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Johnny\|Carson}} \| \|Television Host \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ella\|Fitzgerald}} \| \|Jazz Singer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Audrey\|Hepburn}} \| \|Actress & Humanitarian \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Richard\|Petty}} \| \|Seven Time Champion of the NASCAR Cup Series, Seven Time Winner of the Daytona 500 \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Harry W.\|Shlaudeman}} \| \|U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Brazil and Nicaragua \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Isaac\|Stern}} \| \|Violinist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John W.\|Vessey\|John William Vessey Jr.}} \| \|10th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Sam\|Walton}} \| \|Founder of Walmart and Sam's Club \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Elie\|Wiesel}} \| \|Political Activist, Writer & Holocaust Survivor \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|I. M.\|Pei}} \| \|Architect \|{{cite web\|title=Curriculum Vitae of I. M. Pei\|url=http://www.pcfandp.com/a/f/fme/imp/c/c.html\|access-date=July 20, 2009\|work=Pei Cobb Freed & Partners\|archive-date=February 16, 2009\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216230818/http://pcfandp.com/a/f/fme/imp/c/c.html\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ronald\|Reagan}} \| rowspan="2" \|1993 \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|40th President of the United States & Governor of California \|{{cite web\|date=January 18, 1993\|title=Remarks on presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to President Ronald Reagan-President George Bush-Transcript\|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2889/is_n2_v29/ai_13975210\|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101116112717/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2889/is_n2_v29/ai_13975210/\|archive-date=November 16, 2010\|access-date=December 31, 2007\|publisher=The White House: Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Strom\|Thurmond}} \| \|United States Senator from South Carolina \|

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

!Recipient

!Year

!Notes

!Notable as

! class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lucille|Ball}}

| rowspan="7" |1989

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Actress, Comedian & Producer

scope="row"|{{sortname|C. Douglas|Dillon}}

|57th United States Secretary of the Treasury & the U.S. Ambassador to France

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jimmy|Doolittle}}

|Military General & Commander of the Doolittle Raid

scope="row"|{{sortname|George F.|Kennan}}

|1st Director of Policy Planning & the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union & Yugoslavia

scope="row"|{{sortname|Claude|Pepper}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & United States Senator from Florida

scope="row"|{{sortname|Margaret Chase|Smith}}

|United States Senator from Maine

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lech|Wałęsa}}

|Chairman of the Solidarity

scope="row"|{{sortname|James|Baker}}

| rowspan="18" |1991

|10th and 16th White House Chief of Staff

scope="row"|{{sortname|William F.|Buckley Jr.}}

|Founder of the National Review Magazine

scope="row"|{{sortname|Dick|Cheney}}

|17th United States Secretary of Defense, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & future 46th Vice president of the United States

|{{cite web|last=Woolley|first=John T|author2=Gerhard Peters|title=George Bush, XLI President of the United States: 1989–1993, Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Medals of Freedom and Presidential Citizen's Medals, July 3, 1991|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29655|access-date=February 11, 2011|work=The American Presidency Project|publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara|archive-date=July 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720074946/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=29655|url-status=dead}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Luis A.|Ferré}}

|Governor of Puerto Rico

scope="row"|{{sortname|Betty|Ford}}

|First Lady of the United States

|{{cite book|last1=The National First Ladies Library|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom|date=November 16, 2010|location=Canton Ohio|page=3|quote=Betty Ford (1918 – )...Presidential Medal of Freedom received November 18, 1991|access-date=February 11, 2011|archive-date=February 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|url-status=dead}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Hanna Holborn|Gray}}

|9th President of the University of Chicago

scope="row"|{{sortname|Friedrich|Hayek}}

|Economist & Legal Theorist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Tip|O'Neill}}

|47th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Javier|Pérez de Cuéllar}}

|Secretary General of the United Nations

scope="row"|{{sortname|Colin|Powell}}

|12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

scope="row"|{{sortname|Norman|Schwarzkopf Jr.}}

|Commander of the United States Central Command

scope="row"|{{sortname|Brent|Scowcroft}}

|8th and 16th United States National Security Advisor

scope="row"|{{sortname|Leon|Sullivan}}

|Baptist Minister & Civil Rights and Social Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Margaret|Thatcher}}

|Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

scope="row"|{{sortname|Russell E.|Train}}

|2nd Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

scope="row"|{{sortname|Vernon A.|Walters}}

|10th Deputy Director of Central Intelligence & the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, West Germany and Germany

scope="row"|{{sortname|William|Webster|William H. Webster}}

|14th Director of Central Intelligence & the 3rd Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ted|Williams}}

|Professional Baseball Player

scope="row"|{{sortname|David|Brinkley}}

| rowspan="11" |1992

|Newscaster for NBC and ABC

scope="row"|{{sortname|Johnny|Carson}}

|Television Host

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ella|Fitzgerald}}

|Jazz Singer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Audrey|Hepburn}}

|Actress & Humanitarian

scope="row"|{{sortname|Richard|Petty}}

|Seven Time Champion of the NASCAR Cup Series, Seven Time Winner of the Daytona 500

scope="row"|{{sortname|Harry W.|Shlaudeman}}

|U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, Brazil and Nicaragua

scope="row"|{{sortname|Isaac|Stern}}

|Violinist

scope="row"|{{sortname|John W.|Vessey|John William Vessey Jr.}}

|10th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

scope="row"|{{sortname|Sam|Walton}}

|Founder of Walmart and Sam's Club

scope="row"|{{sortname|Elie|Wiesel}}

|Political Activist, Writer & Holocaust Survivor

scope="row"|{{sortname|I. M.|Pei}}

|Architect

|{{cite web|title=Curriculum Vitae of I. M. Pei|url=http://www.pcfandp.com/a/f/fme/imp/c/c.html|access-date=July 20, 2009|work=Pei Cobb Freed & Partners|archive-date=February 16, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216230818/http://pcfandp.com/a/f/fme/imp/c/c.html|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ronald|Reagan}}

| rowspan="2" |1993

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|40th President of the United States & Governor of California

|{{cite web|date=January 18, 1993|title=Remarks on presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom to President Ronald Reagan-President George Bush-Transcript|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2889/is_n2_v29/ai_13975210|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101116112717/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2889/is_n2_v29/ai_13975210/|archive-date=November 16, 2010|access-date=December 31, 2007|publisher=The White House: Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Strom|Thurmond}}

|United States Senator from South Carolina

= Awarded by Bill Clinton =

Bill Clinton awarded 89 medals between 1993 and 2001.

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" !Recipient !Year !Notes !Notable as ! class="unsortable" \| {{Abbr\|Ref.\|Reference}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Arthur\|Ashe}} \| rowspan="9" \|1993 \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Professional Tennis Player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|William J.\|Brennan Jr.}} \| \|Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Marjory Stoneman\|Douglas}} \| \|Journalist, Woman's Suffrage Advocate & Conservationist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|J. William\|Fulbright}} \| \|United States Senator from Arkansas \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Thurgood\|Marshall}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States & the Supreme Court's First African-American Justice \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Colin\|Powell}} \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Joseph L.\|Rauh Jr.}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Lawyer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Martha\|Raye}} \| \|Comic Actress & Singer \|{{cite web\|last=Secretary of the Senate, United States Congress\|title=Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients\|url=https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/two_column_table/Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom_Recipients.htm\|access-date=November 14, 2011\|work=Official Website of the United States Senate\|publisher=United States Senate (Government of the United States)\|archive-date=July 14, 2004\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040714130038/http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/two_column_table/Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom_Recipients.htm\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John Minor\|Wisdom}} \| \|Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Herbert L.\|Block\|Herblock}} \| rowspan="9" \|1994 \| \|Editorial Cartoonist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Cesar\|Chavez}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Labor Leader, Civil Rights Activist & Co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Arthur Sherwood\|Flemming}} \| \|3rd United States Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James P.\|Grant}} \| \|Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Dorothy\|Height}} \| \|Civil Rights and Women's Rights Activist & President of the National Council of Negro Women \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Barbara\|Jordan}} \| \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lane\|Kirkland}} \| \|Labour Union Leader & President of AFL-CIO \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Robert H.\|Michel}} \| \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Sargent\|Shriver}} \| \|1st Director of the Peace Corps & Founder of the Job Corps, Head Start, VISTA and Upward Bound \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Peggy\|Charren}} \| rowspan="12" \|1995 \| \|Founder of Action for Children's Television \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|William T.\|Coleman Jr.\|William Thaddeus Coleman Jr.}} \| \|4th United States Secretary of Transportation \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John Hope\|Franklin}} \| \|President of Phi Beta Kappa, the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association and the Southern Historical Association \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Joan\|Ganz Cooney}} \| \|Founder of Sesame Workshop \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|A. Leon\|Higginbotham Jr.}} \| \|Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Frank Minis\|Johnson}} \| \|Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|C. Everett\|Koop}} \| \|13th Surgeon General of the United States \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Gaylord\|Nelson}} \| \|United States Senator from Wisconsin \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Walter\|Reuther}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|4th President of the United Automobile Workers \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James\|Rouse}} \| \|Founder of The Rouse Company \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Willie\|Velasquez}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Founder of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lew\|Wasserman}} \| \|President of MCA Inc. \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Joseph\|Bernardin}} \| rowspan="11" \|1996 \| \|Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church & Archbishop of Cincinnati & Chicago \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James\|Brady}} \| \|17th White House Press Secretary \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Millard\|Fuller}} \| \|Co-founder and President for Habitat For Humanity International \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|David A.\|Hamburg}} \| \|President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John H.\|Johnson}} \| \|Founder of the Johnson Publishing Company \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Eugene\|Lang}} \| \|Founder of REFAC Technology Development Corporation \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jan\|Nowak-Jeziorański}} \| \|Polish Journalist & Writer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Antonia\|Pantoja}} \| \|Founder of ASPIRA & Boricua College \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Rosa\|Parks}} \| \|Civil Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ginetta\|Sagan}} \| \|Human Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Mo\|Udall}} \| \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Bob\|Dole}} \| rowspan="3" \|1997 \| \|United States Senator from Kansas \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|William J.\|Perry}} \| \|19th United States Secretary of Defense \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John\|Shalikashvili}} \| \|13th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & the Supreme Allied Commander Europe \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Arnold\|Aronson}} \| rowspan="17" \|1998 \| \|Founder of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Brooke\|Astor}} \| \|Philanthropist & Chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Robert\|Coles\|Robert Coles (psychiatrist)}} \| \|Child Psychiatrist & Professor at Harvard University \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Justin\|Dart Jr.}} \| \|Co-founder of the American Association of People with Disabilities \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James\|Farmer}} \| \|1st National Director of the Congress of Racial Equality \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Dante\|Fascell}} \| \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Zachary\|Fisher}} \| \|Philanthropist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Frances\|Hesselbein}} \| \|CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Fred\|Korematsu}} \| \|Civil Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Sol\|Linowitz}} \| \|Diplomat & Lawyer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Wilma\|Mankiller}} \| \|Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation \|{{cite book\|last1=The National First Ladies Library\|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom\|date=November 16, 2010\|location=Canton Ohio\|page=3\|quote=Chief,Wilma Mankiller (1945–2010)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received January 15, 1998\|access-date=February 11, 2011\|archive-date=February 14, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|url-status=dead}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Margaret\|Murie}} \| \|Conservationist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Mario G.\|Obledo}} \| \|Civil Rights Leader & 41st President of LULAC \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Elliot\|Richardson}} \| \|69th United States Attorney General \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|David\|Rockefeller}} \| \|CEO of Chase Manhattan Corporation \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Albert\|Shanker}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|President of the United Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Elmo\|Zumwalt}} \| \|19th Chief of Naval Operations \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lloyd\|Bentsen}} \| rowspan="12" \|1999 \| \|United States Senator from Texas & 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Edgar\|Bronfman Sr.}} \| \|President of the World Jewish Congress \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jimmy\|Carter}} \| \|39th President of the United States & Humanitarian \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Rosalynn\|Carter}} \| \|First Lady of the United States & Humanitarian \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Evelyn\|Dubrow}} \| \|Labour Lobbyist for the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Isolina\|Ferré}} \| \|Roman Catholic Religious Sister & Humanitarian \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Gerald\|Ford}} \| \|38th President of the United States \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Oliver\|Hill\|Oliver Hill (attorney)}} \| \|Civil Rights Attorney \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Max\|Kampelman}} \| \|Counselor of the United States Department of State \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Helmut\|Kohl}} \| \|Chancellor of Germany \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|George J.\|Mitchell}} \| \|United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland & United States Senator from Maine \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Edgar\|Wayburn}} \| \|Environmentalist & President of the Sierra Club \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James E.\|Burke}} \| rowspan="16" \|2000 \| \|CEO of Johnson & Johnson \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John\|Chafee}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|United States Senator from Rhode Island \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Wesley\|Clark}} \| \|Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|William J.\|Crowe}} \| \|11th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & the 29th U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Marian Wright\|Edelman}} \| \|Founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund \|{{cite book\|last1=The National First Ladies Library\|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom\|date=November 16, 2010\|location=Canton Ohio\|page=3\|quote=Marian Wright Edelman (1939 – )...Presidential Medal of Freedom received August 9, 2000\|access-date=February 11, 2011\|archive-date=February 14, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|url-status=dead}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John Kenneth\|Galbraith}} \| \|7th U.S. Ambassador to India \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|George G.\|Higgins}} \| \|Catholic Priest & Labor Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jesse\|Jackson}} \| \|Political Activist & United States Shadow Senator from the District of Columbia \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Mildred\|Jeffrey}} \| \|Political and Social Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Mathilde\|Krim}} \| \|Founding Chairman of amfAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|George\|McGovern}} \| \|United States Senator from South Dakota \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Daniel Patrick\|Moynihan}} \| \|United States Senator from New York \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Cruz\|Reynoso}} \| \|Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Aung San\|Suu Kyi}} \| \|General Secretary of the National League for Democracy \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Gardner C.\|Taylor}} \| \|Baptist Preacher \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Simon\|Wiesenthal}} \| \|Holocaust Survivor & Nazi Hunter \|

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

!Recipient

!Year

!Notes

!Notable as

! class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Arthur|Ashe}}

| rowspan="9" |1993

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Professional Tennis Player

scope="row"|{{sortname|William J.|Brennan Jr.}}

|Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

scope="row"|{{sortname|Marjory Stoneman|Douglas}}

|Journalist, Woman's Suffrage Advocate & Conservationist

scope="row"|{{sortname|J. William|Fulbright}}

|United States Senator from Arkansas

scope="row"|{{sortname|Thurgood|Marshall}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States & the Supreme Court's First African-American Justice

scope="row"|{{sortname|Colin|Powell}}

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

scope="row"|{{sortname|Joseph L.|Rauh Jr.}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Lawyer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Martha|Raye}}

|Comic Actress & Singer

|{{cite web|last=Secretary of the Senate, United States Congress|title=Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients|url=https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/two_column_table/Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom_Recipients.htm|access-date=November 14, 2011|work=Official Website of the United States Senate|publisher=United States Senate (Government of the United States)|archive-date=July 14, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040714130038/http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/two_column_table/Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom_Recipients.htm|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|John Minor|Wisdom}}

|Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

scope="row"|{{sortname|Herbert L.|Block|Herblock}}

| rowspan="9" |1994

|Editorial Cartoonist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Cesar|Chavez}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Labor Leader, Civil Rights Activist & Co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association

scope="row"|{{sortname|Arthur Sherwood|Flemming}}

|3rd United States Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare

scope="row"|{{sortname|James P.|Grant}}

|Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund

scope="row"|{{sortname|Dorothy|Height}}

|Civil Rights and Women's Rights Activist & President of the National Council of Negro Women

scope="row"|{{sortname|Barbara|Jordan}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lane|Kirkland}}

|Labour Union Leader & President of AFL-CIO

scope="row"|{{sortname|Robert H.|Michel}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Sargent|Shriver}}

|1st Director of the Peace Corps & Founder of the Job Corps, Head Start, VISTA and Upward Bound

scope="row"|{{sortname|Peggy|Charren}}

| rowspan="12" |1995

|Founder of Action for Children's Television

scope="row"|{{sortname|William T.|Coleman Jr.|William Thaddeus Coleman Jr.}}

|4th United States Secretary of Transportation

scope="row"|{{sortname|John Hope|Franklin}}

|President of Phi Beta Kappa, the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association and the Southern Historical Association

scope="row"|{{sortname|Joan|Ganz Cooney}}

|Founder of Sesame Workshop

scope="row"|{{sortname|A. Leon|Higginbotham Jr.}}

|Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

scope="row"|{{sortname|Frank Minis|Johnson}}

|Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

scope="row"|{{sortname|C. Everett|Koop}}

|13th Surgeon General of the United States

scope="row"|{{sortname|Gaylord|Nelson}}

|United States Senator from Wisconsin

scope="row"|{{sortname|Walter|Reuther}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|4th President of the United Automobile Workers

scope="row"|{{sortname|James|Rouse}}

|Founder of The Rouse Company

scope="row"|{{sortname|Willie|Velasquez}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Founder of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lew|Wasserman}}

|President of MCA Inc.

scope="row"|{{sortname|Joseph|Bernardin}}

| rowspan="11" |1996

|Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church & Archbishop of Cincinnati & Chicago

scope="row"|{{sortname|James|Brady}}

|17th White House Press Secretary

scope="row"|{{sortname|Millard|Fuller}}

|Co-founder and President for Habitat For Humanity International

scope="row"|{{sortname|David A.|Hamburg}}

|President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York

scope="row"|{{sortname|John H.|Johnson}}

|Founder of the Johnson Publishing Company

scope="row"|{{sortname|Eugene|Lang}}

|Founder of REFAC Technology Development Corporation

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jan|Nowak-Jeziorański}}

|Polish Journalist & Writer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Antonia|Pantoja}}

|Founder of ASPIRA & Boricua College

scope="row"|{{sortname|Rosa|Parks}}

|Civil Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ginetta|Sagan}}

|Human Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Mo|Udall}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Bob|Dole}}

| rowspan="3" |1997

|United States Senator from Kansas

scope="row"|{{sortname|William J.|Perry}}

|19th United States Secretary of Defense

scope="row"|{{sortname|John|Shalikashvili}}

|13th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & the Supreme Allied Commander Europe

scope="row"|{{sortname|Arnold|Aronson}}

| rowspan="17" |1998

|Founder of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

scope="row"|{{sortname|Brooke|Astor}}

|Philanthropist & Chairwoman of the Vincent Astor Foundation

scope="row"|{{sortname|Robert|Coles|Robert Coles (psychiatrist)}}

|Child Psychiatrist & Professor at Harvard University

scope="row"|{{sortname|Justin|Dart Jr.}}

|Co-founder of the American Association of People with Disabilities

scope="row"|{{sortname|James|Farmer}}

|1st National Director of the Congress of Racial Equality

scope="row"|{{sortname|Dante|Fascell}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Zachary|Fisher}}

|Philanthropist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Frances|Hesselbein}}

|CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA

scope="row"|{{sortname|Fred|Korematsu}}

|Civil Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Sol|Linowitz}}

|Diplomat & Lawyer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Wilma|Mankiller}}

|Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation

|{{cite book|last1=The National First Ladies Library|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom|date=November 16, 2010|location=Canton Ohio|page=3|quote=Chief,Wilma Mankiller (1945–2010)...Presidential Medal of Freedom received January 15, 1998|access-date=February 11, 2011|archive-date=February 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|url-status=dead}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Margaret|Murie}}

|Conservationist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Mario G.|Obledo}}

|Civil Rights Leader & 41st President of LULAC

scope="row"|{{sortname|Elliot|Richardson}}

|69th United States Attorney General

scope="row"|{{sortname|David|Rockefeller}}

|CEO of Chase Manhattan Corporation

scope="row"|{{sortname|Albert|Shanker}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|President of the United Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of Teachers

scope="row"|{{sortname|Elmo|Zumwalt}}

|19th Chief of Naval Operations

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lloyd|Bentsen}}

| rowspan="12" |1999

|United States Senator from Texas & 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury

scope="row"|{{sortname|Edgar|Bronfman Sr.}}

|President of the World Jewish Congress

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jimmy|Carter}}

|39th President of the United States & Humanitarian

scope="row"|{{sortname|Rosalynn|Carter}}

|First Lady of the United States & Humanitarian

scope="row"|{{sortname|Evelyn|Dubrow}}

|Labour Lobbyist for the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union

scope="row"|{{sortname|Isolina|Ferré}}

|Roman Catholic Religious Sister & Humanitarian

scope="row"|{{sortname|Gerald|Ford}}

|38th President of the United States

scope="row"|{{sortname|Oliver|Hill|Oliver Hill (attorney)}}

|Civil Rights Attorney

scope="row"|{{sortname|Max|Kampelman}}

|Counselor of the United States Department of State

scope="row"|{{sortname|Helmut|Kohl}}

|Chancellor of Germany

scope="row"|{{sortname|George J.|Mitchell}}

|United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland & United States Senator from Maine

scope="row"|{{sortname|Edgar|Wayburn}}

|Environmentalist & President of the Sierra Club

scope="row"|{{sortname|James E.|Burke}}

| rowspan="16" |2000

|CEO of Johnson & Johnson

scope="row"|{{sortname|John|Chafee}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|United States Senator from Rhode Island

scope="row"|{{sortname|Wesley|Clark}}

|Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO

scope="row"|{{sortname|William J.|Crowe}}

|11th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & the 29th U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom

scope="row"|{{sortname|Marian Wright|Edelman}}

|Founder and President of the Children's Defense Fund

|{{cite book|last1=The National First Ladies Library|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom|date=November 16, 2010|location=Canton Ohio|page=3|quote=Marian Wright Edelman (1939 – )...Presidential Medal of Freedom received August 9, 2000|access-date=February 11, 2011|archive-date=February 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|url-status=dead}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|John Kenneth|Galbraith}}

|7th U.S. Ambassador to India

scope="row"|{{sortname|George G.|Higgins}}

|Catholic Priest & Labor Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jesse|Jackson}}

|Political Activist & United States Shadow Senator from the District of Columbia

scope="row"|{{sortname|Mildred|Jeffrey}}

|Political and Social Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Mathilde|Krim}}

|Founding Chairman of amfAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research

scope="row"|{{sortname|George|McGovern}}

|United States Senator from South Dakota

scope="row"|{{sortname|Daniel Patrick|Moynihan}}

|United States Senator from New York

scope="row"|{{sortname|Cruz|Reynoso}}

|Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California

scope="row"|{{sortname|Aung San|Suu Kyi}}

|General Secretary of the National League for Democracy

scope="row"|{{sortname|Gardner C.|Taylor}}

|Baptist Preacher

scope="row"|{{sortname|Simon|Wiesenthal}}

|Holocaust Survivor & Nazi Hunter

= Awarded by George W. Bush =

George W. Bush awarded 82 medals between 2001 and 2009.

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" !Recipient !Year !Notes !Notable as ! class="unsortable" \| {{Abbr\|Ref.\|Reference}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Hank\|Aaron}} \| rowspan="12" \|2002 \| \|Professional Baseball Player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Bill\|Cosby}} \| \|Stand-Up Comedian & Actor \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Plácido\|Domingo}} \| \|Opera Singer & Conductor \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Peter\|Drucker}} \| \|Management Consultant & Educator \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Katharine\|Graham}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|President of The Washington Post \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Donald\|Henderson}} \| \|Epidemiologist & Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Irving\|Kristol}} \| \|Journalist & Godfather of Neoconservativism \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Nelson\|Mandela}} \| \|Anti-Apartheid Activist & President of South Africa \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Gordon\|Moore}} \| \|Co-founder and Chairman of Intel Corporation \|{{cite news\|last=McFeatters\|first=Ann\|date=July 10, 2002\|title=Fred Rogers gets Presidential Medal of Freedom\|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette\|publisher=www.post-gazette.com\|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/20020710fredrogersp1.asp\|access-date=February 9, 2011\|archive-date=October 19, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019194125/http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/20020710fredrogersp1.asp\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Nancy\|Reagan}} \| \|First Lady of the United States \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Fred\|Rogers}} \| \|Television Host & Presbyterian Minister \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|A. M.\|Rosenthal}} \| \|Journalist & Executive Editor of The New York Times \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Robert\|Bartley}} \| rowspan="13" \|2003 \| \|Editor of the Editorial Page of The Wall Street Journal \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jacques\|Barzun}} \| \|Historian \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Julia\|Child}} \| \|Cooking Teacher & Television Personality \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Roberto\|Clemente}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Professional Baseball Player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Van\|Cliburn}} \| \|Pianist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Václav\|Havel}} \| \|President of Czechoslovakia & the Czech Republic \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Charlton\|Heston}} \| \|Actor & Political Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|George\|Robertson\|George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen}} \| \|10th Secretary General of NATO & Secretary of State for Defence \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Edward\|Teller}} \| \|Theoretical Physicist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Dave\|Thomas\|Dave Thomas (businessman)}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Founder and CEO of Wendy's \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Byron\|White}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Professional Football Player & Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States \|{{cite web\|title=President Honors 2003 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/07/20030723-9.html\|access-date=September 3, 2017\|archive-date=February 25, 2018\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225210333/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/07/20030723-9.html\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James Q.\|Wilson}} \| \|Political Scientist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John\|Wooden}} \| \|Basketball Coach \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Paul\|Bremer}} \| rowspan="14" \|2004 \| \|Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Edward\|Brooke}} \| \|United States Senator from Massachusetts \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Doris\|Day}} \| \|Actress, Singer & Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Tommy\|Franks}} \| \|Commander of the United States Central Command \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Vartan\|Gregorian}} \| \|12th President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Gilbert Melville\|Grosvenor}} \| \|President and Chairman of the National Geographic Society \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Gordon B.\|Hinckley}} \| \|15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|\|John Paul II\|Pope John Paul II}} \|\|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|Pope \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Estée\|Lauder\|Estée Lauder (businesswoman)}} \| \|Co-founder of the Estée Lauder Companies \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Rita\|Moreno}} \| \|Actress, Dancer & Singer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Arnold\|Palmer}} \| \|Professional Golfer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Arnall\|Patz}} \| \|Medical Doctor & Research Professor at Johns Hopkins University \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Norman\|Podhoretz}} \| \|Magazine Editor & Writer for Commentary Magazine \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|George\|Tenet}} \| \|18th Director of Central Intelligence \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Muhammad\|Ali}} \| rowspan="15" \|2005 \| \|Professional Boxer & Human Rights Activist \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Walter\|Wriston}} \| \|Chairman and CEO of Citicorp \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Carol\|Burnett}} \| \|Actress & Comedian \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Vint\|Cerf}} \| \|Co-Developer of the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol \|{{cite news\|last=Vargas\|first=Jose Antonio\|date=November 10, 2005\|title=At the White House, Prizes for 14 Champs,Medal of Freedom Ceremony Shows Ali as Fast as Ever\|newspaper=The Washington Post\|publisher=washingtonpost.com\|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/09/AR2005110901738.html\|access-date=February 9, 2011\|archive-date=May 15, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515171037/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/09/AR2005110901738.html\|url-status=live}}
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Robert\|Conquest}} \| \|Historian & Poet \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Aretha\|Franklin}} \| \|Singer-Songwriter & Pianist \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Alan\|Greenspan}} \| \|13th Chair of the Federal Reserve \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Andy\|Griffith}} \| \|Actor & Comedian \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Paul\|Harvey}} \| \|Radio Broadcaster for ABC News Radio \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Bob\|Kahn}} \| \|Co-Developer of the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol \|{{cite news\|date=November 10, 2005\|title=Net pioneers receive top honour\|work=BBC News\|publisher=www.bbc.com\|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4415326.stm\|access-date=February 9, 2011\|archive-date=April 3, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110403084745/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4415326.stm\|url-status=live}}
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Sonny\|Montgomery}} \| \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & Major General of the Mississippi National Guard \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Richard\|Myers}} \| \|15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Jack\|Nicklaus}} \| \|Professional Golfer \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Frank\|Robinson}} \| \|Professional Baseball Player \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Paul\|Rusesabagina}} \| \|Rwandan politician & Manager of the Hôtel des Mille Collines in Kigali during the Rwandan Genocide protecting 1,268 Hutu and Tutsi refugees \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Ruth Johnson\|Colvin}} \| rowspan="10" \|2006 \| \|Founder of ProLiteracy Worldwide \|{{Cite web\|title=President Bush Honors Medal of Freedom Recipients\|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/12/20061215-1.html\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|access-date=2020-03-20\|archive-date=October 21, 2020\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021092455/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/12/20061215-1.html\|url-status=live}}
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Norman\|Francis}} \| \|President of Xavier University of Louisiana \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Paul\|Johnson\|Paul Johnson (writer)}} \| \|Journalist \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|B.B.\|King}} \| \|Blues Singer-Songwriter \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Joshua\|Lederberg}} \| \|Molecular Biologist \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|David\|McCullough}} \| \|Popular Historian \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Norman\|Mineta}} \| \|14th United States Secretary of Transportation & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row" \|{{sortname\|Buck\|O'Neil}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Professional Baseball Player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|William\|Safire}} \| \|Political Columnist for The New York Times \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Natan\|Sharansky}} \| \|Israeli Politician & Human Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Gary\|Becker}} \| rowspan="8" \|2007 \| \|Economist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Óscar Elías\|Biscet}} \| \|Human Rights and Democratic Freedoms Advocate in Cuba \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Francis\|Collins}} \| \|2nd Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Benjamin\|Hooks}} \| \|Executive Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Henry\|Hyde}} \| \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Brian\|Lamb}} \| \|Founder, Executive Chairman and CEO of C-SPAN \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Harper\|Lee}} \| \|Novelist & Civil Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ellen Johnson\|Sirleaf}} \| \|24th President of Liberia \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ben\|Carson}} \| rowspan="6" \|2008 \| \|Neurosurgeon & Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center \|{{Cite web\|title=President Bush Honors Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients\|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080619-9.html\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|access-date=2020-03-14\|archive-date=March 23, 2020\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323224637/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080619-9.html\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Anthony\|Fauci}} \| \|5th Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Tom\|Lantos}} \| \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Peter\|Pace}} \| \|16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Donna\|Shalala}} \| \|18th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Laurence\|Silberman}} \| \|Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Tony\|Blair}} \| rowspan="4" \|2009 \| \|Prime Minister of the United Kingdom \|{{cite magazine\|last=Mayer\|first=Catherine\|date=January 13, 2009\|title=A Presidential Medal for Tony Blair\|magazine=Time\|publisher=Time\|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1871300,00.html\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114221727/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1871300,00.html\|url-status=dead\|archive-date=January 14, 2009\|access-date=February 9, 2011}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ryan\|Crocker}} \| \|United States Ambassador to Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan & Iraq \|{{cite web\|date=January 15, 2009\|title=President Bush Commemorates Foreign Policy Achievements and Presents Medal of Freedom to Ambassador Ryan Crocker\|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2009/01/20090115.html\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|access-date=January 16, 2009\|archive-date=February 4, 2009\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204154018/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2009/01/20090115.html\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John\|Howard}} \| \|25th Prime Minister of Australia \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Álvaro\|Uribe}} \| \|31st President of Colombia \|

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

!Recipient

!Year

!Notes

!Notable as

! class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Hank|Aaron}}

| rowspan="12" |2002

|Professional Baseball Player

scope="row"|{{sortname|Bill|Cosby}}

|Stand-Up Comedian & Actor

scope="row"|{{sortname|Plácido|Domingo}}

|Opera Singer & Conductor

scope="row"|{{sortname|Peter|Drucker}}

|Management Consultant & Educator

scope="row"|{{sortname|Katharine|Graham}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|President of The Washington Post

scope="row"|{{sortname|Donald|Henderson}}

|Epidemiologist & Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

scope="row"|{{sortname|Irving|Kristol}}

|Journalist & Godfather of Neoconservativism

scope="row"|{{sortname|Nelson|Mandela}}

|Anti-Apartheid Activist & President of South Africa

scope="row"|{{sortname|Gordon|Moore}}

|Co-founder and Chairman of Intel Corporation

|{{cite news|last=McFeatters|first=Ann|date=July 10, 2002|title=Fred Rogers gets Presidential Medal of Freedom|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|publisher=www.post-gazette.com|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/20020710fredrogersp1.asp|access-date=February 9, 2011|archive-date=October 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019194125/http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/20020710fredrogersp1.asp|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Nancy|Reagan}}

|First Lady of the United States

scope="row"|{{sortname|Fred|Rogers}}

|Television Host & Presbyterian Minister

scope="row"|{{sortname|A. M.|Rosenthal}}

|Journalist & Executive Editor of The New York Times

scope="row"|{{sortname|Robert|Bartley}}

| rowspan="13" |2003

|Editor of the Editorial Page of The Wall Street Journal

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jacques|Barzun}}

|Historian

scope="row"|{{sortname|Julia|Child}}

|Cooking Teacher & Television Personality

scope="row"|{{sortname|Roberto|Clemente}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Professional Baseball Player

scope="row"|{{sortname|Van|Cliburn}}

|Pianist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Václav|Havel}}

|President of Czechoslovakia & the Czech Republic

scope="row"|{{sortname|Charlton|Heston}}

|Actor & Political Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|George|Robertson|George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen}}

|10th Secretary General of NATO & Secretary of State for Defence

scope="row"|{{sortname|Edward|Teller}}

|Theoretical Physicist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Dave|Thomas|Dave Thomas (businessman)}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Founder and CEO of Wendy's

scope="row"|{{sortname|Byron|White}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Professional Football Player & Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

|{{cite web|title=President Honors 2003 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/07/20030723-9.html|access-date=September 3, 2017|archive-date=February 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225210333/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/07/20030723-9.html|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|James Q.|Wilson}}

|Political Scientist

scope="row"|{{sortname|John|Wooden}}

|Basketball Coach

scope="row" |{{sortname|Paul|Bremer}}

| rowspan="14" |2004

|Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority of Iraq

scope="row" |{{sortname|Edward|Brooke}}

|United States Senator from Massachusetts

scope="row"|{{sortname|Doris|Day}}

|Actress, Singer & Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Tommy|Franks}}

|Commander of the United States Central Command

scope="row"|{{sortname|Vartan|Gregorian}}

|12th President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York

scope="row"|{{sortname|Gilbert Melville|Grosvenor}}

|President and Chairman of the National Geographic Society

scope="row"|{{sortname|Gordon B.|Hinckley}}

|15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

scope="row"|{{sortname||John Paul II|Pope John Paul II}}

||{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|Pope

scope="row"|{{sortname|Estée|Lauder|Estée Lauder (businesswoman)}}

|Co-founder of the Estée Lauder Companies

scope="row"|{{sortname|Rita|Moreno}}

|Actress, Dancer & Singer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Arnold|Palmer}}

|Professional Golfer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Arnall|Patz}}

|Medical Doctor & Research Professor at Johns Hopkins University

scope="row"|{{sortname|Norman|Podhoretz}}

|Magazine Editor & Writer for Commentary Magazine

scope="row"|{{sortname|George|Tenet}}

|18th Director of Central Intelligence

scope="row"|{{sortname|Muhammad|Ali}}

| rowspan="15" |2005

|Professional Boxer & Human Rights Activist

scope="row" |{{sortname|Walter|Wriston}}

|Chairman and CEO of Citicorp

scope="row" |{{sortname|Carol|Burnett}}

|Actress & Comedian

scope="row" |{{sortname|Vint|Cerf}}

|Co-Developer of the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol

|{{cite news|last=Vargas|first=Jose Antonio|date=November 10, 2005|title=At the White House, Prizes for 14 Champs,Medal of Freedom Ceremony Shows Ali as Fast as Ever|newspaper=The Washington Post|publisher=washingtonpost.com|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/09/AR2005110901738.html|access-date=February 9, 2011|archive-date=May 15, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515171037/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/09/AR2005110901738.html|url-status=live}}

scope="row" |{{sortname|Robert|Conquest}}

|Historian & Poet

scope="row" |{{sortname|Aretha|Franklin}}

|Singer-Songwriter & Pianist

scope="row" |{{sortname|Alan|Greenspan}}

|13th Chair of the Federal Reserve

scope="row" |{{sortname|Andy|Griffith}}

|Actor & Comedian

scope="row" |{{sortname|Paul|Harvey}}

|Radio Broadcaster for ABC News Radio

scope="row" |{{sortname|Bob|Kahn}}

|Co-Developer of the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol

|{{cite news|date=November 10, 2005|title=Net pioneers receive top honour|work=BBC News|publisher=www.bbc.com|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4415326.stm|access-date=February 9, 2011|archive-date=April 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110403084745/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4415326.stm|url-status=live}}

scope="row" |{{sortname|Sonny|Montgomery}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & Major General of the Mississippi National Guard

scope="row" |{{sortname|Richard|Myers}}

|15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

scope="row" |{{sortname|Jack|Nicklaus}}

|Professional Golfer

scope="row" |{{sortname|Frank|Robinson}}

|Professional Baseball Player

scope="row" |{{sortname|Paul|Rusesabagina}}

|Rwandan politician & Manager of the Hôtel des Mille Collines in Kigali during the Rwandan Genocide protecting 1,268 Hutu and Tutsi refugees

scope="row" |{{sortname|Ruth Johnson|Colvin}}

| rowspan="10" |2006

|Founder of ProLiteracy Worldwide

|{{Cite web|title=President Bush Honors Medal of Freedom Recipients|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/12/20061215-1.html|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=2020-03-20|archive-date=October 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021092455/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/12/20061215-1.html|url-status=live}}

scope="row" |{{sortname|Norman|Francis}}

|President of Xavier University of Louisiana

scope="row" |{{sortname|Paul|Johnson|Paul Johnson (writer)}}

|Journalist

scope="row" |{{sortname|B.B.|King}}

|Blues Singer-Songwriter

scope="row" |{{sortname|Joshua|Lederberg}}

|Molecular Biologist

scope="row" |{{sortname|David|McCullough}}

|Popular Historian

scope="row" |{{sortname|Norman|Mineta}}

|14th United States Secretary of Transportation & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row" |{{sortname|Buck|O'Neil}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Professional Baseball Player

scope="row"|{{sortname|William|Safire}}

|Political Columnist for The New York Times

scope="row"|{{sortname|Natan|Sharansky}}

|Israeli Politician & Human Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Gary|Becker}}

| rowspan="8" |2007

|Economist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Óscar Elías|Biscet}}

|Human Rights and Democratic Freedoms Advocate in Cuba

scope="row"|{{sortname|Francis|Collins}}

|2nd Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute

scope="row"|{{sortname|Benjamin|Hooks}}

|Executive Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

scope="row"|{{sortname|Henry|Hyde}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Brian|Lamb}}

|Founder, Executive Chairman and CEO of C-SPAN

scope="row"|{{sortname|Harper|Lee}}

|Novelist & Civil Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ellen Johnson|Sirleaf}}

|24th President of Liberia

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ben|Carson}}

| rowspan="6" |2008

|Neurosurgeon & Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center

|{{Cite web|title=President Bush Honors Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080619-9.html|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=2020-03-14|archive-date=March 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323224637/https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/06/20080619-9.html|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Anthony|Fauci}}

|5th Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

scope="row"|{{sortname|Tom|Lantos}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Peter|Pace}}

|16th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

scope="row"|{{sortname|Donna|Shalala}}

|18th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services

scope="row"|{{sortname|Laurence|Silberman}}

|Senior Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

scope="row"|{{sortname|Tony|Blair}}

| rowspan="4" |2009

|Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

|{{cite magazine|last=Mayer|first=Catherine|date=January 13, 2009|title=A Presidential Medal for Tony Blair|magazine=Time|publisher=Time|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1871300,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114221727/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1871300,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 14, 2009|access-date=February 9, 2011}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ryan|Crocker}}

|United States Ambassador to Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan & Iraq

|{{cite web|date=January 15, 2009|title=President Bush Commemorates Foreign Policy Achievements and Presents Medal of Freedom to Ambassador Ryan Crocker|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2009/01/20090115.html|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=January 16, 2009|archive-date=February 4, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204154018/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2009/01/20090115.html|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|John|Howard}}

|25th Prime Minister of Australia

scope="row"|{{sortname|Álvaro|Uribe}}

|31st President of Colombia

= Awarded by Barack Obama =

Barack Obama awarded 118 medals between 2009 and 2017.

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" !Recipient !Year !Notes !Notable as ! class="unsortable" \| {{Abbr\|Ref.\|Reference}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Nancy\|Brinker}} \| rowspan="16" \|2009 \| \|Founder of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation \|{{cite web\|title=The Presidential Medal of Freedom\|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/349666\|url-status=dead\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504215607/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/349666\|archive-date=May 4, 2017\|access-date=2017-08-20\|language=en\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|df=mdy-all}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Joe Medicine\|Crow}} \| \|War Chief of the Crow Nation \|{{cite web\|date=July 30, 2009\|title=President Obama Names Medal of Freedom Recipients; 16 Agents of Change to Receive Top Civilian Honor\|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Names-Medal-of-Freedom-Recipients/\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|access-date=August 12, 2009\|archive-date=December 15, 2009\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091215034234/http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Names-Medal-of-Freedom-Recipients/\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Pedro José\|Greer}} \| \|Physician & Founding Dean for the Roseman University Health Sciences College of Medicine \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Stephen\|Hawking}} \| \|Theoretical Physicist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jack\|Kemp}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ted\|Kennedy}} \| \|United States Senator from Massachusetts \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Billie Jean\|King}} \| \|Professional Tennis Player and gender equality advocate \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Joseph\|Lowery}} \| \|Co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Harvey\|Milk}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors & Gay Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Sandra Day\|O'Connor}} \| \|Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court & the Supreme Court's First Female Justice \|{{cite book\|last1=The National First Ladies Library\|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom\|date=November 16, 2010\|location=Canton Ohio\|page=3\|quote=Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (1930 – )...Presidential Medal of Freedom received August 12, 2009\|access-date=February 11, 2011\|archive-date=February 14, 2011\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf\|url-status=dead}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Sidney\|Poitier}} \| \|Actor & First African-American & Bahamian to Win an Academy Award \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Chita\|Rivera}} \| \|Actress, Singer & Dancer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Mary\|Robinson}} \| \|7th President of Ireland \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Janet\|Rowley}} \| \|Geneticist & First Scientist to Identify a Chromosomal Translocation as the Cause of Leukemia and other Cancers. \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Desmond\|Tutu}} \| \|Anglican Bishop, Theologian & Human Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Muhammad\|Yunus}} \| \|Founder of Grameen Bank \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John H.\|Adams\|John H. Adams (environmentalist)}} \| rowspan="16" \|2011 \| \|Founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council \|{{cite web\|date=November 17, 2010\|title=President Obama Names Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients\|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2010/11/17/president-obama-names-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|access-date=November 18, 2010\|archive-date=January 26, 2017\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126074451/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2010/11/17/president-obama-names-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Maya\|Angelou}} \| \|Poet & Civil Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Warren\|Buffett}} \| \|Philanthropist & CEO of Berkshire Hathaway \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|George H. W.\|Bush}} \| \|41st President of the United States \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Robert\|Gates}} \| \|22nd United States Secretary of Defense \|{{Cite web \|last= \|first= \|date=2011-06-30 \|title=Gates receives Presidential Medal of Freedom as he leaves post \|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/06/30/pol.gates.last.day/index.html \|url-status=live \|access-date=2023-08-06 \|website=CNN \|language=en \|archive-date=August 6, 2023 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806012802/http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/06/30/pol.gates.last.day/index.html }}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jasper\|Johns}} \| \|Abstract Expressionist Painter & Printmaker \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John\|Lewis}} \| \|Civil Rights Activist & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Tom\|Little\|Tom Little (optometrist)}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Optometrist & Leader of an International Assistance Mission killed during the 2010 Badakhshan Massacre \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Yo-Yo\|Ma}} \| \|Cellist & United Nations Messenger of Peace \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Sylvia\|Mendez}} \| \|Civil Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Angela\|Merkel}} \| \|Chancellor of Germany \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Stan\|Musial}} \| \|Professional Baseball Player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Bill\|Russell}} \| \|Professional Basketball Player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jean Kennedy\|Smith}} \| \|United States Ambassador to Ireland \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John J.\|Sweeney\|John Sweeney (labor leader)}} \| \|President of AFL-CIO & Labor Leader \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Gerda\|Weissmann Klein}} \| \|Author, Human Rights Activist & Holocaust Educator \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Madeleine\|Albright}} \| rowspan="13" \|2012 \| \|64th United States Secretary of State \|{{cite news\|title=Albright, World War II hero among 13 to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom\|work=CNN\|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/29/us/medal-of-freedom/index.html\|access-date=May 29, 2012\|archive-date=January 21, 2014\|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140121023440/http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/29/us/medal-of-freedom/index.html\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Bob\|Dylan}} \| \|Singer-Songwriter \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|William\|Foege}} \| \|10th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John\|Glenn}} \| \|Astronaut and United States Senator from Ohio \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Juliette\|Gordon Low}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Gordon\|Hirabayashi}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Sociologist, Civil Rights Activist & Plaintiff in Hirabayashi v. United States \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Dolores\|Huerta}} \| \|Labor Leader & Co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jan\|Karski}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Resistance-Fighter during WWII & Diplomat \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Toni\|Morrison}} \| \|Novelist & Civil Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Shimon\|Peres}} \| \|9th President of Israel \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John Paul\|Stevens}} \| \|Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Pat\|Summitt}} \| \|Women's College Basketball Head Coach \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Patricia\|Wald}} \| \|Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ernie\|Banks}} \| rowspan="16" \|2013 \| \|Professional Baseball Player \|{{cite web\|title=Banks receives Medal of Freedom {{!}} 11/20/2013\|url=https://www.mlb.com/video/banks-receives-medal-of-freedom/c-31232769\|access-date=2018-07-12\|website=MLB.com\|language=en\|archive-date=July 12, 2018\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712220451/https://www.mlb.com/video/banks-receives-medal-of-freedom/c-31232769\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ben\|Bradlee}} \| \|Executive Editor of The Washington Post \|{{cite web\|date=August 8, 2013\|title=President Obama Names Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients\|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/08/08/president-obama-names-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients\|access-date=August 8, 2013\|publisher=Office of the Press Secretary, The White House\|archive-date=January 29, 2017\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129133642/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/08/08/president-obama-names-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Bill\|Clinton}} \| \|42nd President of the United States \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John\|Doar}} \| \|Lawyer & Lead Special Counsel for the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's Impeachment Inquiry Staff during the Impeachment Process Against Richard Nixon \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Daniel\|Inouye}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|United States Senator from Hawaii \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Daniel\|Kahneman}} \| \|Psychologist & Economist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Richard\|Lugar}} \| \|United States Senator from Indiana \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Loretta\|Lynn}} \| \|Singer-Songwriter \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Mario J.\|Molina}} \| \|Chemist who discovered the Antarctic Ozone Hole \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Sally\|Ride}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Astronaut & Physicist \|{{cite web\|date=May 20, 2013\|title=President Obama Announces Sally Ride as a Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom – April 18, 1970\|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/20/president-obama-announces-sally-ride-recipient-presidential-medal-freedo\|access-date=March 4, 2021\|publisher=Office of the Press Secretary\|archive-date=May 6, 2021\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506071828/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/20/president-obama-announces-sally-ride-recipient-presidential-medal-freedo\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Bayard\|Rustin}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Human Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Arturo\|Sandoval}} \| \|Jazz Trumpeter, Pianist & Composer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Dean\|Smith}} \| \|Men's College Basketball Head Coach \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Gloria\|Steinem}} \| \|Journalist & Social Political Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|C. T.\|Vivian}} \| \|Minister & Civil Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Oprah\|Winfrey}} \| \|Talk Show Host, Actress & Philanthropist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Alvin\|Ailey}} \| rowspan="18" \|2014 \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Dancer & Founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater \|{{cite web\|date=November 10, 2014\|title=President Obama Announces the Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients\|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/11/10/president-obama-announces-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|access-date=November 11, 2014\|archive-date=January 21, 2017\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121131137/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/11/10/president-obama-announces-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Isabel\|Allende}} \| \|Author \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Tom\|Brokaw}} \| \|Network Television Journalist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James\|Chaney}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Civil Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John\|Dingell}} \| \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Mildred\|Dresselhaus}} \| \|Nanotechnologist & Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Andrew\|Goodman\|Andrew Goodman (activist)}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Civil Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ethel\|Kennedy}} \| \|Human Rights Activist & Founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Abner\|Mikva}} \| \|Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Patsy\|Mink}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Edward\|Roybal\|Edward R. Roybal}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Michael\|Schwerner}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Civil Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Suzan\|Shown Harjo}} \| \|President of the National Council of American Indians \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Charlie\|Sifford}} \| \|Professional Golfer & the First African-American to play on the PGA Tour \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Robert\|Solow}} \| \|Economist & Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology \|{{cite news\|last=Schulman\|first=Kori\|date=2014-11-10\|title=President Obama Announces the Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients\|language=en\|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/11/10/president-obama-announces-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|access-date=2017-06-08\|archive-date=January 21, 2017\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121131137/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/11/10/president-obama-announces-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Meryl\|Streep}} \| \|Actress \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Marlo\|Thomas}} \| \|Actress, Producer & Social Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Stevie\|Wonder}} \| \|Singer-Songwriter \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Steven\|Spielberg}} \| rowspan="17" \|2015 \| \|Director, Producer & Screenwriter \|{{cite web\|date=November 16, 2015\|title=President Obama Names Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom\|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|access-date=November 16, 2015\|archive-date=December 5, 2016\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205112245/https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Emilio\|Estefan}} \| \|Musician & Producer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Gloria\|Estefan}} \| \|Singer & Actress \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Itzhak\|Perlman}} \| \|Violinist & Conductor \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Stephen\|Sondheim}} \| \|Composer & Lyricist of Musical Theater \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Barbra\|Streisand}} \| \|Singer & Actress \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|James\|Taylor}} \| \|Singer-Songwriter \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Minoru\|Yasui}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Lawyer & Plaintiff in Yasui v. United States \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Billy\|Frank Jr.}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Environmental Leader & Treaty Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Shirley\|Chisholm}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & First African-American Woman Elected to Congress \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lee H.\|Hamilton}} \| \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Barbara\|Mikulski}} \| \|United States Senator from Maryland \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|William\|Ruckelshaus}} \| \|1st & 5th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Katherine\|Johnson}} \| \|Mathematician whose calculations helped with the First successful U.S. Crewed Spaceflight \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Yogi\|Berra}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Professional Baseball Player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Bonnie\|Carroll}} \| \|Founder and President of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Willie\|Mays}} \| \|Professional Baseball Player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Frank\|Gehry}} \| rowspan="21" \|2016 \| \|Architect \|{{cite web\|date=November 16, 2016\|title=President Obama Names Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom\|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|access-date=November 16, 2016\|archive-date=May 3, 2022\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503170539/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Richard\|Garwin}} \| \|Physicist & Author of the First Hydrogen Bomb Design \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Maya\|Lin}} \| \|Designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Robert\|Redford}} \| \|Actor & Filmmaker \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Robert\|De Niro}} \| \|Actor & Producer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Tom\|Hanks}} \| \|Actor \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Cicely\|Tyson}} \| \|Actress \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Diana\|Ross}} \| \|Singer & Actress \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Bruce\|Springsteen}} \| \|Singer-Songwriter \|{{cite web\|title=The Presidential Medal of Freedom\|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/campaign/medal-of-freedom\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|access-date=November 25, 2016\|archive-date=December 3, 2018\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203182714/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/campaign/medal-of-freedom\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Grace\|Hopper}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Computer Scientist & Developer of the FLOW-MATIC programming language \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Margaret\|Hamilton\|Margaret Hamilton (software engineer)}} \| \|Director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Eduardo J.\|Padrón}} \| \|President of Miami Dade College \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Newton N.\|Minow}} \| \|Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lorne\|Michaels}} \| \|Comedian & Film and Television Producer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ellen\|DeGeneres}} \| \|Comedian, Television Host & Gay Rights Activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Bill\|Gates}} \| \|Philanthropist & Co-founder of Microsoft \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Melinda\|French Gates}} \| \|Philanthropist & Co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Elouise P.\|Cobell}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Tribal Elder, Activist & Lead Plaintiff in Cobell v. Salazar \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Vin\|Scully}} \| \|Sportscaster \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Kareem\|Abdul-Jabbar}} \| \|Professional Basketball Player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Michael\|Jordan}} \| \|Professional Basketball Player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Joe\|Biden}} \|2017 \|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \|47th Vice President of the United States \|{{cite news\|date=January 12, 2017\|title=Biden surprised with Presidential Medal of Freedom\|work=The Miami Herald\|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article126184169.html\|access-date=January 12, 2017\|archive-date=January 13, 2017\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113164802/http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article126184169.html\|url-status=live}}{{cite news\|title=Obama jokes about 'bromance' with Biden as he surprises then-VP with Presidential Medal of Freedom\|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/obama-biden-presidential-medal-of-freedom-1.3933291\|access-date=January 13, 2017\|archive-date=January 13, 2017\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113211542/http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/obama-biden-presidential-medal-of-freedom-1.3933291\|url-status=live}}

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

!Recipient

!Year

!Notes

!Notable as

! class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Nancy|Brinker}}

| rowspan="16" |2009

|Founder of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation

|{{cite web|title=The Presidential Medal of Freedom|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/349666|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504215607/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/349666|archive-date=May 4, 2017|access-date=2017-08-20|language=en|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|df=mdy-all}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Joe Medicine|Crow}}

|War Chief of the Crow Nation

|{{cite web|date=July 30, 2009|title=President Obama Names Medal of Freedom Recipients; 16 Agents of Change to Receive Top Civilian Honor|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Names-Medal-of-Freedom-Recipients/|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=August 12, 2009|archive-date=December 15, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091215034234/http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-Names-Medal-of-Freedom-Recipients/|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Pedro José|Greer}}

|Physician & Founding Dean for the Roseman University Health Sciences College of Medicine

scope="row"|{{sortname|Stephen|Hawking}}

|Theoretical Physicist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jack|Kemp}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ted|Kennedy}}

|United States Senator from Massachusetts

scope="row"|{{sortname|Billie Jean|King}}

|Professional Tennis Player and gender equality advocate

scope="row"|{{sortname|Joseph|Lowery}}

|Co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

scope="row"|{{sortname|Harvey|Milk}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors & Gay Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Sandra Day|O'Connor}}

|Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court & the Supreme Court's First Female Justice

|{{cite book|last1=The National First Ladies Library|url=http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|title=Heroes of the Presidential Medal of Freedom|date=November 16, 2010|location=Canton Ohio|page=3|quote=Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (1930 – )...Presidential Medal of Freedom received August 12, 2009|access-date=February 11, 2011|archive-date=February 14, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110214141417/http://www.firstladies.org/documents/Medal_freedom.pdf|url-status=dead}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Sidney|Poitier}}

|Actor & First African-American & Bahamian to Win an Academy Award

scope="row"|{{sortname|Chita|Rivera}}

|Actress, Singer & Dancer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Mary|Robinson}}

|7th President of Ireland

scope="row"|{{sortname|Janet|Rowley}}

|Geneticist & First Scientist to Identify a Chromosomal Translocation as the Cause of Leukemia and other Cancers.

scope="row"|{{sortname|Desmond|Tutu}}

|Anglican Bishop, Theologian & Human Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Muhammad|Yunus}}

|Founder of Grameen Bank

scope="row"|{{sortname|John H.|Adams|John H. Adams (environmentalist)}}

| rowspan="16" |2011

|Founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council

|{{cite web|date=November 17, 2010|title=President Obama Names Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2010/11/17/president-obama-names-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=November 18, 2010|archive-date=January 26, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126074451/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2010/11/17/president-obama-names-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Maya|Angelou}}

|Poet & Civil Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Warren|Buffett}}

|Philanthropist & CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

scope="row"|{{sortname|George H. W.|Bush}}

|41st President of the United States

scope="row"|{{sortname|Robert|Gates}}

|22nd United States Secretary of Defense

|{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2011-06-30 |title=Gates receives Presidential Medal of Freedom as he leaves post |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/06/30/pol.gates.last.day/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=2023-08-06 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=August 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230806012802/http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/06/30/pol.gates.last.day/index.html }}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jasper|Johns}}

|Abstract Expressionist Painter & Printmaker

scope="row"|{{sortname|John|Lewis}}

|Civil Rights Activist & Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Tom|Little|Tom Little (optometrist)}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Optometrist & Leader of an International Assistance Mission killed during the 2010 Badakhshan Massacre

scope="row"|{{sortname|Yo-Yo|Ma}}

|Cellist & United Nations Messenger of Peace

scope="row"|{{sortname|Sylvia|Mendez}}

|Civil Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Angela|Merkel}}

|Chancellor of Germany

scope="row"|{{sortname|Stan|Musial}}

|Professional Baseball Player

scope="row"|{{sortname|Bill|Russell}}

|Professional Basketball Player

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jean Kennedy|Smith}}

|United States Ambassador to Ireland

scope="row"|{{sortname|John J.|Sweeney|John Sweeney (labor leader)}}

|President of AFL-CIO & Labor Leader

scope="row"|{{sortname|Gerda|Weissmann Klein}}

|Author, Human Rights Activist & Holocaust Educator

scope="row"|{{sortname|Madeleine|Albright}}

| rowspan="13" |2012

|64th United States Secretary of State

|{{cite news|title=Albright, World War II hero among 13 to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom|work=CNN|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/29/us/medal-of-freedom/index.html|access-date=May 29, 2012|archive-date=January 21, 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140121023440/http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/29/us/medal-of-freedom/index.html|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Bob|Dylan}}

|Singer-Songwriter

scope="row"|{{sortname|William|Foege}}

|10th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

scope="row"|{{sortname|John|Glenn}}

|Astronaut and United States Senator from Ohio

scope="row"|{{sortname|Juliette|Gordon Low}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA

scope="row"|{{sortname|Gordon|Hirabayashi}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Sociologist, Civil Rights Activist & Plaintiff in Hirabayashi v. United States

scope="row"|{{sortname|Dolores|Huerta}}

|Labor Leader & Co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jan|Karski}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Resistance-Fighter during WWII & Diplomat

scope="row"|{{sortname|Toni|Morrison}}

|Novelist & Civil Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Shimon|Peres}}

|9th President of Israel

scope="row"|{{sortname|John Paul|Stevens}}

|Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

scope="row"|{{sortname|Pat|Summitt}}

|Women's College Basketball Head Coach

scope="row"|{{sortname|Patricia|Wald}}

|Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ernie|Banks}}

| rowspan="16" |2013

|Professional Baseball Player

|{{cite web|title=Banks receives Medal of Freedom {{!}} 11/20/2013|url=https://www.mlb.com/video/banks-receives-medal-of-freedom/c-31232769|access-date=2018-07-12|website=MLB.com|language=en|archive-date=July 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712220451/https://www.mlb.com/video/banks-receives-medal-of-freedom/c-31232769|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ben|Bradlee}}

|Executive Editor of The Washington Post

|{{cite web|date=August 8, 2013|title=President Obama Names Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/08/08/president-obama-names-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients|access-date=August 8, 2013|publisher=Office of the Press Secretary, The White House|archive-date=January 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129133642/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/08/08/president-obama-names-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Bill|Clinton}}

|42nd President of the United States

scope="row"|{{sortname|John|Doar}}

|Lawyer & Lead Special Counsel for the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's Impeachment Inquiry Staff
during the Impeachment Process Against Richard Nixon

scope="row"|{{sortname|Daniel|Inouye}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|United States Senator from Hawaii

scope="row"|{{sortname|Daniel|Kahneman}}

|Psychologist & Economist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Richard|Lugar}}

|United States Senator from Indiana

scope="row"|{{sortname|Loretta|Lynn}}

|Singer-Songwriter

scope="row"|{{sortname|Mario J.|Molina}}

|Chemist who discovered the Antarctic Ozone Hole

scope="row"|{{sortname|Sally|Ride}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Astronaut & Physicist

|{{cite web|date=May 20, 2013|title=President Obama Announces Sally Ride as a Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom – April 18, 1970|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/20/president-obama-announces-sally-ride-recipient-presidential-medal-freedo|access-date=March 4, 2021|publisher=Office of the Press Secretary|archive-date=May 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506071828/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/20/president-obama-announces-sally-ride-recipient-presidential-medal-freedo|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Bayard|Rustin}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Human Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Arturo|Sandoval}}

|Jazz Trumpeter, Pianist & Composer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Dean|Smith}}

|Men's College Basketball Head Coach

scope="row"|{{sortname|Gloria|Steinem}}

|Journalist & Social Political Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|C. T.|Vivian}}

|Minister & Civil Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Oprah|Winfrey}}

|Talk Show Host, Actress & Philanthropist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Alvin|Ailey}}

| rowspan="18" |2014

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Dancer & Founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

|{{cite web|date=November 10, 2014|title=President Obama Announces the Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/11/10/president-obama-announces-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=November 11, 2014|archive-date=January 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121131137/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/11/10/president-obama-announces-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Isabel|Allende}}

|Author

scope="row"|{{sortname|Tom|Brokaw}}

|Network Television Journalist

scope="row"|{{sortname|James|Chaney}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Civil Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|John|Dingell}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Mildred|Dresselhaus}}

|Nanotechnologist & Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

scope="row"|{{sortname|Andrew|Goodman|Andrew Goodman (activist)}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Civil Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ethel|Kennedy}}

|Human Rights Activist & Founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights

scope="row"|{{sortname|Abner|Mikva}}

|Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

scope="row"|{{sortname|Patsy|Mink}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Edward|Roybal|Edward R. Roybal}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Michael|Schwerner}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Civil Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Suzan|Shown Harjo}}

|President of the National Council of American Indians

scope="row"|{{sortname|Charlie|Sifford}}

|Professional Golfer & the First African-American to play on the PGA Tour

scope="row"|{{sortname|Robert|Solow}}

|Economist & Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

|{{cite news|last=Schulman|first=Kori|date=2014-11-10|title=President Obama Announces the Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients|language=en|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/11/10/president-obama-announces-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=2017-06-08|archive-date=January 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121131137/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/11/10/president-obama-announces-presidential-medal-freedom-recipients|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Meryl|Streep}}

|Actress

scope="row"|{{sortname|Marlo|Thomas}}

|Actress, Producer & Social Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Stevie|Wonder}}

|Singer-Songwriter

scope="row"|{{sortname|Steven|Spielberg}}

| rowspan="17" |2015

|Director, Producer & Screenwriter

|{{cite web|date=November 16, 2015|title=President Obama Names Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=November 16, 2015|archive-date=December 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205112245/https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Emilio|Estefan}}

|Musician & Producer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Gloria|Estefan}}

|Singer & Actress

scope="row"|{{sortname|Itzhak|Perlman}}

|Violinist & Conductor

scope="row"|{{sortname|Stephen|Sondheim}}

|Composer & Lyricist of Musical Theater

scope="row"|{{sortname|Barbra|Streisand}}

|Singer & Actress

scope="row"|{{sortname|James|Taylor}}

|Singer-Songwriter

scope="row"|{{sortname|Minoru|Yasui}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Lawyer & Plaintiff in Yasui v. United States

scope="row"|{{sortname|Billy|Frank Jr.}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Environmental Leader & Treaty Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Shirley|Chisholm}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives & First African-American Woman Elected to Congress

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lee H.|Hamilton}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Barbara|Mikulski}}

|United States Senator from Maryland

scope="row"|{{sortname|William|Ruckelshaus}}

|1st & 5th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

scope="row"|{{sortname|Katherine|Johnson}}

|Mathematician whose calculations helped with the First successful U.S. Crewed Spaceflight

scope="row"|{{sortname|Yogi|Berra}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Professional Baseball Player

scope="row"|{{sortname|Bonnie|Carroll}}

|Founder and President of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors

scope="row"|{{sortname|Willie|Mays}}

|Professional Baseball Player

scope="row"|{{sortname|Frank|Gehry}}

| rowspan="21" |2016

|Architect

|{{cite web|date=November 16, 2016|title=President Obama Names Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=November 16, 2016|archive-date=May 3, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220503170539/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Richard|Garwin}}

|Physicist & Author of the First Hydrogen Bomb Design

scope="row"|{{sortname|Maya|Lin}}

|Designer of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.

scope="row"|{{sortname|Robert|Redford}}

|Actor & Filmmaker

scope="row"|{{sortname|Robert|De Niro}}

|Actor & Producer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Tom|Hanks}}

|Actor

scope="row"|{{sortname|Cicely|Tyson}}

|Actress

scope="row"|{{sortname|Diana|Ross}}

|Singer & Actress

scope="row"|{{sortname|Bruce|Springsteen}}

|Singer-Songwriter

|{{cite web|title=The Presidential Medal of Freedom|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/campaign/medal-of-freedom|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|access-date=November 25, 2016|archive-date=December 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203182714/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/campaign/medal-of-freedom|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Grace|Hopper}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Computer Scientist & Developer of the FLOW-MATIC programming language

scope="row"|{{sortname|Margaret|Hamilton|Margaret Hamilton (software engineer)}}

|Director of the Software Engineering Division of the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory

scope="row"|{{sortname|Eduardo J.|Padrón}}

|President of Miami Dade College

scope="row"|{{sortname|Newton N.|Minow}}

|Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lorne|Michaels}}

|Comedian & Film and Television Producer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ellen|DeGeneres}}

|Comedian, Television Host & Gay Rights Activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Bill|Gates}}

|Philanthropist & Co-founder of Microsoft

scope="row"|{{sortname|Melinda|French Gates}}

|Philanthropist & Co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

scope="row"|{{sortname|Elouise P.|Cobell}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Tribal Elder, Activist & Lead Plaintiff in Cobell v. Salazar

scope="row"|{{sortname|Vin|Scully}}

|Sportscaster

scope="row"|{{sortname|Kareem|Abdul-Jabbar}}

|Professional Basketball Player

scope="row"|{{sortname|Michael|Jordan}}

|Professional Basketball Player

scope="row"|{{sortname|Joe|Biden}}

|2017

|{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

|47th Vice President of the United States

|{{cite news|date=January 12, 2017|title=Biden surprised with Presidential Medal of Freedom|work=The Miami Herald|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article126184169.html|access-date=January 12, 2017|archive-date=January 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113164802/http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article126184169.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Obama jokes about 'bromance' with Biden as he surprises then-VP with Presidential Medal of Freedom|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/obama-biden-presidential-medal-of-freedom-1.3933291|access-date=January 13, 2017|archive-date=January 13, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113211542/http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/obama-biden-presidential-medal-of-freedom-1.3933291|url-status=live}}

= Awarded by Donald Trump (first presidency) =

Donald Trump awarded 24 medals between 2017 and 2021.

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" !Recipient !Year !Notes !Notable as ! class="unsortable" \| {{Abbr\|Ref.\|Reference}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Miriam\|Adelson}} \| rowspan="7" \|2018 \| \|Physician and philanthropist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Orrin\|Hatch}} \| \|United States Senator from Utah \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Alan\|Page}} \| \|Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court and football player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Elvis\|Presley}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Singer and actor known as the "King of Rock and Roll" \|\|{{cite web\|title=Trump names Medal of Freedom recipients {{!}} 11/10/2018\|url=https://publicpool.kinja.com/subject-president-donald-j-trump-names-recipients-of-1830356999\|access-date=2018-11-10\|website=kinja.com\|language=en\|archive-date=November 10, 2018\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110200111/https://publicpool.kinja.com/subject-president-donald-j-trump-names-recipients-of-1830356999\|url-status=dead}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Babe\|Ruth}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Professional baseball player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Antonin\|Scalia}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Roger\|Staubach}} \| \|Professional football player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Bob\|Cousy}} \| rowspan="7" \|2019 \| \|Professional basketball player \|{{cite web\|last=Krantz\|first=Laura\|date=2019-08-22\|title=Celtics legend Bob Cousy receives Presidential Medal of Freedom\|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2019/08/22/celtics-legend-bob-cousy-set-get-presidential-medal-freedom/KFqGGkhR598KG00Rgrz2PP/story.html\|access-date=2019-11-12\|newspaper=Boston Globe\|language=en\|archive-date=December 4, 2019\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204110159/https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2019/08/22/celtics-legend-bob-cousy-set-get-presidential-medal-freedom/KFqGGkhR598KG00Rgrz2PP/story.html\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Arthur\|Laffer}} \| \|Economist, best known for the Laffer curve \|{{cite news\|date=19 June 2019\|title=Trump awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to economist Arthur Laffer\|newspaper=Washington Post\|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-to-award-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-economist-art-laffer-today/2019/06/19/f1505826-9299-11e9-aadb-74e6b2b46f6a_story.html\|access-date=June 20, 2019\|archive-date=June 12, 2022\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612070557/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-to-award-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-economist-art-laffer-today/2019/06/19/f1505826-9299-11e9-aadb-74e6b2b46f6a_story.html\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Edwin\|Meese}} \| \|75th United States Attorney General \|{{Cite web\|title=Remarks by President Trump at Presentation of the Medal of Freedom to Edwin Meese\|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-presentation-medal-freedom-edwin-meese/\|access-date=2020-03-21\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|language=en-US\|archive-date=July 9, 2021\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185318/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-presentation-medal-freedom-edwin-meese/\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Roger\|Penske}} \| \|Professional auto racing team owner, driver, and businessman \|{{cite web\|last=Rambaran\|first=Vandana\|date=2019-10-24\|title=Trump gives Presidential Medal of Freedom to racing icon Roger Penske\|url=https://www.foxnews.com/auto/trump-gives-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-racing-icon-roger-penske\|access-date=2019-10-25\|website=Fox News\|language=en-US\|archive-date=October 25, 2019\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025162913/https://www.foxnews.com/auto/trump-gives-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-racing-icon-roger-penske\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Mariano\|Rivera}} \| \|Professional baseball player \|{{cite web\|author=Tillett, Emily\|date=September 16, 2019\|title=Trump honors Yankees great Mariano Rivera with Medal of Freedom\|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-trump-honors-yankees-great-mariano-rivera-with-medal-of-freedom-live-stream/\|access-date=September 16, 2019\|website=CBS News\|archive-date=September 18, 2019\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918031602/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-trump-honors-yankees-great-mariano-rivera-with-medal-of-freedom-live-stream/\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jerry\|West}} \| \|Basketball executive and Olympic professional basketball player \|{{Cite web\|title=Remarks by President Trump at Presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jerry West\|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-presentation-presidential-medal-freedom-jerry-west/\|access-date=2020-03-20\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|language=en-US\|archive-date=January 20, 2021\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120201629/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-presentation-presidential-medal-freedom-jerry-west/\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Tiger\|Woods}} \| \|Professional golfer \|{{cite web\|first=Samuel\|last=Chamberlain\|date=2019-05-06\|title=Trump presents 'true legend' Tiger Woods with Presidential Medal of Freedom\|url=https://www.foxnews.com/sports/trump-tiger-woods-presidential-medal-of-freedom\|access-date=2019-05-06\|work=Fox News\|language=en\|archive-date=May 6, 2019\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506231311/https://www.foxnews.com/sports/trump-tiger-woods-presidential-medal-of-freedom\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Dan\|Gable}} \| rowspan="5" \|2020 \| \|Olympic wrestler \|{{Cite web\|title=President Donald J. Trump to Award the Medal of Freedom to Dan Gable\|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-award-medal-freedom-dan-gable/\|access-date=2020-12-04\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|language=en-US\|archive-date=March 7, 2021\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307062242/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-award-medal-freedom-dan-gable/\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lou\|Holtz}} \| \|University football coach \|{{Cite web\|title=President Donald J. Trump to Award the Medal of Freedom to Lou Holtz\|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-award-medal-freedom-lou-holtz/\|access-date=2020-12-02\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|language=en-US\|archive-date=January 20, 2021\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120195413/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-award-medal-freedom-lou-holtz/\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jack\|Keane}} \| \|Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army \|{{Cite web\|title=Remarks by President Trump at the Presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to General Jack Keane\|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-presentation-presidential-medal-freedom-general-jack-keane/\|access-date=2020-03-14\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|language=en-US\|archive-date=January 20, 2021\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120200608/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-presentation-presidential-medal-freedom-general-jack-keane/\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Rush\|Limbaugh}} \|{{efn\|Awarded during 2020 State of the Union Address.{{Cite web \|url=https://www.newsweek.com/lt-col-vindman-gets-standing-ovation-dem-debate-after-biden-says-he-should-have-gotten-medal-1486349 \|title=Lt. Col Vindman Gets Standing Ovation At Dem Debate After Biden Says He Should Have Gotten Medal Of Freedom Instead Of Limbaugh \|last=Slisco \|first=Aila \|date=February 7, 2020 \|access-date=March 26, 2020 \|work=Newsweek \|archive-date=March 26, 2020 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200326143236/https://www.newsweek.com/lt-col-vindman-gets-standing-ovation-dem-debate-after-biden-says-he-should-have-gotten-medal-1486349 \|url-status=live }}}} \|Political commentator \|{{Cite web\|title=President Trump Awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh at SOTU\|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-to-award-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-rush-limbaugh-2020-2\|access-date=2020-04-11\|website=Business Insider\|language=en-US\|archive-date=February 5, 2020\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205030212/https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-to-award-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-rush-limbaugh-2020-2\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jim\|Ryun}} \| \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Olympic athlete \|{{cite web \|title=Former track star Ryun given Medal of Freedom \|url=https://www.espn.com.au/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/29530740/former-track-phenom-jim-ryun-receives-presidential-medal-freedom \|website=ESPN.com \|language=en \|date=24 July 2020 \|access-date=November 17, 2020 \|archive-date=January 10, 2021 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110102025/https://www.espn.com.au/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/29530740/former-track-phenom-jim-ryun-receives-presidential-medal-freedom \|url-status=live }}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Babe\|Didrikson Zaharias}} \| rowspan="5" \|2021 \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Olympic athlete \|{{Cite web\|title=Statement from the Press Secretary\|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-010721/\|access-date=2021-01-07\|language=en-US\|archive-date=January 20, 2021\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120195432/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-010721/\|via=National Archives\|work=whitehouse.gov\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Devin\|Nunes}} \| \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California \|{{cite web\|title=Trump Gives Medal Of Freedom To Loyalist GOP Congressman Nunes\|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/01/04/953276901/trump-to-give-medal-of-freedom-to-loyalist-gop-congressman-nunes\|access-date=2021-01-04\|website=National Public Radio\|language=en-US\|archive-date=January 4, 2021\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104211250/https://www.npr.org/2021/01/04/953276901/trump-to-give-medal-of-freedom-to-loyalist-gop-congressman-nunes\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jim\|Jordan}} \| \|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio \|{{cite web\|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/medal-of-freedom-devin-nunes-jim-jordan/\|title=Trump awarding Medal of Freedom to allies Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan\|date=2021-01-05\|access-date=2021-01-09\|website=CBS News\|language=en-US\|archive-date=January 9, 2021\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109073557/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/medal-of-freedom-devin-nunes-jim-jordan/\|url-status=live}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Gary\|Player}} \| \|Professional golfer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Annika\|Sörenstam}} \| \|Professional golfer \|

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

!Recipient

!Year

!Notes

!Notable as

! class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Miriam|Adelson}}

| rowspan="7" |2018

|Physician and philanthropist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Orrin|Hatch}}

|United States Senator from Utah

scope="row"|{{sortname|Alan|Page}}

|Associate Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court and football player

scope="row"|{{sortname|Elvis|Presley}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Singer and actor known as the "King of Rock and Roll"

||{{cite web|title=Trump names Medal of Freedom recipients {{!}} 11/10/2018|url=https://publicpool.kinja.com/subject-president-donald-j-trump-names-recipients-of-1830356999|access-date=2018-11-10|website=kinja.com|language=en|archive-date=November 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110200111/https://publicpool.kinja.com/subject-president-donald-j-trump-names-recipients-of-1830356999|url-status=dead}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Babe|Ruth}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Professional baseball player

scope="row"|{{sortname|Antonin|Scalia}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

scope="row"|{{sortname|Roger|Staubach}}

|Professional football player

scope="row"|{{sortname|Bob|Cousy}}

| rowspan="7" |2019

|Professional basketball player

|{{cite web|last=Krantz|first=Laura|date=2019-08-22|title=Celtics legend Bob Cousy receives Presidential Medal of Freedom|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2019/08/22/celtics-legend-bob-cousy-set-get-presidential-medal-freedom/KFqGGkhR598KG00Rgrz2PP/story.html|access-date=2019-11-12|newspaper=Boston Globe|language=en|archive-date=December 4, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204110159/https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2019/08/22/celtics-legend-bob-cousy-set-get-presidential-medal-freedom/KFqGGkhR598KG00Rgrz2PP/story.html|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Arthur|Laffer}}

|Economist, best known for the Laffer curve

|{{cite news|date=19 June 2019|title=Trump awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to economist Arthur Laffer|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-to-award-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-economist-art-laffer-today/2019/06/19/f1505826-9299-11e9-aadb-74e6b2b46f6a_story.html|access-date=June 20, 2019|archive-date=June 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612070557/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-to-award-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-economist-art-laffer-today/2019/06/19/f1505826-9299-11e9-aadb-74e6b2b46f6a_story.html|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Edwin|Meese}}

|75th United States Attorney General

|{{Cite web|title=Remarks by President Trump at Presentation of the Medal of Freedom to Edwin Meese|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-presentation-medal-freedom-edwin-meese/|access-date=2020-03-21|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|language=en-US|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185318/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-presentation-medal-freedom-edwin-meese/|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Roger|Penske}}

|Professional auto racing team owner, driver, and businessman

|{{cite web|last=Rambaran|first=Vandana|date=2019-10-24|title=Trump gives Presidential Medal of Freedom to racing icon Roger Penske|url=https://www.foxnews.com/auto/trump-gives-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-racing-icon-roger-penske|access-date=2019-10-25|website=Fox News|language=en-US|archive-date=October 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025162913/https://www.foxnews.com/auto/trump-gives-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-racing-icon-roger-penske|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Mariano|Rivera}}

|Professional baseball player

|{{cite web|author=Tillett, Emily|date=September 16, 2019|title=Trump honors Yankees great Mariano Rivera with Medal of Freedom|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-trump-honors-yankees-great-mariano-rivera-with-medal-of-freedom-live-stream/|access-date=September 16, 2019|website=CBS News|archive-date=September 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918031602/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-trump-honors-yankees-great-mariano-rivera-with-medal-of-freedom-live-stream/|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jerry|West}}

|Basketball executive and Olympic professional basketball player

|{{Cite web|title=Remarks by President Trump at Presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jerry West|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-presentation-presidential-medal-freedom-jerry-west/|access-date=2020-03-20|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|language=en-US|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120201629/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-presentation-presidential-medal-freedom-jerry-west/|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Tiger|Woods}}

|Professional golfer

|{{cite web|first=Samuel|last=Chamberlain|date=2019-05-06|title=Trump presents 'true legend' Tiger Woods with Presidential Medal of Freedom|url=https://www.foxnews.com/sports/trump-tiger-woods-presidential-medal-of-freedom|access-date=2019-05-06|work=Fox News|language=en|archive-date=May 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506231311/https://www.foxnews.com/sports/trump-tiger-woods-presidential-medal-of-freedom|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Dan|Gable}}

| rowspan="5" |2020

|Olympic wrestler

|{{Cite web|title=President Donald J. Trump to Award the Medal of Freedom to Dan Gable|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-award-medal-freedom-dan-gable/|access-date=2020-12-04|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|language=en-US|archive-date=March 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307062242/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-award-medal-freedom-dan-gable/|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lou|Holtz}}

|University football coach

|{{Cite web|title=President Donald J. Trump to Award the Medal of Freedom to Lou Holtz|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-award-medal-freedom-lou-holtz/|access-date=2020-12-02|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|language=en-US|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120195413/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-award-medal-freedom-lou-holtz/|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jack|Keane}}

|Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army

|{{Cite web|title=Remarks by President Trump at the Presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to General Jack Keane|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-presentation-presidential-medal-freedom-general-jack-keane/|access-date=2020-03-14|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|language=en-US|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120200608/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-presentation-presidential-medal-freedom-general-jack-keane/|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Rush|Limbaugh}}

|{{efn|Awarded during 2020 State of the Union Address.{{Cite web |url=https://www.newsweek.com/lt-col-vindman-gets-standing-ovation-dem-debate-after-biden-says-he-should-have-gotten-medal-1486349 |title=Lt. Col Vindman Gets Standing Ovation At Dem Debate After Biden Says He Should Have Gotten Medal Of Freedom Instead Of Limbaugh |last=Slisco |first=Aila |date=February 7, 2020 |access-date=March 26, 2020 |work=Newsweek |archive-date=March 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200326143236/https://www.newsweek.com/lt-col-vindman-gets-standing-ovation-dem-debate-after-biden-says-he-should-have-gotten-medal-1486349 |url-status=live }}}}

|Political commentator

|{{Cite web|title=President Trump Awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh at SOTU|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-to-award-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-rush-limbaugh-2020-2|access-date=2020-04-11|website=Business Insider|language=en-US|archive-date=February 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205030212/https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-to-award-presidential-medal-of-freedom-to-rush-limbaugh-2020-2|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jim|Ryun}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Olympic athlete

|{{cite web |title=Former track star Ryun given Medal of Freedom |url=https://www.espn.com.au/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/29530740/former-track-phenom-jim-ryun-receives-presidential-medal-freedom |website=ESPN.com |language=en |date=24 July 2020 |access-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-date=January 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110102025/https://www.espn.com.au/olympics/trackandfield/story/_/id/29530740/former-track-phenom-jim-ryun-receives-presidential-medal-freedom |url-status=live }}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Babe|Didrikson Zaharias}}

| rowspan="5" |2021

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Olympic athlete

|{{Cite web|title=Statement from the Press Secretary|url=https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-010721/|access-date=2021-01-07|language=en-US|archive-date=January 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120195432/https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-010721/|via=National Archives|work=whitehouse.gov|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Devin|Nunes}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California

|{{cite web|title=Trump Gives Medal Of Freedom To Loyalist GOP Congressman Nunes|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/01/04/953276901/trump-to-give-medal-of-freedom-to-loyalist-gop-congressman-nunes|access-date=2021-01-04|website=National Public Radio|language=en-US|archive-date=January 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104211250/https://www.npr.org/2021/01/04/953276901/trump-to-give-medal-of-freedom-to-loyalist-gop-congressman-nunes|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jim|Jordan}}

|Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio

|{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/medal-of-freedom-devin-nunes-jim-jordan/|title=Trump awarding Medal of Freedom to allies Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan|date=2021-01-05|access-date=2021-01-09|website=CBS News|language=en-US|archive-date=January 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109073557/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/medal-of-freedom-devin-nunes-jim-jordan/|url-status=live}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Gary|Player}}

|Professional golfer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Annika|Sörenstam}}

|Professional golfer

= Awarded by Joe Biden =

Joe Biden awarded 57 medals between 2022 and 2025.

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" !Recipient !Year !Notes !Notable as ! class="unsortable" \| {{Abbr\|Ref.\|Reference}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Simone\|Biles}} \| rowspan="16" \|2022 \| \| Olympic gymnast \| {{cite web \|title=President Biden Announces Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom \|url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/07/01/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom/ \|website=The White House \|date=1 July 2022 \|access-date=July 1, 2022 \|archive-date=July 6, 2022 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706103807/https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/07/01/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom/ \|url-status=live }}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Simone\|Campbell}} \| \| Roman Catholic religious sister & Member of the Sisters of Social Service \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Julieta\|García\|Juliet V. García}} \| \| President of Texas Southmost College \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Gabrielle\|Giffords\|Gabby Giffords}} \| \| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona & gun control activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Fred\|Gray\|Fred Gray (attorney)}} \| \| Civil rights attorney & state legislator \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Steve\|Jobs}} \| {{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \| Entrepreneur & co-founder and CEO of Apple \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Alexander\|Karloutsos}} \| \| Protopresbyter in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Khizr\|Khan\|Khizr and Ghazala Khan}} \| \| Member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom & activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Sandra\|Lindsay\|Sandra Lindsay (nurse)}} \| \| Critical Care Nurse & First American to receive the COVID-19 Vaccine \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John\|McCain}} \| {{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \| United States Senator from Arizona & Purple Heart recipient \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Diane\|Nash}} \| \| Civil rights activist & Co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Megan\|Rapinoe}} \| \| Olympic professional soccer player & human rights activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Alan\|Simpson\|Alan Simpson (American politician)}} \| \| United States Senator from Wyoming \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Richard\|Trumka}} \| {{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \| Organized labor leader \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Wilma\|Vaught}} \| \| Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Raul\|Yzaguirre}} \| \| U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic & President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Michael\|Bloomberg}} \| rowspan="21" \|2024 \| \| Entrepreneur, philanthropist and Mayor of New York City \| {{cite web \|title=President Biden Announces Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom \|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/03/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom/ \|website=The White House \|date=3 May 2024 \|access-date=May 3, 2024 \|archive-date=May 3, 2024 \|archive-url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/03/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom-2/ \|url-status=dead }}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Greg\|Boyle}} \| \| Jesuit Catholic priest & Founder and director of the rehabilitation program Homeboy Industries \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jim\|Clyburn}} \| \| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Elizabeth\|Dole}} \| \| United States Senator from North Carolina, Transportation Secretary, and Labor Secretary \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Phil\|Donahue}} \| \| Former daytime talk show host \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Medgar\|Evers}} \| {{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \| Famous Civil rights activist who was murdered at age 37 in 1963 \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Al\|Gore}} \| \| 45th Vice President of the United States and environmentalist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Clarence B.\|Jones}} \| \| Civil rights activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|John\|Kerry}} \| \| U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, U.S. Secretary of State and United States Senator from Massachusetts. \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Frank\|Lautenberg}} \| {{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \| United States Senator from New Jersey \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Katie\|Ledecky}} \| \| Olympic swimmer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Opal\|Lee}} \| \| Educator and activist who pushed to make Juneteenth a national holiday \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ellen\|Ochoa}} \| \| Astronaut \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Nancy\|Pelosi}} \| \| 52nd and first female Speaker of the United States House of Representatives \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jane\|Rigby\|dab=astrophysicist}} \| \| Astrophysicist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Teresa\|Romero}} \| \| President of the United Farm Workers union \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Judy\|Shepard}} \| \| Co-founder of the Matthew Shepard Foundation \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jim\|Thorpe}} \| {{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \| First Native American to win an Olympic gold medal \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Michelle\|Yeoh}} \| \| Actress and activist who also became the first person of Asian descent to win an Academy Award for Best Actress \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jens\|Stoltenberg}} \| \| 13th Secretary General of NATO & 34th Prime Minister of Norway \| {{cite web \| last=Lotz \| first=Avery \| title=Biden awards Medal of Freedom to NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg \| website=Axios \| date=9 Jul 2024 \| url=https://www.axios.com/2024/07/09/biden-medal-of-freedom-nato-jens-stoltenberg \| access-date=9 Jul 2024}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Cecile\|Richards}} \| \| Activist and President of Planned Parenthood \| {{cite web \| last=Weixel \| first=Nathaniel \| title=Biden awards the Medal of Freedom to Cecile Richards, former Planned Parenthood president \| website=TheHill \| date=20 Nov 2024 \| url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5001087-biden-medal-freedom-cecile-richards/ \| access-date=11 Nov 2024}}
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|José\|Andrés}} \|rowspan=20\|2025 \| \|Spanish-American chef, founder of World Central Kitchen \|{{cite web \|title=President Biden Announces Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom \|url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/01/04/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom-3/ \|website=The White House \|access-date=January 4, 2025\|date=January 4, 2025}}
scope="row"\|Bono \| \|Frontman of U2 and activist against AIDS and poverty \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ash\|Carter}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|25th Secretary of Defense \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Hillary\|Clinton}} \| \|Former First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Michael J.\|Fox}} \| \|Actor and advocate for Parkinson's disease research \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Tim\|Gill}} \| \|Computer programmer and LGBTQ activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Jane\|Goodall}} \| \|Ethologist and conservationist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Fannie Lou\|Hamer}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Civil rights activist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Magic\|Johnson}} \| \|Professional basketball player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Robert F.\|Kennedy}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|Attorney General \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Ralph\|Lauren}} \| \|Fashion designer \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Lionel\|Messi}} \|{{efn\|Messi was unable to attend the ceremony due to prior commitments.{{cite web \|last1=Deen \|first1=Safid \|title=Lionel Messi unable to attend Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony. Here's why. \|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2025/01/04/heres-why-messi-did-not-attend-presidential-medal-of-freedom-ceremony/77457448007/ \|website=USA Today \|access-date=January 5, 2025 \|date=January 4, 2025}}}} \|Professional soccer player \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Bill\|Nye}} \| \|Science communicator and TV presenter \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|George W.\|Romney}} \|{{Abbr\|†\|Posthumously}} \|43rd Governor of Michigan and 3rd Secretary of Housing and Urban Development \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|David M.\|Rubenstein}} \| \|Co-founder of The Carlyle Group \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|George\|Soros}} \| \|Investor and philanthropist \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|George\|Stevens Jr.}} \| \|Founder of the American Film Institute \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Denzel\|Washington}} \| {{efn\|Washington was supposed to receive the award in 2022 but had to skip the ceremony after testing positive for COVID-19.{{cite web \|last1=Huff \|first1=Lauren \|title=Denzel Washington misses Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony after contracting COVID \|url=https://ew.com/celebrity/denzel-washington-misses-presidential-medal-of-freedom-ceremony-covid/ \|website=EW \|access-date=January 5, 2025 \|date=July 7, 2022}}}} \| Actor, producer & director \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Anna\|Wintour}} \| \| Chief editor at Vogue \|
scope="row"\|{{sortname\|Pope\|Francis}} \|\|{{Abbr\|WD\|with Distinction}} \| Head of the Catholic Church from 2013 to 2025 \|{{cite news\|url=https://apnews.com/article/biden-pope-francis-presidential-medal-of-freedom-1abf54dc5b1f30d8f0702dbd2bb93304\|title=Biden honors Pope Francis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom\|first=Zeke\|last=Miller\|publisher=Associated Press\|date=January 11, 2025\|accessdate=January 11, 2025}}

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

!Recipient

!Year

!Notes

!Notable as

! class="unsortable" | {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Simone|Biles}}

| rowspan="16" |2022

| Olympic gymnast

| {{cite web |title=President Biden Announces Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/07/01/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom/ |website=The White House |date=1 July 2022 |access-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-date=July 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706103807/https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/07/01/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom/ |url-status=live }}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Simone|Campbell}}

| Roman Catholic religious sister & Member of the Sisters of Social Service

scope="row"|{{sortname|Julieta|García|Juliet V. García}}

| President of Texas Southmost College

scope="row"|{{sortname|Gabrielle|Giffords|Gabby Giffords}}

| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona & gun control activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Fred|Gray|Fred Gray (attorney)}}

| Civil rights attorney & state legislator

scope="row"|{{sortname|Steve|Jobs}}

| {{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

| Entrepreneur & co-founder and CEO of Apple

scope="row"|{{sortname|Alexander|Karloutsos}}

| Protopresbyter in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

scope="row"|{{sortname|Khizr|Khan|Khizr and Ghazala Khan}}

| Member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom & activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Sandra|Lindsay|Sandra Lindsay (nurse)}}

| Critical Care Nurse & First American to receive the COVID-19 Vaccine

scope="row"|{{sortname|John|McCain}}

| {{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

| United States Senator from Arizona & Purple Heart recipient

scope="row"|{{sortname|Diane|Nash}}

| Civil rights activist & Co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

scope="row"|{{sortname|Megan|Rapinoe}}

| Olympic professional soccer player & human rights activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Alan|Simpson|Alan Simpson (American politician)}}

| United States Senator from Wyoming

scope="row"|{{sortname|Richard|Trumka}}

| {{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

| Organized labor leader

scope="row"|{{sortname|Wilma|Vaught}}

| Brigadier General, U.S. Air Force

scope="row"|{{sortname|Raul|Yzaguirre}}

| U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic & President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza

scope="row"|{{sortname|Michael|Bloomberg}}

| rowspan="21" |2024

| Entrepreneur, philanthropist and Mayor of New York City

| {{cite web |title=President Biden Announces Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/03/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom/ |website=The White House |date=3 May 2024 |access-date=May 3, 2024 |archive-date=May 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/03/president-biden-announces-recipients-of-the-presidential-medal-of-freedom-2/ |url-status=dead }}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Greg|Boyle}}

| Jesuit Catholic priest & Founder and director of the rehabilitation program Homeboy Industries

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jim|Clyburn}}

| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina

scope="row"|{{sortname|Elizabeth|Dole}}

| United States Senator from North Carolina, Transportation Secretary, and Labor Secretary

scope="row"|{{sortname|Phil|Donahue}}

| Former daytime talk show host

scope="row"|{{sortname|Medgar|Evers}}

| {{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

| Famous Civil rights activist who was murdered at age 37 in 1963

scope="row"|{{sortname|Al|Gore}}

| 45th Vice President of the United States and environmentalist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Clarence B.|Jones}}

| Civil rights activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|John|Kerry}}

| U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, U.S. Secretary of State and United States Senator from Massachusetts.

scope="row"|{{sortname|Frank|Lautenberg}}

| {{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

| United States Senator from New Jersey

scope="row"|{{sortname|Katie|Ledecky}}

| Olympic swimmer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Opal|Lee}}

| Educator and activist who pushed to make Juneteenth a national holiday

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ellen|Ochoa}}

| Astronaut

scope="row"|{{sortname|Nancy|Pelosi}}

| 52nd and first female Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jane|Rigby|dab=astrophysicist}}

| Astrophysicist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Teresa|Romero}}

| President of the United Farm Workers union

scope="row"|{{sortname|Judy|Shepard}}

| Co-founder of the Matthew Shepard Foundation

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jim|Thorpe}}

| {{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

| First Native American to win an Olympic gold medal

scope="row"|{{sortname|Michelle|Yeoh}}

| Actress and activist who also became the first person of Asian descent to win an Academy Award for Best Actress

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jens|Stoltenberg}}

| 13th Secretary General of NATO & 34th Prime Minister of Norway

| {{cite web | last=Lotz | first=Avery | title=Biden awards Medal of Freedom to NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg | website=Axios | date=9 Jul 2024 | url=https://www.axios.com/2024/07/09/biden-medal-of-freedom-nato-jens-stoltenberg | access-date=9 Jul 2024}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|Cecile|Richards}}

| Activist and President of Planned Parenthood

| {{cite web | last=Weixel | first=Nathaniel | title=Biden awards the Medal of Freedom to Cecile Richards, former Planned Parenthood president | website=TheHill | date=20 Nov 2024 | url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5001087-biden-medal-freedom-cecile-richards/ | access-date=11 Nov 2024}}

scope="row"|{{sortname|José|Andrés}}

|rowspan=20|2025

|Spanish-American chef, founder of World Central Kitchen

scope="row"|Bono

|Frontman of U2 and activist against AIDS and poverty

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ash|Carter}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|25th Secretary of Defense

scope="row"|{{sortname|Hillary|Clinton}}

|Former First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State

scope="row"|{{sortname|Michael J.|Fox}}

|Actor and advocate for Parkinson's disease research

scope="row"|{{sortname|Tim|Gill}}

|Computer programmer and LGBTQ activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Jane|Goodall}}

|Ethologist and conservationist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Fannie Lou|Hamer}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Civil rights activist

scope="row"|{{sortname|Magic|Johnson}}

|Professional basketball player

scope="row"|{{sortname|Robert F.|Kennedy}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|Attorney General

scope="row"|{{sortname|Ralph|Lauren}}

|Fashion designer

scope="row"|{{sortname|Lionel|Messi}}

|{{efn|Messi was unable to attend the ceremony due to prior commitments.{{cite web |last1=Deen |first1=Safid |title=Lionel Messi unable to attend Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony. Here's why. |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2025/01/04/heres-why-messi-did-not-attend-presidential-medal-of-freedom-ceremony/77457448007/ |website=USA Today |access-date=January 5, 2025 |date=January 4, 2025}}}}

|Professional soccer player

scope="row"|{{sortname|Bill|Nye}}

|Science communicator and TV presenter

scope="row"|{{sortname|George W.|Romney}}

|{{Abbr|†|Posthumously}}

|43rd Governor of Michigan and 3rd Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

scope="row"|{{sortname|David M.|Rubenstein}}

|Co-founder of The Carlyle Group

scope="row"|{{sortname|George|Soros}}

|Investor and philanthropist

scope="row"|{{sortname|George|Stevens Jr.}}

|Founder of the American Film Institute

scope="row"|{{sortname|Denzel|Washington}}

| {{efn|Washington was supposed to receive the award in 2022 but had to skip the ceremony after testing positive for COVID-19.{{cite web |last1=Huff |first1=Lauren |title=Denzel Washington misses Presidential Medal of Freedom ceremony after contracting COVID |url=https://ew.com/celebrity/denzel-washington-misses-presidential-medal-of-freedom-ceremony-covid/ |website=EW |access-date=January 5, 2025 |date=July 7, 2022}}}}

| Actor, producer & director

scope="row"|{{sortname|Anna|Wintour}}

| Chief editor at Vogue

scope="row"|{{sortname|Pope|Francis}}

||{{Abbr|WD|with Distinction}}

| Head of the Catholic Church from 2013 to 2025

|{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/article/biden-pope-francis-presidential-medal-of-freedom-1abf54dc5b1f30d8f0702dbd2bb93304|title=Biden honors Pope Francis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom|first=Zeke|last=Miller|publisher=Associated Press|date=January 11, 2025|accessdate=January 11, 2025}}

Notes

Bibliography

{{cite book |title=The Presidential Medal of Freedom: Winners and Their Achievements |isbn=978-1-56802-128-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/presidentialmeda00wett_0/page/513 513] |first=Bruce |last=Wetterau |year=1996 |publisher=Congressional Quarterly |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/presidentialmeda00wett_0/page/513}} – contains a list of awardees from 1963 to approximately 1995

References

External links

{{Commons category|Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom}}

[https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/medal-of-freedom Medal of Freedom], Official site for the Medal of Freedom for the Obama administration
[https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R47639.pdf Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients, 1963–2002] (chronological by president, pp. 5–21, alphabetical pp. 24–4), Congressional Research Service via the Federation of American Scientists
[https://web.archive.org/web/20100222215156/https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/two_column_table/Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom_Recipients.htm Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipients, 1993–2009], United States Senate
[http://politicalgraveyard.com/special/medal-of-freedom.html Politicians Who Received the Medal of Freedom], The Political Graveyard

Category:Civil awards and decorations of the United States

Category:Lists of award winners