Advertisement

2012 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients (12 images)

On April 26, 2012, President Obama announced 13 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. "Each of them has made a lasting contribution to the life of our Nation," Obama said. "They've challenged us, they’ve inspired us, and they’ve made the world a better place." Recipients not included in this gallery are former Assistant Attorney General John Doar, who fought to enforce civil rights in the 1960s; William Foege, a physician and epidemiologist who helped eradicate smallpox in the 1970s; Gordon Hirabayashi, a professor and advocate who openly defied the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II; and Jan Karski, an officer of the Polish Underground during World War II who was among the first to share with the world his eye-witness account of the Holocaust.



Madeleine Albright
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was the first woman to hold that position. As secretary, she worked with NATO to combat ethnic cleansing in the Balkans and the spread of nuclear weapons across the globe. She is a professor at Georgetown University, an author of five books, chairs the National Democratic Institute and is the President of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. File/UPI/Alexis C. Glenn.
License photo | Permalink


Bob Dylan
Over a career spanning 50 years, Bob Dylan won 11 Grammys, wrote more than 600 songs and released 34 studio albums. His work had significant impact on the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and his songs have been recorded more than 3000 times by other artists. Left: Onstage in 1981 Right: In 2007. File/UPI/Grace Chiu
License photo | Permalink


Bob Dylan
Over a career spanning 50 years, Bob Dylan won 11 Grammys, wrote more than 600 songs and released 34 studio albums. His work had significant impact on the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and his songs have been recorded more than 3000 times by other artists. Left: Onstage in 1981 Right: In 2007. File/UPI/Grace Chiu
License photo | Permalink


Bob Dylan
Over a career spanning 50 years, Bob Dylan won 11 Grammys, wrote more than 600 songs and released 34 studio albums. His work had significant impact on the civil rights movement of the 1960s, and his songs have been recorded more than 3000 times by other artists. Left: Onstage in 1981 Right: In 2007. File/UPI/Grace Chiu
License photo | Permalink


John Glenn
Astronaut, Senator and United States Marine Corps pilot John Glenn was the first American in space, the first American to orbit the earth, and at 77, became the oldest person to visit space. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in Ohio in 1974, and helped design the 1978 Nuclear Nonproliferation Act. He has also received the Congressional Gold Medal and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. File/UPI/Kevin Dietsch
License photo | Permalink


Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta was influential in advocating for the civil rights of agricultural workers and women, helping to secure the passage of California's Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975 and disability insurance for farmworkers in California. She co-founded the National Farmworkers Association, later the United Farm Workers of America with Cesar Chavez, and the Dolores Huerta Foundation. She has also received the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights. Right, with actor Martin Sheen, left. File/UPI/Jim Ruymen
License photo | Permalink


Advertisement