Recipients of the presidential medal of freedom from Barack Obama

Nancy Goodman Brinker is the founder of Susan G Komen for the Cure, the world's leading breast cancer grassroots organisation Photograph: Lawrence Jackson/AP

Stephen Hawking is an internationally recognised theoretical physicist, and is the Lucasian professor of mathematics at Cambridge University Photograph: Bruno Vincent/Getty Images Europe

Jack Kemp was a US congressman, secretary of housing and urban development, and Republican nominee for vice-president in 1996. He died in May 2009 Photograph: Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images North America

Senator Edward Kennedy is one of the longest-serving and greatest senators of all time. He has worked tirelessly for healthcare reform over the last five decades Photograph: Charles Dharapak/AP

Billie Jean King is known for winning the famous 'Battle of the Sexes' tennis match in 1973 and championing gender equality issues not only in sports, but all aspects of life Photograph: Gabriel Bouys/AFP

Reverend Joseph Lowery has been a leader of the civil rights movement since the 1950s, and co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Dr Martin Luther King Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP

Gay city councilman Harvey Milk and actor Jane Fonda at a political rally opposing Initiative Six in 1978. Harvey Milk was the first openly gay elected official from a major city in the United States. He was elected to the San Francisco board of supervisors in 1977, and encouraged LGBT citizens to live their lives openly Photograph: Roger Ressmeyer/Corbis

Sandra Day O'Connor was a supreme court justice from 1981 until her retirement in 2006. She was the first woman ever to sit on the supreme court, and has received numerous awards for her outstanding achievements Photograph: Jeff T. Green/Getty Images North America

Sidney Poitier is an actor known for breaking racial barriers. He is the first African American to be nominated for and win an academy award for best actor Photograph: Mike Theiler/AFP

Chita Rivera is an actor, singer and dancer, who has inspired a generation of women. In 2002, she was the first Hispanic person to receive the Kennedy Centre honour Photograph: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images North America

Mary Robinson was the first female president of Ireland and former United Nations high commissioner for human rights. Since 2002, she has been the president of Realising Rights: The Ethical Globalisation Initiative Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian

Retired South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is widely regarded as 'South Africa's moral conscience' and was a leading anti-apartheid activist Photograph: Chip East/Reuters

Muhammad Yunus is a global leader in anti-poverty efforts, and pioneered the use of 'micro-loans' to provide credit to poor individuals Photograph: David Levene